Table Cloths - old fashioned?

We have a glass dining table now which would be really easy if DH hadn’t put a couple of scratchy items on it over the last couple of years, and the fingerprints!
I only use a proper tablecloth at Christmas.

I would only use a tablecloth if I needed to cover an ugly table. I much prefer lovely placemats.

I have a big unvarnished square pine table always covered with an Indian bedspread bought in a French market. I work at the table and the cloth is very forgiving - doesn’t show any marks or spills! A smaller pine table in the conservatory has a red/cream checked cloth also bought in France. They dry quickly, finished off in the drier so no ironing required. I have a drawer full of inherited cloths all shapes & sizes, never used, which I can’t bear to get rid of.

I have a lovely danish teak dining table circa 1964, its gorgeous but easily damaged with heat or scratches. I keep it covered up with a pvc cloth for everyday but if we have guests I use mats or a table runner.

I use tablecloths all the time and have some nice Christmas ones as well. I don't like the wipe down variety at all and have no young children visiting so no problems. Think there is more of a problem with red wine getting spilled. I love to see a table nicely set out with linens and glasses etc. I remember my mother embroidering table cloths and tray cloths wildswan I still have a couple of them.

I have a long mahogany table in our dinning room - very old fashioned as "no one does brown furniture these days" but I love it. I have a couple of linen cloths inherited from my mother, a long damask cloth DH's aunt wanted to be buried in but I ended up with it plus a gorgeous openwork embroidered cloth with napkins I bought years ago in Malta. I also have a padded, heat resistant cover to go under the cloths. We only use the table when we have visitor and I do think it looks lovely when it's all set especially at Christmas.

Traycloths have also disappeared out of fashion. There would always be an embroidered traycloth when serving tea to guests. I would love to embroider another one but fail to see when it would ever get used. Lazy daisy stitch, stem stitch, french knots etc etc !

Like others here, I use tablecloths bought from charity shops. Most are "easy care", and if hung up carefully after washing, they don't need ironing. (I find this works for cotton seersucker tablecloths, as well as polyester-type fabrics.) Some of my cloths are colourful and cheery, while others are in more neutral colours. I use a "protector" tablecloth underneath, in case of spills. Sometimes I use a smaller colourful tablecloth which is placed "at an angle" over a larger, plain one. (Then only the smaller one needs washing, and it can be changed easily.) IMO a tablecloth can brighten up the dining area; but I know that's not everyone's choice!

I have a collection of table cloths, some lovely inherited ones. I do like to see a table set with cloth and napkins.
When we have a large gathering I use a table protector under the cloth, then hot dishes etc can go straight onto the table, no need for mats.
For every day there’s a runner, placemats and heat mats.

When it is just me I use placemats, but I use tablecloths for gatherings, usually Sunday lunch, and was thinking of sending some to the charity shop because they don't get used.
I intend to use the tray cloth, (remember them) that my mother embroidered for the coronation in the coming months.

The best place for vintage table cloths is ebay. I’ve bought hand embroidered ones in fantastic condition for small costs.

Christmas and special occasions. Our dining room table is highly polished - we just use table mats etc when it’s just DH and I day to day.

We only use a red one at Christmas, for a festive touch.

I don’t use them for every meal and (usually) take them off after use but we have a circular table and l like to use them for dinner. Most of mine are vintage M and S.

No, I don’t even have room for a dining table. So no table cloths for me. I also think it’s an out of date thing now. I would much rather have a table I can wipe over with a clean cloth.

I love the idea of using white linens but I just have an oilcloth one

I always use a tablecloth, in both dining room and kitchen. I have a posh dark green one for special occasions.

I only started using one in the kitchen after DGS 3 tapped on the pine table with a hexagonal salt pot and made lots of tiny dimples in it.

We've just brought loads of them to the Charity shop when clearing out my late mother's house. She hadn't used them for years. My sister kept some of the hand embroidered ones and I kept the Christmas one.

I would like them to come back in fashion in restaurants. They are good for absorbing noise.

I like crisp white linen table cloths when entertaining ...napkins to match.....otherwise have various coloured/patterned TC's. John Lewis also sells them. I dont keep them on table all the time though, put them on at meal times.

They are definitely 'old hat' but do what you like! I have two lace tablecloths, one quite old, but I never get them out any more. I can't see the point, it is easier to wipe the table than wash a tablecloth. My dining table has an amazing surface so the wood must be coated with something I guess. It does not need protection and has survived children doing all manner of things on it for the last 35 years. Looks as good as new!

I also have a beautiful design Collier and Campbell Christmas cloth, huge with matching napkins. It dates from the 1970s when I bought it for my mother. She passed it on to me, when she moved. Its used every Christmas.

I still use them occasionally, and always on Christmas Day! My abiding childhood memory is Mum gathering the table cloth up and passing it to me to shake outside .

Restaurants don’t always use tablecloths and the noise echoes terribly.

I use them on my antique French polished dining table but not on the kitchen one if it is being used for eating.

Come to France Musicgirl where they are sold in the local shops and markets.

Next sell them, so they can’t be old fashioned. A lot of the more modern ones are wipe clean material though, even if they look like cotton.

I ve never ever used a table cloth my Mum and Dad did even for a snack meal and my Nan/ grandad did too but I never have I ve got a lovely wooden (not polished) table and it seems a lot easier to wipe the table than keep washing table clothes I don’t think any of my children do either