Yes. Mine add a textural/design element and disguise the infrastructure necessary to support my 8'x 4'6" glass top (four antique corbels -from an ancestral home- and frame).
They (I have many) also protect the glass from damage from any centerpiece that could scratch it.

I used to love putting a table runner on my dining room table.......until, my cat decided it was a great place to turn into a slide. She would get into a fast run, then jump on the table, sliding across on the table runner, with everything flying. That was the last of our table runners!!

I love runners & tablecloths to decorate a table. Sometimes I layer the two. When in use, I take the runner off. I think a bare table looks lonely :-) . A bare table begs for something to be put on it. Better a tablecloth &/or a runner than odds and ends.

Lovely furniture and room, but this long runner overly exaggerates the table length and room's dimensions. I'd go without the runner in this case. My very old table is 60" wide, making it extremely difficult to find tablecloths to fit, so a beautiful runner works to fill up the vast center space.

I'd rather see only a substantial centerpiece, and cloth or woven placemats when protection is necessary. I'm always afraid something will get caught on a runner or tablecloth and yank everything off the table like a bad magician!

Most of the time no runner. I have a round table and sometimes crisscross them for use as placemats when there are only four of us.

Love this runner -- it's done right. (Either slightly over ends of table, or 2/3 coverage.) I think a runner works best when the table isn't being used; it adds warmth & a nice background for seasonal decorations. I'm fortunate enough that my table is wide enough to handle plates & a runner without overlap.

Depends on the season/decor whether I use a runner or not, but never place it straight down the middle -- always use my runners on the diagonal -- helps relieve the 'bowling alley' look on the long tabletop.

I absolutely love a runner on my table when I am not dining. It keeps any centrepiece or decor piece off my table and avoid scratches, etc and shows off the wood in the table. Also nice ones will add to the decor. I use them also on sofa tables, coffee tables for the same reasons.
Carol from Cobourg, Ont.

When the runner is complementary to other finishes in the space as it is in the photo, it can tie together key elements. I chose a fabric by Robert Allen in a contemporary "faux bois" pattern of black and white. The runner is self lined, interlined for weight and corded for finish. It ties in the Suzanne Kazler black lacquered buffet and looks fabulous with black and gold table settings. Also, the long dark custom dining table has added depth and interest. It complemented all the custom furniture and drapery that I designed for this room.

I'm surprised by the huge volume of people talking about a table runner getting in the way of placemats, glassware etc... do you people actually lay the table with the table runner and decorative objects still on it? So where do you put your dishes for people to serve themselves? And your condiments, wine/water bottles etc? I was raised to have a table runner with a vase of flowers, candles or some other kind of embellishment - but these were always removed at dining time, and the table laid properly with tablecloth and food served in the middle of the table for people to help themselves. Even if not serving the food in the centre of the table, surely you would remove the decorative runner and objects?

i like this runner - matches the wall pattern. for my dinning room however i prefer plain table.

A table runner looks great on an almost empty table, it is a superfluous intrusion when the table is set for dinner... in my opinion!

This is what I use instead of place mats on my glass table.
Table needs protection. These are two runners.
Works pretty good.

I like variety so I use runners, and I like them wide and perpendicular to the table. I also use fabric 'scrunched' with candlesticks, plants, whatever decorative objects nestled in the fabric. My table runners are only used when I am not serving food ......a tablecloth is used when food is served.

I like your ideas, sounds very interesting and has a cozy feeling.

Have glass table, no drapes either. Runner adds warmth and texture.

I don't even have a dining room table.

In fact, I'm looking for a new one, to add color,with different textures,cording, modern shape ends. Beautiful interiors, can you suggest where to look on line please. My old one is the upholstered chair fabric......it's boring

Oh, I remember my empty room for 5 years. Then we used it a ton. Now were empty nesters.....but do not need another study.......

I am like most people, love them some days, other days - not so much. We just bought a new oak table which was very expensive, so we are very protective at the moment. I do love a table centrepiece so I've used 3 black felt placements end to end down the middle - very soft - very beautiful and very practical for my hurricane lamp or roses. The felt placements are intricate and come in a wide variety of colours. My table is also an extension table, so they take the eye away from the centre join in the table.

My dining room table is oblong inlaid mahogany and I learned years ago to cover my tables with 1/4" glass (after my 3 y.o. used a staple gun on our new bedside tables). Often I have a flower arrangement/seasonal items over the center medallion, and use placemats, since we use this dining room frequently. I want the beauty of the wood to show. Like I said earlier, my table runners are used on my sideboard, not on the table. I have another antique dining room table that is round (unless leaves are used) but we rarely use it. I don't like the runner so much on a round table.

Blossom1961... I so agree with you. As so many have shown, there is a wide range of opinions. . The table is beautiful with or without the table runner. It's just a matter of what the setting is and how it accents the other items in the room.

I inherited my in laws dining room furniture. Very beautiful but sitting in a room that gets used 2x's per year. Also must keep it covered with pad and tablecloth because it is ruined by warm dinner plates.
Newly designed home is coming this summer. No dining room! And a large sheet of glass to cover the delicate wood. Nothing on it. And when they are departed so will be the set.

A table runner is like icing on a cake.

I use special table runners seasonally and on special occasions a beautiful cloth table cover. It must be a mood thing, because I like a runner sometimes and other times prefer a table cloth or place mats. With family, I sometimes have a padded runner down the center of the table and place mats. Both protect the table. Other times I use a place mat or place mats to put centerpiece arrangements on and leave the table bare when not in use.

I feel that table runners have been done and are now outdated!

Sometimes I feel like a runner, and sometimes I don't.but I would never use a runner to hide a beautiful table

If I still had a slight doubt about adding a runner, I have now made up my mind. Nay. For this particular table, there is already too much, but even others shown look a bit heavy with it. I agree that a runner (or two) could be added, but ONLY for the holidays when busy is ok. Other than that, I'd say no.

I have a beautiful cherry table that belonged to my grandmother and I love the burgundy runner that I thought would keep it safe from scratches caused by my cats jumping on it to look out of the front window. That is until one of them hung a claw in the runner and pulled not only the runner off into the floor but also my antique water basin with pitcher...which of course broke into several pieces!!

you should definatley have something on to protect the table, you could try using a plastic protector for everyday, then using pretty runners for entertaining?

This table is striking all on its own. It is the natural focal of the room. If you wanted to improve the look, I might recommend a larger centerpiece and maybe add some silver chargers.

I agree with whoever said it depends. A lot of tables just look too cold, this particular room would be much prettier with a blue runner in a lighter silk fabric to match the artwork above the buffet. It would soften the whole look and bring the room together in a subtle way.

This room looks fine with the runner, but, of course, It all depends on the style of the room, the quality of the wood and the occasion. Most of the time, for staging, I don't use runners. When setting a table I usually find that place-mats and chargers are a better choice

I switch back and forth, at Christmas I use a mirror runner with various decorations, silver and green mercury trees with lights, mercury globes of 3 sizes that also light up, greenery. But the reflection from the mirror runner is absolutely beautiful.

I like to use them at holidays and special occasions, but otherwise they stay in the hutch. :)

I think in this room the table would look better with out a runner. The walls, chairs and rug are all the same color. No need to add it again all theway across the table. That dark wood is too pretty to hide.

I like to use a table runner when it runs the width of the table and becomes "placements". Use your table runner in a unique way or leave it in the hutch as above. A table runner should make a statement not clutter up the table.

I agree with Margo and Tiamay. On when not using the table, off when dining, then placemats go on for each place setting. I think it may depend on the length of the table and other elements in the room. the large table pictured may make the room look too heavy with the wood table top totally exposed. It could be a shorter runner as an option too. The runner tends to soften the large amount of darkness that would be seen on the table top in the room.

It depends on the occasion. I like to mix it up so I have runners but they are not always in use.

I love the chairs - whereabouts can we buy these?

I think runners are fine when used as a layer on a tablescape. But for every day use, no. This room is lovely though I'm not a fan of the wallpaper. I like the layers of gray, white and black. It may not be everyone's taste but it is soothing, simple and elegant.

I would use one, a gorgeous one, as a default setting but use placemats etc when actually dining. To my way of thinking, they are more decorative than utilitarian. But my mind can be changed depending on the ambiance I want to create. It is a relief to speak about runners and not about the more complex issues of life!

My mother, mother-in-law and grandmothers made me runners and luncheon cloths that are true works of art. It makes me smiles to see the things they've made for me on display in our home.

Table runner? Um, nope. Yet another useless item to fuss with and clean. And kinda cheesy. Sorry.

Don't apologize. I think the table runner is probably a generational thing. It can look classy or cheesy depending on the table, the table runner and the rest of the surrounding decor. It can also be functional if the table is set with the food down the center for family dinners. Im part of "baby boomer's" generation. My mother used a table runner for special holiday dinners-Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have fond memories of those times...

I find table runners to be quite dated.

I have a table runner in main dining room but not family dining area, if there are little ones around they know that pulling the table runner bring everything closer!

I like Target's runners.

I love table runners I don't like this one. I usually dress in table runners with a little more flair and never just flat!