Boutique by Corelle: Not Your Grandmother’s Dinnerware Anymore

If your family is like mine, then you grew up with Pyrex and CorningWare as your default bakeware (in fact, I still have those lovely squared dishes with the blue floral embellishments in my cupboard). Corelle dinnerware is right up there with the infamous glass dishes, but with the new Boutique by Corelle line, there’s nothing hand-me-down about it.

When World Kitchen invited me to the gorgeous Marion Davies Guest House at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica to unveil the new Boutique by Corelle collection last week, you know I went without hesitation. The house itself is decades old, and as Corelle is now in its forties, it was the perfect location to showcase how those dishes we know and love from our childhood have taken on a fresh, new look. The weather couldn’t have been better, either!

Both the Cherish and Swept varieties from the Boutique by Corelle line are nothing like the brown patterned dishes your parents have buried in their cupboards. Cherish and Swept are both made of the virtually break-proof white Vitrelle glass, and I am looking forward to having them for years. Whether or not it’s time to upgrade your collection, you’ll be swooning over the pieces, too.

Swept is a round plate design with embossed waves around the rims. Looking out the beach house windows behind the display of dinner and lunch plates, I was reminded of bamboo placemats and tropical flavors such as pineapple and mango salsa over grilled salmon. Swept is artistic and flowing, while remaining sleek and fresh. I immediately pictured a dining room of sandy colored walls and the scent of fresh plumerias wafting through the air, but upon second glance, I pictured a glass table top and several friends in cocktail attire sitting for a sophisticated dinner party. Needless to say, the pattern is far more versatile than I imagined.

I’ve always been a softy, so the romantic embossing on the square shaped Cherish plates definitely appealed to me. Though the pattern is not floral, it is whimsical and a modern day design which makes me feel as warm as seeing my blue and white bakeware. I felt feminine sipping tea from a Cherish mug at the beach house, yet my very masculine neighbor quickly complimented the shape and design upon seeing my Cherish collection at home. My favorite part about the square plates are their rounded corners; should any little ones be squirming around the dining table. I scooped Tahitian vanilla bean gelato into my squared Cherish bowl last night after dinner, and felt like Cinderella in Los Angeles: living an elegant present day fairytale.

The best part about the entire Corelle collection is its ability to mix and match. If you’re a commitment-phobe (or occasionally entertain a crowd), it’s absolutely worth it to invest in both the Swept and Cherish collections. It’s so fun to combine patterns on the dinner table to break up the otherwise uniform appearance, and since both Boutique by Corelle collections are in all white, they still look cohesive and classy side by side. These days I’m looking to cut corners anywhere I can, and I happen to love the Swept luncheon plates on top of a Cherish dinner plate as a charger. Storage space and budgets aren’t affected either by the thin design and lightweight (yet durable) Vitrelle glass, and a price to match. Both Boutique by Corelle collections are currently available in Kohl’s stores starting at $79.99 for a 16 piece set.

This definitely isn’t your grandmother’s dinnerware anymore.

Thank you to Corelle for hosting this event. All opinions are original.