The best placemats you can buy for your dining table

Why you'll love them: If your primary purpose in purchasing placemats is to protect your table, then Pauwer Placemats are the way to go.

There’s a reason Pauwer Placemats are among the best-selling options on Amazon. Not only are they affordable at just $10 for a set of four, but they’re also made from a heat-resistant PVC material. That means that if you’re putting down a particularly hot plate or steaming bowl, you won’t need to worry about leaving a mark on your table.

While you shouldn’t test the heat resistant qualities of the PVC, Pauwer notes that its high-quality placemat is actually flame retardant. Plus, the vinyl is easy to clean. In fact, you don’t even need to throw these placemats through the wash. Simply wipe them down when you’re done with your meal, and let them live to see another day.

Pauwer placemats also dry surprisingly quickly, so after you take a sponge to these guys, you won’t have to let them air out for hours on end. Rather, I’ve generally rolled them up and put them away shortly thereafter, and haven’t had to deal with any mildewy or moldy smells upon my next usage. Because these placemats are so flexible, they’re also exceedingly easy to store.

These mats come in sets of four, six, and eight, and while each one is 17.7 by 11.8 inches, you can trim them down easily to be the appropriate size and shape for your table, should you need to. There are also 10 colors and designs to choose from for maximal customization.

Pros: Heat-resistant, protective, easy to clean, affordable, wide range of colors

Cons: These placemats slip around a bit, but you can put another placemat beneath them to stop that

Buy a set of 4 Pauwer Placemats on Amazon for $9.99 (price varies by color)

Why you'll love them: If you’re looking to make a statement with your placemats, the Benson Mills Blossom Pressed Vinyl Placemats will help you do just that.

If you tend to have trouble getting the conversation going around your dinner table, you could get a set of placemats that are conversation starters in and of themselves. Benson Mills Blossom Pressed Vinyl Placemats are precisely those placemats, what with their unique webbed design and luxurious metallic colors.

While you — and more importantly, your guests — may think that these placemats belong at a wedding reception or Michelin-starred restaurant rather than your home, you’ll be delighted to find that a set of four of these eye-catching mats will set you back just $11 on Amazon. Made of pressed vinyl, they’re not only easy on the eyes, but easy to clean as well with a sponge or damp cloth.

Of course, these placemats are intended for use at your kitchen or dining room table, but I’ve also found that they make beautiful settings for vases, decorative plates, and a wide range of other trinkets that need just a little bit of extra elegance to help them look their best. And thanks to their affordable price point, you can certainly grab a few extra sets to use around the house.

Nearly 200 customers on Amazon have given these placemats 4.7 out of 5 stars, with one happy reviewer noting, “I purchased these silver placemats to complete my dining room table for Christmas. They’re perfect! They look beautiful both on the table cloth or on the bare wood table.”

The placemats come in five different colors and designs, so you can mix and match based on your aesthetic.

Pros: Beautiful, unique design, affordable price point, vinyl makes for easy cleaning and caring

Cons: Because of the webbed design, these aren’t the best for keeping liquid off your table

Buy the Benson Mills Pressed Vinyl Placemat on Amazon for $10.99

Why you'll love them: When you have a new baby or young kid in the house, you may want to protect your surfaces with the UpwardBaby Silicone Placemats.

As cute as your child may be, the mess that he or she creates at every meal time is less than adorable. Luckily, you can make cleaning up said mess a bit easier by investing in a set of UpwardBaby Silicone Placemats. Not only are these mats surprisingly cute, what with their cloud shape, but they're also both baby-proof and baby safe.

The three-piece set is made of non-slip 100% BPA-free silicone, which means that it'll stay in place throughout mealtime, and won't harm your child if he or she decides to try to make it part of the meal. For extra stickiness, you could also try wetting the bottom of these mats.

Supremely lightweight and easy to transport, this set is great to take on the go. So if you're visiting grandma and grandpa and hoping for a return invitation, you might want to bring the UpwardBaby placemats along with you.

Each set comes with a gray, a blue, and a green placemat, and measures 11 by 3 by 3 inches. While that's not sizable enough for an adult, it's quite fitting for a child. And when you're done using them, you can just throw them in the dishwasher for the easiest cleanup imaginable.

Amazon reviewers have given this set 4.4 out of 5 stars, with happy parents noting that these are some of the most frequently used items in their baby toolkit.

As one reviewer noted, "These mats are awesome! As a parent of two young kids that love to be outdoors, the heavy duty mats provide a barrier between dropped food and dirty picnic tables, resulting in less waste. I really like how easy they are to roll up, take out, use, and clean up."

Pros: 100% BPA-free silicone construction, dishwasher-safe, non-slip, great size for kids

Cons: These aren't the most multifunctional placemats, as they work pretty much exclusively for your kids

Buy a set of three UpwardBaby Silicone Placemats on Amazon for $28.97

Why you'll love them: These wooden placemats available at World Market are a great favorite among interior designers, and with their unique aesthetic, it’s not hard to see why.

If you’re tired of silicone, linen, or vinyl placemats, you may consider laying some wood on your table instead. The Coconut Twig Placemats from World Market are an unexpected addition to your kitchen or dining room table that just might make you the talk of the town.

These placemats are favorites among the folks at New York Magazine, and as interior designer Matthew Smyth told the publication, "I love the handsome rustic look of these placemats. It can be the perfect backdrop for simple Japanese stoneware or it can tone down and highlight formal French faience dinner plates. Mixing both on top works well also!"

Made in the Philippines, this set of four is made of real coconut twigs tied together with cotton fiber. Each is 13 inches by 19 inches, which means that they’ll actually going to cover a fair amount of surface area on your table.

They also pair well with the entire Coconut Twig Table Linen Collection from World Market, which includes a $10 runner that will certainly add some rustic charm to your home decor.

While you can’t throw these placemats in the dishwasher, you can just wipe them down with a damp cloth, which makes for pretty straightforward cleaning. Plus, these mats actually do a surprisingly good job at keeping liquid and food particles off your table and are relatively heat resistant, too.

Pros: Unique aesthetic, extremely affordable, easy to care for, heat resistant

Cons: Wood isn’t quite as easy to store as other materials, may be a bit less durable than man-made materials

Buy the Coconut Twig Placemats from World Market for $7.92