....but I was wondering if anyone has any other suggestions."

How about getting a glass top to cover the table? Or even Plexiglass?

*BTW your home is just darling. You did a fantastic job decorating.

Wow. I was all ready to not like the faux leather idea, but your dining room looks absolutely terrific as does the rest of the house and yard! I am envious.

Any chance of replacing the window glass with double- or triple-paned UV blocking glass? Then, you could replace your faded cloth with the same type. If the picture is recent, though, it looks good to me just the way it is!

We use our dining room table all the time, too. I just wash my tablecloths as needed. I have a variety. As with the bed linens, I can have one in the laundry basket, one on the table, and several in waiting.

Love your paint colors, too. Would you share the dining room and green colors? Thanks.

Calico Corners, for one, will 'laminate' any fabric (even your own). They have four different degrees of finish. This goes back a number of years, but they likely still offer the service.

Oh I love your house too! I have heard about (though not seen in real life), the new Amy Butler laminated fabric line. I LOVE her fabrics, and think a number of them would look great in your space. They have been described to me as much more supple than the traditional oilcloth look. I'm not sure if that means less shiny... anyway, google Amy Butler laminated fabric and I think you'll find it.

Is plexiglass a viable solution really? I have a toddler, so I'm very not interested in glass. I'm also not interested in washing tablecloths, and all the wipeable ones I have found are ugly. I could work with plexi though, if it isn't hugely tacky and is relatively durable.

Yes. A lot of restaurants use glass or even Plexiglas over table cloths for the very reason to not have to change the cloth after every patron costing oodles of money in laundry bills. It can also be put right over a bare wood table letting the look of the natural wood come through.

There are different grades and brands of acrylic glass with various pricing and durability. The cheaper versions will get small scratches with a lot of use and may began to look cloudy over time. Lucite will hold up better.

I love your dining room! I had problems with glass top over wood. If the wood isn't poly'ed, it could ruin the finish. It did to my table. Apparently the wood needs to breathe. I was told if you can poly it it would be fine. I had a finished wood top and it destroyed the finish and caused some separation of the wood.

Jane

One tip for glass tops on good wood is to put a tiny felt tab on each corner. It will lift the glass enough off the top to let it breathe. I do, however, always find it interesting when I am told about not putting glass directly on wood because my grandparents and then parents had an 11-piece set of mahoghany furniture for the bedroom which always had heavy glass tops on the chiffonier, bureau, dressing table, and bedside tables. The glass was there from at least the early part of the 20th century until 2007 with absolutely no problems-perfect finish, no separation. Don't know what is different these days. I'm very curious, though.

Try searching "oilcloth" on Etsy.com -- might be some tablecloths there!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

You have a beautiful home. Would you please share your paint color in Den 1 pic?

Tuesday

Wow, thank you all for posting!

@dilly_dally: It's funny, but I had thought of using glass for a side table, but not for the dining room. I'll have to give it more thought... And thanks for the props!

@cyn427: I had looked into replacing the windows a few years ago (the DR and LR both face south), but it's not a priority right now. As for the colors, the DR walls are Chestertown Buff (Benjamin Moore) and the ceiling is Benjamin Moore 1302 (no name, just a number). I worked with a great color consultant to get my house colors right. My DH calls her the Paint Whisperer. She was terrific and suggested that we paint the ceiling that dark red color. I was unsure but trusting and it turned out great. The LR green is actually two colors. Because the windows face south, the fireplace wall was painted a darker color. It's Mosaic Tile (also Benjamin Moore). The other three walls are Paddywhack (C2, which is my fav paint---luminous rich colors).

@squirrelheaven: I will check out that possibility with my local Calico Corners and see what they say. Thanks for the tip!

@bestyears: I googled Amy Butler and her stuff is great but too busy for me. It was very helpful, tho, to know that "laminated fabric" is what I'm looking for, and I'll probably spend more time just looking at that.

@teacats: I did look at etsy (I have a currently inactive storefront there), but didn't find anything that was quite right.

@tuesday: The den is painted in Oriental Silk (Benjamin Moore), which is a very soft yellowy tan.

Thanks again!

This is an extreme and scary solution, but one of my neighbors many years ago took a look at his solid walnut dining table and took his belt sander to it! After taking off all the original finish he polyurethaned it, and now they don't have to use any cloth (though they often have placemats). Our butcher block kitchen table, very informal, was treated with some kind of finish that's absolutely impervious, I treat it like formica and clean it with a soapy sponge.

If you're not up to refinishing, I second the suggestion for glass (w/ the little bumpers to raise it up a smidge) or plexiglass. We got a plexiglass protector for a child's oak desk, and passed it along 20 years later when we sold the desk in Craig's List. The desktop was pristine and the plastic protector only faintly scratched, but not yellowed at all.

A piece of advice if you decide to go the plexi route: You can't use Windex or similar cleaning products on it to wipe it down, because it will yellow over time. You need to get a special cleaner for it (or use a microfiber cloth only).

Have you considered UV window film to reduce the damaging effects of the sun? I chose to use an opaque film for privacy on our glass basement doors and found it to be very easy to install. It was also pretty cheap, and has remained well affixed for well over 2 years now.

Here is a link that might be useful: window film

@lovesummer: That is a scary solution! The table under the cloth has a beautiful hand-rubbed finish on it (we had it custom made by a craftsman in Vermont) and part of the reason for using the tablecloth---and it's underlying table protector---is to keep it from being damaged by my kids or by the sun. The glass solution won't help with the sun, but maybe if I take tomorrowisanotherday's idea of the window film, it may work out. Also, my kids are getting ready to fly the nest, so they aren't quite as damaging to the furniture as they used to be!

@tomorrowisanotherday: Great idea! I will definitely look into the films. They only issue would be if they significantly cut into the view. It's pretty nice from the DR, so I don't want to feel like there's something in the way.

Okay, so I went to JoAnn today and picked up some samples of Crypton fabrics, which I found online by looking for laminated ones (thanks again, bestyears!). I put one of them on the table, and "spilled" some coffee, which just beaded up and sat there. Totally cool! They are 50% off at the moment, so I may have to strike.

I also picked up some window film while I was out and will give that a try, altho I have 6 panes on the windows, so it will be a "pain". (Sorry, bad pun.) Tip of the hat to you, tomorrowisanotherday!