We purchased this set of twelve ecru placemats and napkins when we visited Prague as a family. I enjoy the petite size, allowing the wood of the table to be the star. It also appears that more starch should have been used when they were pressed!
Placemat prerogatives!
My daughter Alexandra, who lives in England, adores entertaining and hosting dinner parties. Her lovely dining room table is always dressed for a party with a white damask or linen tablecloth, a timeless traditional choice.
However, during months of lockdown with four children (including a set of four-year-old twins!), three meals a day take place in the kitchen on the lengthy wooden antique refectory table, sans a white damask tablecloth, avec placemats! She posed several questions to me about placemats, because now she only has contempt for them! In her words, “It is just one more thing to clean after endless meals... why do we even need them!?”
Tablecloths have been adorning dining tables for ages, and are thought to have come to Europe in the first century A.D. Their Lilliputian cousin, the placemat, is a neoteric invention! In the twentieth century, bright colors and patterns began to emerge as “placemats” instead of a tablecloth. Much easier to clean and less expensive! Placemats began to be used for both informal and formal occasions, depending on the fabric.
Why use placemats?
To protect the table from scratches when plates are moving around, and from heated plates. I also think they add a liveliness to the table!
Do they need to match the plates, napkins, and walls?
Placemats add a decorative aspect to the table. The color of the room, along with decorative details such as the porcelain plates, napkins, centerpiece or floral arrangement, should all be taken into consideration when choosing a placemat to adorn your table.
How long does the placemat stay on the table?
Placemats stay on the table for the entire meal, unlike the use of a charger, which is removed before the main course, or before dessert is served.
What size placemat is best to use?
Linen placemats are approximately 12” x 18”. If you are going to use placemats, I think that a table has a glorious appeal with more of the handsome, polished wood showing. Hence, I collect smaller placemats! The silver and crystal have a certain sparkle when set on the wood, especially when enhanced with candlelight.
This fine, three-tier, DANISH brass chandelier is c. 1900 and has TWELVE stunning arms to elegantly illuminate any room with a majestic presence. There are six reflectors that are at the top, which also contributes to “throwing the light”! 31 1/2” High x 30 1/2” Diameter. For more information, please visit www.WhitmanAntiques.com.
What is considered an informal placemat?
Informal placemats are made of various materials such as woven straw, leather, shagreen, capiz shells, cork, and more. They also come in a variety of sizes.
My all-time favorite placemats for informal meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are hand-painted wooden placemats, lacquered, and felt-backed from England. They are practical while also elegantly understated. From impromptu dinner parties to when my grandchildren come to visit, I treasure this type of placemat (versus fabric or woven ones) because they can simply be wiped off! And they are so attractive that they may remain on the table until the next meal. I MUST send some of these to Alexandra… I wish I could send her a cook, too!
From my experience, I think that Scully and Scully have the best assortment of English wood placemats! Their felt-backing also allows them to be used as a trivet for hot dishes. I adore the round selection and own the Delany floral design. They are approximately 10” in diameter. I also like the small, square-ish selections at 8” x 9 ½”. The handsome Hunt Scene set is slightly larger, rectangular, and covers more of the table for when the grandbabies are dining! I use pretty pink floral placemats, purchased in Bermuda, on the verandah in the summer. They are perfect for outdoor dining because they do not blow away!
Hunt Scene Mats, Green.
Delany Flower Round Mat & Coasters.
Does silver flatware go on top or to the side of the placemat?
For smaller placemats, such as the 10” diameter, the flatware and napkin rest on the table, not on the placemat. For the larger placemats, such as the Hunt Scene, 15 1/2 “ x 11 ½”, the flatware goes on the placemat, but the napkins are placed on the table next to the placemat. Additionally, after placing the flatware atop the larger placemat, if there is still room the napkin can be placed on the placemat as well.
Do you place glasses on placemats?
You can try to place the glass on a fabric placemat, but from my experience, glasses become sometimes tippy. I prefer to place glasses on the table, next to and above the placemat. Coasters are needed for stemless glasses with ice, but not for stemmed wine glasses.
Do placemats touch the edge of the table?
No, placemats are placed about 1” above the edge of the table.
Can you mix and match them, if you do not have enough to go around?
Yes, if the placemats are the same design and size, but the colors are different, or if the pattern and size complement one another, they can be displayed together. For example, I have alternated a set of six yellow linen placemats with the same set of six in pink at an Easter luncheon for twelve.
Millennial Tip
The finest quality white damask, lace, and linen tablecloths are still considered de rigueur (required by etiquette) to be the most formal and cherished because they were the most expensive to purchase and maintain, requiring superb cleaning, along with a starched pressing.
To be noted, a placemat in an elegant fabric such as linen, lace, organdy, or a similar counterpart (in either white or ecru), still reigns supreme on the formality scale. These placemats, along with the coordinating napkins as a set, will always be appropriate for any occasion. Because of their neutrality in color, will complement any room design. One can not go wrong with this choice; it is always a good investment to have a set.
Placemats and napkins can be customized with embroidery, donning the initials of the hostess of the house.
Traditionally, if a runner is used, it is made of the same linen fabric as the placemats and napkins, and approximately 3’ in length. They are used to enhance the centerpiece and may go under a pair of candlesticks, or candelabra, depending on the length of the table.
Forbidden Faux Pas
No-no: To have decorative table runners that run the entire length of the table, or drop over the end of the table.
No-no: To place a placemat on top of a tablecloth. Use one or the other.
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