Both for dining table; mostly tablecloth for holiday dining, however. I have a glass top bistro table in the kitchen. I put a cheap vinyl cloth on it for everyday as I scratched it. When used for extra seating with more formal dining, it looks MUCH better with nice placemats!

99% time placemats, they are just so much more versatile & functional + I can totally change out the look easily with dishes, linens, etc. Many times I use natural wicker type placemats & chargers for added dimension & texture. Here's a simple minute setup for casual dinner on the terrace w/hubby!

I use tablecloth to protect the wood but
I like the wood look without any thing tablecloth or placemat.

Placemat for everyday, but always tablecloth for "dinners" & holidays.

It depends. For informal placemats. For formal table cloth and all the fancy stuff.

I agree with hvmichel placemats allow for some protection and color on the table but still allows to enjoy the beauty of the wood. Formal occasions need a damask tablecloth.

Our nearly centre cut western maple live edge table is too pretty to cover up so I'm in the placemat group.

Neither... We have a modern square table for 8. Tablecloths don't exist that are 96" in both directions. Placemats are just one more layer to have to wipe clean or launder.

Definitely placemats! It still shows the beauty of the wood.

Like most everything, it depends. Nightly dinner for my husband and myself, we use placemats at the island (it is travertine so I use placements to prevent scratching the honed finish). For holiday dinners at the dining table, tablecloth it is.

Our table has some heat damage marks (left behind by students hosted for dinner, sigh), so we basically can't leave it nude anymore. We also have a kid who tends to drip yogurt or jelly at her spot. So there's always a tablecloth, sometimes with a runner, sometimes with placemats. Kid basically always has a placemat, although I do have a clear plastic one that could just be put on top of the tablecloth to make her feel more grown up...

Place mats for everyday and a table cloth for when we have guests. I use a glass hot pad for the hot plates in the centre so my table doesn't get damaged.

markbischak(too far back to look up again), I believe your are in the wrong spot, or I am, I don't think we plan on eating them. Placemats or cloth, with me, it is a mood, I want to create, definitely tablecloth for formal. I have this thing though since I was a kid, grew up with that whole buy it fancy, then cover it up so it is safe. I remember we redecorated my bedroom, broke my heart when we covered the cool upholstory on my Miami bed with sheets and stuff. So, except for a doily or the like, for my heavy crystal vase or fruit bowl. I want to see what I bought, that is why I bought it. Kitchen table pretty cloth or nothing.

Now, when I used to work, I would eat at my desk, a beautiful brocade or tapestry type placemat and always an engraved silver coaster. I too love to use beautiful scarves on all my tables, viva la haute living due to thrift stores! lol

my husband built our beautiful table, so we use nothing and allow the gorgeous wood to shine.

That is so neat! Love creative spouses!

While often seen as formal, I love a tablecloth for a casual get together, especially if what is being served will be messy. It allows while your guests are still there to get dishes etc off the table and then quickly roll up the cloth, ending up with a clean table where people can continue to sit.

Definitely place mats for me! I have a beautiful new bar height table in rosewood and I like showing it off. I like the fact that you can change them out on a whim with no ironing required! Plus, a tablecloth is just too formal for my style.

If we're eating in the breakfast room, then it's placemats but, if we're dining in our dining room then it's definitely a table cloth.

Placemats or even a runner. Never cared for tablecloths.

I use two runners on both sides of the table.

I use a tablecloth for special occasions, but for everyday, a tray. My small apartment has no place to eat in the kitchen, and no dining area, so I eat on an antique tea table (taller than a coffee table) in the livingroom/office/library/family room. (Some people call this a "great room", but it's really not that great to cram your whole life into one room.) With the tray, I can carry a whole meal from the kitchen at once, and if anything gets spilled, it stays in the tray, saving the table and the carpet. The tray system is also more convenient if you are using a wheelchair or walker. The tea table is oval, so it takes up less room than the usual dining table, and is easier and safer to navigate around for a disabled person.

Placemats! We have a beautiful table and I like to show the wood. However, when we seat 10 or more at the table placemats don't fit, so I do have table cloths.

Speaking of tablecloth vs. placemats, After my wine bottle breaking fiasco (yes, it was red!) a few weeks ago, my cousin recovered the seat cushions of my kitchen stools. When I bought the fabric, I couldn't decide if I wanted a tablecloth or placemats, so I decided to make both along with napkins. Houzzers, what are your thoughts?

I've always preferred pretty tablecloths. Covers any accident at the table.

I like to save the extra laundry and extra cleaning for special occasions, ha! Our table is here to hold the plates :)

I usually use a table cloth, though I have used both. Placemats for informal or when my grandkids come over. When the grandkids were younger, I used plastic trays from the Dollar Store. It stopped the spills and they were even able to take their dishes into the kitchen themselves as they got a bit older. Easy to clean as well.

Sorry about the blank pic. I couldn't be rid of it.

Placemats allow you to show off your table and provide more opportunities to be creative and add color without it being to much!

I've never understood the table cloth concept.. Pay a fortune for a beautiful table then cover it up?

Placemat=easy to clean off

It depends on the table, the meal, the time of the year and the occasion. I sometimes use both, one or the other, or nothing. What I do insist on is no paper napkins, no paper plates and no plastic utensils. Outdoors, I use plastic plates to make things feel more casual, but they're heavy weight so they don't blow in the wind.

I do love a beautiful or interesting table cloth, but runners and placemats can be equally enticing! Presentation is HUGE for me! Number one behind the actual taste and quality of the food served, even it's just a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup!

Am I a barbarian? I don't use either. I love wood (uncovered) and wipe the table down afterwards.

I use placemats

Over the holidays it's a tablecloth
For heat Damage for hot dishes I use extra placemats or a padded one that's made for heat. Or a table runner or Chargers. Depends on the occasion

For cup marks I use cloth coasters I got years ago or the old stand by: saucers.

Aside from that what is the point of having a tablecloth on all day long? I didn't buy a nice table to hide it. It's not a high gloss finish where I need to care. It's reclaimed wood and quite good at hiding flaws. It's been perfect for kids.

I add both table cloth and placemats. As the table cloth adds a nice backdrop, while the placemats provide decorative a spacial elements

In reference to which to choose tablecloths or
mates; for a more sophisticated, small dinner party, I use both a nice calm-color
tablecloth, then accent the tablecloth with cloth placemates and chargers, I
can then display elegance with a pop of color simultaneously, I can then remove
everything and leave the table bare except for the centerpiece.

If I am having a small luncheon or breakfast, I prefer using placemates
on a smaller table while trying to always protect the tables since they are
both marble.

placemats isolate--your space,my space--table clothes unite--welcome to the table

Tablecloths are great for holiday dinners. For daily use I purchased tempered glass cut exactly to my table top. This protects the wood and then I use placemats. It works great!

personally in general I prefer a runner with flowers or fruits. But I like the way tablecloths look on especially round table, all the way down to the floor. I use tablecloths with placemats for big holiday dinners and special occasions. It brings a sense of elegance and formality (plus it takes me back to my childhood at home). Otherwise it's just placemats for family every day use.

both. placemats daily both for formal

Definitely both! :D

I honestly think it all depends on the occasion that the table is being used. If the table is something that you want to show off, it doesn't make sense to cover it with a table cloth. If its being used in a manner where it could easily be ruined, or damaged. Then it is safe to place certain mats when needed to prevent any damage.

To everyone with glass tables who say they use neither, how do you stand the racket of the glasses being set down? I cringe with fear that someone is about to break a glass or chip the table or both!!

In pure french tradition, I still go for tablecloth, makes a table look chic

It depends on the situation, placemats feel more casual to me, but for entertaining, I generally use a tablecloth. They can be more formal (linen) or casual (Provence design for garden parties)... The only thing I dislike is the ironing!

We have a beautiful live edge cherry table, placemats allow the wood to be seen.

It really depends on the occasion and the formality or informality of it. I find that placemats work really well if you are going for an informal look, but for more formal dining room settings I prefer to use a combination of placemats and a runner:

Placemats for every day. White linen tablecloth for holiday dinners.

I think tablecloths provide a uniform look, browse beautiful tablecloths at www.lenpol.com

It depends on the occasion.

I usually go with a tablecloth for more formal meals and placemats for daily use however, placemats have gotten a bit more sophisticated and often look fine even for nice dinners.