I wouldn't go crazy trying to BIFL your tableware. Your tastes will change over the years, and so will your house decor, even if you stay in the same home. You may paint your walls or something…to where you'll want different dishes. Moving to a different house or apt. may really give you a yen for different dishes. I've gone with plain white, with blue-and-white for many years, and now, believe it or not, am in a house where the greens and reds of Johnson Brothers "Friendly Village" looks perfect. (It's now made in China…grrrrr. I bought two cheap sets of Chinese " Friendly Village" on Amazon--got a great deal--much cheaper than dept. store sale prices. Then ordered some of the completer pieces, serving bowls and platters, etc. in the older Made in England stuff from Replacements…also picked up some of the originals from kitchen of deceased family member.) I am fairly minimalist in the kitchen, and like all my china, glassware, and stainless to match. It gives a neater, calmer, more "Zen" feel. You just have to purge the odds and ends of glasses and dishes that we all tend to accumulate over time. I donate the "clutter" tableware to the Goodwill. (Advertising mugs and all that.)