Tablecloth and Placemat Tips for Showcasing Your White China

Tips for Showcasing White China

Sleep expert and professional interior designer Jennifer Adams is back to answer your questions and provide some helpful advice! Today, Jennifer responds to a reader?s question about which tablecloth and placemats are best to use with mostly white china:

Choosing the Right Tablecloth

Thanks for sharing your question with me! The beauty of classic dinnerware such as yours is that it really can go with just about anything you want! For a stunning and timeless look that?s perfect for any time of year, choose a charcoal gray tablecloth. Go with a standard solid, or you can also use a subtle, low-contrast print. Ivory and lighter shades of gray can be dressed up for Christmastime or can be mixed with pastels for spring. Dark navy, deep burgundy or spicy pumpkin can also help to mix things up for the seasons, and neutral colors generally work well year-round.

Using Placemats and Chargers to Help Set Things Apart

White tablecloths always look nice, but you don?t necessarily want your dining room to look like a whiteout. To set off your mostly white dishes, use a contrasting placemat or charger under the dinner plates. You may or may not be familiar with the term ?charger,? but you?ve certainly seen them. Chargers look like big plates, but they aren?t meant to serve food. They?re basically designed to be a decorative anchor for your place setting, and they can be made from a variety of materials including wood, metal, plastic, wicker, or even papier-m?ch?.

Ideas for Holidays and More Formal Settings

For the holidays and any dressier occasions, think silver and sparkles! Silver mesh or fabrics woven with silver and white threads will play up the platinum edge of your china and can help create a wintrier (or just plain elegant) feel. Accessorize with shiny or aged silver ornaments. Adding a sprig of rosemary or a touch of fresh greenery to each plate setting is also a nice way to finish the look.

Fabric Considerations for Dining Room Linens

While beautiful linen tablecloths, placemats, and napkins are among my favorites, you should know that modern low-maintenance fabrics have come a long way. Far from the rough polyester napkins of a few years ago that stained easily, today?s microfibers are soft, elegant, and much easier to care for. They?re more absorbent, too. Nowadays, you really can find napkins that are both elegant and practical, and that you?ll actually enjoy using!

Performance Fabrics for Your Bedroom, TooSpeaking of microfibers, bedding fabrics have come a long way, too. Jennifer Adams spent many years on her quest to design the world?s softest luxury sheet sets, and in testing every fabric she could find, what she ended up putting her name on is a brushed, performance microfiber that?s a beautiful combination of softness, style, durability, and ease of maintenance. This premium Lux performance fiber is something you really have to see and feel to believe, and it?s available in a wide range of luxury bedding items from Jennifer Adams!

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