Sandy Meredith doesn't believe in eating on plastic or paper plates. Instead, she collects china to serve her guests.

By her last count she had 16 sets of china, and even more plates and dishes adorn the walls and shelves in her North Hall home.

"I have never served anybody anything on a paper plate," Meredith said. "I just don't believe in it. I guess it comes from wanting to make your guests feel special and wanting to have them feel like they have done something fun and beautiful and interesting."

Meredith and husband Ted don't even eat on paper plates for a casual night alone at home. "We sit here at the dining table sometimes by ourselves," she said.

Included in Meredith's china collection is vintage Crown Ducal from England, Mikasa's Dancing Flowers, Franciscan and Lenox patterns and a set with an oriental motif.

But her favorite, hands down, is the Dresden Flowers china pattern.

"It started being made in the 1800s ... there are all different companies that made it," she said.

Dresden Flowers became so popular that many companies in different countries made the design. If looking very closely at pieces from different countries, the flowers may differ or have a slight variation in color.

Meredith's Dresden Flowers collection includes a gravy boat, a business card holder, butter pat saucers and even a celery dish - every serving piece, in fact, except a creamer.

"The most popular of the Dresden Flowers is made by Schumann and it's called Empress Dresden," said Lisa Conklin of Replacements.com. "There are a number of variations of Dresden Flowers made by Schumann as well as other companies. ... We have in that particular pattern over 2,500 customers."

There is a special way to care for older and antique china, according to Marie Faunce of Remember When Antiques.

"Definitely don't put it in the dishwasher," she said. "Wash it very gently in warm soapy water and make sure to dry it right away ... if it has metal on it, it may spot."

Faunce added that she wished more couples would consider buying antique china when getting married.

"It's a wonderful value for couples starting out," she said.

Along with her china, Meredith also has a collection of Heisey crystal stemware from her husband's grandmother.

"There's 48 stems of it. ... It's from 1915; the shape is Old Dominion. It has empress etching, which is a chrysanthemum or mum, and it's flamingo color. It's not Depression glass because the Depression started about 1929, so anything prior to Depression glass is usually called elegant glass."

The collection of crystal is now accompanied by matching crystal dishes that Meredith found after years of hunting at shows and antique shops in Atlanta.

"We inherited this crystal, and it didn't look good with any of the china," she said. "So we also got 12 salad plates with it. ... So for 15 years we looked for the dinner plates and I finally found them."

A former Realtor, Meredith said she entertains a lot around the holidays, along with other times of the year, and it takes her several hours to set her 14-seat dining table.

To prepare for the dinner or luncheon, napkins are ironed and place cards are filled out for her guests. She always uses a plain tablecloth, so the china is on display at the event.

Each setting gets a dinner plate, bread and butter plate, fruit cup - which she places on top of the plate - wine glass, salad and dinner fork, spoon, knife and crisp napkin in a napkin ring.

According to Emily Post's "Etiquette" this type of setting is an informal place setting. To create a formal setting, add a fish fork, salad knife and additional glasses.

But after a formal or informal dinner filled with food and conversation, Meredith said she adheres to just one more rule: she doesn't let her guests do dishes, either.

"I want people to enjoy coming to my house and have fun," she said.