Tablecloth or no tablecloth?

The nice ones are not tacky. Many people use them, sometimes, for the kitchen, dining room and terrace.

I mostly take note of them during Christmas holidays.

Or are most just using placemats now?

I think it really depends on the style of furniture and context - casual in-kitchen vs formal-ish dining room for example.

On the rare occasions when I've seen people I know get formal-ish, a good white tablecloth was used.

I don't see people using them for everyday dinners, but for holiday meals they're common enough. They're very practical for large dinners, because they can make unmatched tables look like they belong in the same room, and once the tables are cleared you just shake the crumbs off and throw them in the laundry.

Placemat are often unhygienic and almost always tacky.

My mom always had a tablecloth on our table with a clear plastic cover on it. I never thought much of it, but to this day that table is still in pristine condition. It's solid oak so it's heavy as fuck, and my parents don't need a table that large anymore. But my mom insists she'll never get rid of it because they don't make tables the way they used to lol.

There's nothing tackier than a clear plastic furniture cover.

Tablecloth. Always. A beautiful white linen tablecloth is classic.

Tablecloth, but not the white linen ones or at least not always. Got any idea what they charge to clean, iron, and hang or roll one of those nowadays?

I don't like the white, a pale blue is my go to for warm weather tablecloths. A pine green color for Thanksgiving through Christmas.

Agree with the poster who said placemats are tacky.

I would say tablecloth for special occasions; placemats for everyday? Or just nothing when you are lazy, but it would depend on the surface of the table: the shinier it is the less you'll be able to get away with.

Cloth placemats that can be WASHED after each use. Or tablecloth. Or nothing. Placemats are repulsive.

Except for purposefully kitschy placemats. Plastic that can wiped and sanitized. Then I am OK.

Table cloths. Place mats are exceptionally informal. We only use them when we eat outside.

However, we do not have "fun" tablecloths. They are nearly all natural linen color or white.

What are you all doing during a meal that requires place mats to be sanitized?

We use tablecloths for every day, but they are pretty casual.

I finally gave in a few years ago and started using table cloths with a bit of polyester content (though not too much.) Now I don't have to iron them.

My dog has a placemat under his bowl. We use a linen tablecloth on our table.

I find it fun to get out the nice white linen tablecloth for formal dinners. Gives me an excuse to use the china and silver. Good to keep in practice setting a proper table. If not using a tablecloth, I use placemats for most meals when having one or more at the table. Having neither a tablecloth or placemats would make the table look naked. I have tablecloths and placemats that are simple and not distracting from the food being served. Silly or wild colors would not be recommended. Save them for when you invite a friend over for a hot dog and a bottle of two-buck Chuck.

Most posting here have horrible flyover taste. Roseanne, the lot of you.

Tablecloths are for hiding an ugly, shitty table. Just save up and buy a nice solid wood table.

Place mats for breakfast and lunch. Tablecloths for dinner.

I wear the tablecloth, a white one

My cat has 2 layers of placemats under his food and water bowls. One is a fuzzy little mat and that goes on top of a plastic "placemat" designed for cat bowls. He likes to slosh around in his water bowl and make a mess on the floor if I don't put something under it.

This thread will become a place for our Maiden Aunt Brigadeers to lay down the law on tablecloths and doilies.

You have a table?

Did someone mention tablecloths?

We use only the finest quality paper towels for our place mats. Always sanitary and clean up is a breeze.

My cat would love to eat with his food bowl on the dining room table. If I did that I would use a placemat, not a tablecloth. His claws would snag the fabric of the tablecloth.

Interesting observation, OP. You're right, you don't seem to see them as much as you used to.

Tablecloths are informal. Always. Even beautifully pressed stark white ones.

For formal dinners, no tablecloth. Ever.

Oh puleeze. If a state dinner at Buck House isn't formal, what is?

R30 is ignorant. Ignore her advice.

R30 is Ree Drummond’s social media intern.

A tablecloth is a must-- for furtive wiping.

A tablecloth is useful if it's the kind that you can just wipe spills off of it. The padding on the underside of the tablecloth also protects the table.

R20, actually, one never ate at a table without a tablecloth. First, dinner tables did not have leaves as we know them. The leaves were just unfinished pine boards used to extend the table. Second, the early varnishes would be damaged by hot plates. Bare tables were for show only. When in use, they were covered.

Though to the OP's point, tablecloths are out of fashion because they are perceived as too high maintenance. Most and home store nowadays only has placemats and runners. Most placemats are either plastic or some woven or braided grass, nether of which requires any ironing. Also, if a tablecloth gets a stain, the entire thing is damaged. If a placemat has a stain, the others are not affected, though you may have an odd number. Lastly, there is the fact that women today reject anything that reminds them of their mothers. The next generation will probably reject placemats for tablecloths.

I remember ironing tablecloths years ago. Also sheets & pillowcases. Now I don’t know where I found the time.

I don't use one now, but I still have the old white linen, embroidered tablecloth we used for holiday dinners. But I no longer have a big dining room table like we had when I was growing up, so it doesn't get any use.

The hell you say, R7!!

I love large plain cotton tablecloths that are large enough for a long overhang, and sturdy enough that they can be thrown in the washer as often as one likes. My dining tables are fairly large, so it can be challenging to find cotton clothes that fit.

Forget the aesthetic aspect. You need a table cloth to protect your table top. If you use your table to play games, especially cards, then always remember to lay a table cloth. People will scratch your table horribly with their jewelry - rings, bracelets, etc.

When you all say linen tablecloths, are you talking about ones made from actual woven linen? I don t think I've ever seen one. All the formal white tablecloths I have are damask.

R42, is this a troll post? Damask is a weave not a fiber. You have seen many linen tablecloths.

What is the purpose of a placemat? Is it to catch spills? Is it for decoration?

R44, good question. Most placemats are useless. They are either a vinyl, which will not absorb spills, or a woven/braided grass which is not absorbent and the crumbs will fall right through. Basically, they are a decoration and they define space. That is about all that they are good for.

Frau thread!

Is it considered proper to bring one's own tablecloth to Waffle House?

When I was growing up, all restaurants had candles that were lit at night. They were all enclosed in glass so they wouldn’t accidentally burn customers. I haven’t seen a candle in a restaurant in a long, long time. They’d probably get stolen immediately these days.

A great hostess always uses a tablecloth that celebrates that month's biggest holiday. So festive, y'all!

Also always use a laminated one so you can sponge off the macaroni and root beer after the guests have left.

[quote]What is the purpose of a placemat? Is it to catch spills? Is it for decoration?

Only someone who eats off of a vinyl card table would ask this.

Why not a loincloth?

Solid colour tablecloths made from Irish linen. Damask is perfectly acceptable.

R52, where do you like to buy your Irish linen solid cloths?

Jackie Onassis had a tablecloth strategy, which is outlined in the book Cooking for Madam, by her longtime cook/companion, Marta Sgubin.

She liked to keep a solid, floor-length cloth on the table, and then switch out various and sundry patterned or solid overlays that topped the cloth and went about halfway to the floor, thus giving herself the ability to match china, flowers, etc with the overlay. The overlays were made of less expensive, more washable materials and were replaced fairly regularly, while the bottom clothes were your standard-issue Park Avenue linen.

I eat at my desk.

Well heck r43, you are right. When I think of linen, I think of woven dress fabric. Never thought what might comprise damask but that explains why they are so stiff after washing (I never put them in the dryer).

You don't need a tablecloth if you bought your fucking dining table at IKEA. But if you have an actual, respectable, piece of furniture, a tablecloth is absolutely de riguer.

Fortunately, you can buy beautiful tablecloths at just about any thrift store. They have piles of them and usually just for a few dollars each. The same with linen napkins.

Pick yourself up out of the gutter, Data Loungers. Get a nice table cloth and use it.

Of course the artisanal live edge reclaimed harvest communal locally sourced farm-to-table feast word salad crowd is exempt from tablecloths or placemats but I doubt there’s many of them here.

My richest friend (ex-friend, really) tablescapes with fiestaware and a solid colored tablecloth for holidays - deep red for Christmas, thanksgiving & Valentine’s Day. Easter is light blue. Then pairs the various colors of the plates to reflect the holiday colors. Gold red, orange for thanksgiving; gold red & green for Xmas, etc.

I tried fiestaware but the cups and bowls were for dwarves, so I sent them back.

My Grandmother gave me my dining room table. It’s the same table as in the Hairspray move, (maybe Polyester.) I never use my dining room and never found a reason to replace it. It has a Formica top. I found a cover for it separately from my valances, but they’re the same color, so I love it. I bought 3.

The chairs she gave me were from another set. They had vinyl seat covers. When I decided to remove the vinny covers, I found they overlayered 14 other covers. It was like an archeological discovery back through time. She was depression era and literally dirt poor - in the days that poor people just starved to death. So, old habits died hard.

R56 - why would damask necessarily be stiff after washing? I would think if the fabric is polyester it wouldn't be stiff?

R52 - why only Irish linen?

Look. Everyone gets their own pumpkin in a bowl for thanksgiving. How practical! Now I know what to do with my leftover pumpkins!

R47, the Waffle House dress code stipulates that you must wear one.