Placemats – How To Choose A Placemat to Enhance Your Dining Experience

One of the quickest and least expensive ways to change the look and feel of your dining table is to purchase a set of new placemats. Not only will this purchase add color and style to your table but they can also aid in protecting your table from damage due to hot plates and dishes. They will also make clean-up easier after meal time as they can easily be removed from the table and either shaken or wiped clean of any food debris or spills.

Some important considerations in purchasing placemats for your dining table are: what type of material are they made from, the amount of use they will receive and who will be using them. Obviously, other factors to consider are what will best fit with your decorating style. Color, pattern, shape and design are all decisions that will be part of your placemat purchase.

If you intend to use the same set of placemats every day, selecting a more durable and easily cleaned material is key to a successful purchase. Plastic mats are both durable and clean easily but, unless small children and messy teenagers are dining at the table, they should be reserved for outdoor use. Plastic mats are far too casual for indoor dining use and are better suited to picnics and Bar-B-Ques. Vinyl, hardboard, laminates and stain resistant placemats are well suited for continual daily use and they should be able to survive children of all ages.

If you are trying to create a dining experience that is for formal entertaining, either business or pleasure, there are many different placemat materials available that can help create an air of elegance and class. Linen cloth mats, always a classic, come in many different colors and designs and they lend themselves to a more formal setting. If you are looking to jazz up your table setting, placemats that are made from bamboo, mirror type material or leather can help create a more contemporary and trendy formal atmosphere.

Creating a festive or special occasion table is easy with the wide selection of colors, textures and materials available for today’s table. A children’s party is perfect for using paper placemats and allowing the children to design their own mats as a party game. Weddings, birthdays and holidays are easy to decorate for when placemats are selected based on the color themes generally associated with that holiday or occasion.

Remember the idea behind placemats is that they are to help enhance the look and feel of your table. Certainly they can be selected to help protect your table but it is the added color and charm that they bring that helps stage the dining table and create a wonderful dining experience for everyone.