Placemats are an essential part of a well-dressed table and can serve many purposes. They not only help complete a table’s look, but they offer additional protection to the table and the tablecloth. Placemats come in a variety of materials, colors, and sizes and while they complete a fully dressed table, they can be used alone. Choosing placemats is mostly a matter of personal preference, but keep the following in mind.

If you intend to have a complete table dressing, then match or coordinate your placemats with your tablecloth. Remember to buy as many placemats as you have seats at your table, even if you don’t use all the seats everyday. This way, you won’t ever be caught with only four placemats and six dinner guests. You should also consider investing in matching or coordinating napkins. If you have a table that does not get used everyday, you might want to buy a complete table dressing and leave it set just for display.

Choose placemats that fit your room’s design but are practical in nature. Placemats are more forgiving than the tablecloth and even nice vinyl covered placemats can sit will upon a nice fabric tablecloth. However, plastic placemats should be reserved for outdoor and very casual use only. Remember that vinyl covered placemats can be wiped clean rather than machine washed, making clean up easier. However, if you have a formal dining room, consider purchasing fabric placemats in keeping with the room’s overall feel.

Plastic placemats are still ideal for outdoor use and for children. Children tend to eat rather messily and plastic placemats protect your table and make clean-up a breeze. If you have children, consider keeping a few plastic placemats on hand for messy meals. You can even find placemats that include educational information such as the alphabet, the continents, or the multiplication tables on them. Similarly, you can also find placemats with popular kid-friendly characters on them.

Choosing placemats should essentially be based on the other items you place on your table. While an eclectic mix and match of different colors, materials, and textures can be fun, keep in mind that a formal feel can best be accomplished by having coordinating linens and accessories.