The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.
Benson Mills/Business Insider
- Placemats can liven up your dining room decor while also protecting your dining room table from food spills and water stains.
- Cultiver makes our favorite placemats with its classic, simple linen fabric that's easy to wash.
Does anything say adulthood quite like evolving beyond placing your plates directly on your kitchen table? You're a sophisticated grown-up keen on preserving your reclaimed wood or sleek glass tabletop, which is why you've invested in placemats. Both aesthetically pleasing and functional, placemats are undoubtedly a staple of any well-meaning kitchen. Because you weren't raised in a barn.
When thinking about how to enter adulthood and purchase your first set of placemats, you'll want to keep a few things in mind. First and foremost, what material are you most drawn to? Different materials will serve different purposes, and be either more or less easy to keep clean. For example, if you're intrigued by a linen placemat, you'll want to consider that they'll be considerably harder to reuse between washes than, say, a plastic or wooden placemat.
Along a similar vein, you'll want to think about how often you're hoping to use your placemats. Indeed, you may want to have one set for everyday use, and another for guest appearances.
Also key to consider will be your color scheme and pattern preference. Placemats can make quite the statement in an otherwise monochromatic dining space, so take this as your opportunity to introduce some color into your life.
You may also want to keep in mind the temperature of your average bowl or plate - if you tend to serve hot soup rather than cold salads, you may need a placemat that is capable of standing up to warmer foods.
Finally, as ever, you'll want to consider price points. While placemats probably won't ever be the most expensive items in your kitchen, some are certainly more expensive than others. But regardless which of our favorite placemats you choose to try, we're certain you won't go wrong.
Here are the best placemats you can buy:
- Best placemats overall: Cultiver Linen Placemats
- Best protective placemats for your table: Pauwer Placemats
- Best decorative placemats: Benson Mills Pressed Vinyl Placemat
- Best placemat for kids: UpwardBaby Silicone Placemat
- Best alternative material placemats: Coconut Twig Placemats
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Find all the best offers at our Coupons page.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.