Rooms are staged for photographs, so the fact that placemats aren't shown mean nothing. I still use them and I don't really care if others don't. :-) Each to his own!

People still use them. They just take them out when setting a table for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.

I love them as well.

I use them for all meals. And I enjoy seasonal themes.

I have a placemat out on the kitchen table for DH all the time, but when sit down for dinner together a couple times a week or I have company, I use a tablecloth.

We use them for every meal also. I usually just leave them on the kitchen nook table between meals. I found some very nice placemats at TJ Maxx--they are acutally plastic, but woven so they look like fabric. Plastic is a good thing with my husband--he usually manages to "goober" on tablecloths or placemants!

I don’t know what I would do without them lol, but don’t leave them placed. Ones in kitchen are stored as a centrepiece, so handy both for eating but also to protect table when placing hot platters down.

In dining room, I keep a bamboo runner on and when setting table add matching placemats.

Hot plates will discolor the wood. good reason to use placemats.

I use them but put them away between meals.

We have nice natural woven placemats, that I purchased at BB&B, many, many years ago. We leave them on the table, since they’re attractive, and are in constant use. Unfortunately, BB&B no longer carries them, or I’d buy a bunch more.

We don't eat at the table. And when we've had guests (thankfully infrequently) we'll put down a variety of hot pads. For me, they're just another thing to clean and store.

I have lots of tablecloths from my trips, and previously they were only decorative, but now I don't care about they're condition and will use them when/IF we have guests again.

Jen K LOL!!!!

I use placemats. I dont care if they are, or not “in vogue”. I have a wood oak kitchen table and have a few sets of placemats that I use.

We keep placemats out all the time.

I have a round glass table and use them all the time. If I have more than four people, I use a tablecloth so that I can space the dishes better without overlapping the placemats.

I grew up using them and still buy them for my mom from time to time, but don’t use them at all in my own home. I did for a while because I felt like I was supposed to, but hated having one more thing to wash when the kids were little. I’d much rather just wipe down the table. I’m not entirely sure that I understand the purpose of them - I suppose they’re meant to protect tables, but I’ve gone without for the past 16+ years and our tables seem absolutely fine.

I do have one cork-backed set from Australia that I love because they were a gift from my aunt. We do use those once in a while.

I had some woven straw type at home that I never used. I took them up camp. They just sit on the buffet most of the time. I keep a clear plastic tablecloth on the pine table to protect it. It is easy to wipe off and you can still see the wood. The grands can color , paint, do crafts etc on it with no worry .

If you like placemats, use placemats. It doesn't matter what other people think of them. Sometimes I use a tablecloth, sometimes I use just the bare table with placemats, and sometimes I use placemats on top of a tablecloth. I have fun changing the colors from time to time.