Vintage Collections: Come Take a Peek at My Favorite China

Today I'm showing you a special spot where I display many of my favorite china collections.

I hope everyone is staying warm! It has been absolutely frigid over here! It may be cold outside, but it's always warm and colorful in my dining room! I can't wait to show you some of my favorite collectibles. I have a bar cart in my dining room which is the perfect spot to display some of my favorite pieces.  Above it is a mug rack which I use to display a mix of antique and thrifted tea cups and mugs.

Collectible China Collection

My mug rack used to hang in our coffee station in our old home.  There wasn't really the wall space in this house, so I decided to utilize it instead in our dining room. It mostly contains tea cups which are thrifted, bought or part of one of my sets. I'm not really picky about them having to be antiques.  Instead, I just buy what I like. In addition to tea cups,  I also have a few Fruit Du Jour mugs which I'll tell you more about in a moment.

The bottom of my bar cart contains two different sets.  I absolutely love both of these dish sets.  The green ones are a transferware set which is a combination of different patterns between the Old Britain Castles and the English Countryside pattern.  I bought this mismatch set at an antique store with all pieces for just $40.  I had never seen the green transferware before and in looking to add more pieces, discovered that it is a color which is much harder to find and prices for one piece range much higher than what I paid! Blue or red transferware sets are much more popular. Every time I am exploring antique shops now, I am scouring them for pieces to add to my collection.

The second set with the roses is the Franciscan Desert Rose set.  This pottery began being sold in the 1940's and was quite popular during the Great Depression.  Some were produced in England and some at a later date (1960's) were produced in the United States. They produced two different patterns, the roses and an apple pattern. My grandmother had a set of these which I remember from when I was a child.  I did not inherit her set, but have been on a hunt for several years to gather a set of my own.  It is with fondness I remember her and every time I use them, it makes me smile.  The pieces I have gathered are mostly made in California, so probably are from the 1960's.

The next collection which rests on the top of the bar cart is this cute, Fruit Du Jour Hand Painted set which I came across at a thrift store.  I just love the raised images and the cheery colors and pattern. They are a beautiful addition to my cottage collection. Each plate has a different image.  There are six different fruits in all. These were made in the 1980's by Shafford in Japan.  Not nearly as valuable as the sets above, but still are super cute!

One small tea pot and tea cup set I inherited was this green and black lusterware set.  These were made in Germany by Royal Bavaria in the 1940's. 

Why do I collect these?  Well, besides the Desert Rose and the lusterware which I have some attachment too, mostly I collect because I was drawn to them whether by color or pattern.  I don't collect for investing.  Instead, I buy pieces which bring me joy and personalize my home and decor. Most of these are used for display or special occasions, but the Desert Rose plates we do include with our every day dishes. And, that's not all!  There is one more very large set I inherited from my grandmother that I haven't shown you today.  I keep that set in my green hutch cabinet.  I will have to do a blog post about that one soon.  I hope this was a fun little tour today!  I would love to know more about what china/ pottery pieces you collect and why?  Leave me a comment below.

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I'm always on the lookout for china collections to add to White Cottage Home Store.  There is a cute set of Farmhouse Chicken Chintz plates available now!

Interested in Starting Your Own Collection?

XO,