Choose your dinnerware thoughtfully and it will do you a great service. There's a vast range of styles and colours available, so read on to find a dinner set that suits you.

Whether you use it daily or just dust it off for special visitors, a well-chosen dinner set brings your personal style to the table.

A dinner set will generally consist of 20 pieces: four settings made up of entree or side plates, dinner plates, bowls, teacups and saucers. The make-up of the set, and the sizes of the items in it, varies between brands – dinner plates can range from 27 centimetres to 30 centimetres in diameter, bowls may be deep or wide and with or without a rim, mugs may replace teacups and saucers. “Most people tend to buy two 20 or 24-piece dinner sets to start,” says Carolyn Cavanough, Public Relations and Commercial Licensing Manager at Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton. “It's becoming popular to have place settings for up to 12 people and from there, adding accent plates.”

The size of your household and how many guests you invite when entertaining will naturally determine the number of sets you'll need. For day-to-day use, singles may manage with one set, while a family will probably need two or more sets.

Your cooking style, the types of food you eat and how you entertain will also dictate the individual pieces you'll need. “It's wise to choose a versatile set, which could be dressed up for a formal dinner, but also presents casually for lunch or breakfast,” says MaryAnne Fesq, Marketing Manager, Villeroy & Boch Australia.

Dinner set fashion ranges from plain, plain with platinum or gold trim, and embossed plain to brightly coloured and patterned. White continues to be the most popular choice – it simply shows food at its best – and can be dressed up or down by adding a decorated entree plate. Circular is (and doubtless always will be) the most popular shape, although variations abound: from squarish and oval to handmade organic forms.

An alternative approach to buying a complete set is to select individual items to make up a set of your choice. This way, you get exactly what you want – not everyone wants bread-and-butter plates – and you can mix sizes, patterns, and colours.

The key words are flexibility (a bowl for serving both cereal and pasta, for instance), functionality (dinnerware that is microwave- and dishwasher-safe, and is child-friendly) and fun (table settings need not match as they have in the past, so mix it up with plains and patterns, connected by colour).

The choice is wide. Organic shapes and retro styles like those made by Finnish dinnerware-maker Arabia, are in fashion right now, as is pairing black with white and graphic patterns. Texture is achieved with hand finishes, and embossed and intaglio techniques.

Fesq is seeing rich colours – rustic reds and brilliant blues – returning, as well as bold patterns, from botanical themes to abstract shapes and swirls. At Mud Australia, owner and designer Shelley Simpson is currently using softer tones, such as, ocean, steel, duck-egg and powder blues.

“Dinnerware is a major purchase,” says Simpson. “Don't think of it as disposable.” After all, one day it may be an heirloom.

What plate is that?

Porcelain
White clay, or kaolin, fired at a high temperature. It is vitrified, hard, impermeable and translucent.

Fine bone china
A porcelain clay with up to 50-per-cent animal-bone ash added. It's known for its whiteness and translucency.

Stoneware
Clay fired at a high temperature that is vitrified or semi-vitrifed and nonporous. It's waterproof, even without a glaze, and sturdier than earthenware.

Earthenware
Clay fired at a low temperature that needs to be glazed as it's porous. Examples include faience, majolica and Delft.

Out in the wash

Dinnerware will break and chip if it's loaded into the dishwasher incorrectly. Pieces should not touch, or be stacked on top of each other. To prevent patterns and colour fading, use a liquid dishwashing detergent not powder or powerballs, and wash in water cooler than 65°C. If you have platinum-trim pieces, check they're dishwasher-proof, as not all are.

White hot

The white dinner set reigns supreme, but surely there's an end to its popularity in sight? Not so, says Sydney caterer John Wilson, from Johnandpeter. “White is timeless and classic. It's a start, then you can branch out with colour. A large white plate is best for food, as it provides a frame. I own eight different dinner services; I like Royal Copenhagen's Half Lace in White and Rosenthal's Thomas Loft 24 Hours in White.”