All your dishes don't need to match. Just pick a color scheme - so that they will go together. My everyday plates are along the lines of bright blue and white - which is quite common -so I can pick up occasional small plates, bowls of varying patterns easily and they look nice next to each other! They call that the shabby chic look!
You can set a beautiful unique table using mismatched dinnerware. The many colors and patterns can be very attractive and personalized. This is a page about using mismatched dishware.
