I have been holding off on my favorite topics — sheets, plates, etc.  for France as I would love to be able to really explore my Grandmother’s collection when we arrive next week!!    Placemats might be mistaken for a mundane item but can be a great contributor to a lively table and are essentials in our house.   We mostly rely on our woven ones which are our “everyday”  of which we have 24 (here is an upgraded version, and some in blue) but have some special blue and white, and I love cork rectangular/square/circles too.  My mother sent me new fabulous ones for Mother’s day which I can’t wait to show you — going to reveal properly with a themed table soon 🙂

We have our everyday and then maybe five or six sets of special (maybe more now) placemats which are great additions for mixing up a tabletop.   A full collection for us is 12 (we have 24 of our everyday as mentioned above), and then we have lots of incomplete but totally functional sets of six or eight.  The cork placemats above are from pottery barn and are really fun — so easy to wipe down and fun for many occasions, I love collecting just six for smaller parties.   I also love these stars for the summer, and these for breakfast.   A full collection is 12-24 for me!  The Matouk placemats below are our most treasured and most special.  They are my favorite color and the most beautiful layered linen.  Definitely worth the splurge for special occasions, like the holidays!  As are these fun rounds in both gold and silver. 

I love the quilted texture of the round tropical above, and the bottom two are very smart and very reasonable — you won’t worry if your guests spill their red wine on them!   Here are two companies — India Amory and Pomegranate Inc.  — where I love to grab block print placemats from and are a little off the beaten path.

And for formal cork, I retreat to Scully & Scully for the best of the best.  What are your favorites?? xxx