Table Linens

C'est magnifique! (Yes, they're French!)

Got a bag full of other bags? Read this!

Target just launched more than 2,000 new and exclusive holiday finds.

With a bottle of fabric dye and an inexpensive canvas drop cloth, you can make a beautiful tablecloth — just in time for the holidays!

If you have an old picnic table that’s ugly and scarred, or if you’re at a public picnic site and want to cover the table tops with something cheerful and easy to clean, consider this: oilcloth! A few yards will instantly add a bright and celebratory vibe to your gathering!Oilcloth used to be just that: a heavy duty cotton or linen cloth that was soaked in linseed oil until it became saturated. The cloth was then hung to dry to produce an almost waterproof fabric.

A beautifully set table is a lesson in balance, the shaping and bringing together of both the practical and the decorative. Our tabletop and dining posts this year focused on that delicate balance, with recommendations on everything from our favorite no-fuss serving dishes to pretty polka-dot table linens, from classic carafes to gorgeous gold flatware.

Easter is one of those holidays that can send you down the literal rabbit hole on Pinterest — especially if you’re hosting the holiday at your house. Should you turn eggs into little bunnies to use as place card holders? How can you fold those napkins into bunny ears? Would it be impossible to make that cake that looks like a little bunny butt? As nice as they are, all of these Easter moments take time, craft skills, and money. If you’re short on any of that (we are!

Take a look to see what won for Jersey, California, Texas, etc! We shopped every single state to find the best gifts.

You can spend hours and hours just looking at the cards and invitations on Minted. In fact, I’m willing to bet you have. Many times. (I know it was my go-to for my wedding and has never let me down for any stationery need since then.) The site has hundreds of options from independent artists, and a quality and aesthetic that seems unrivaled by its competitors.

Believe it or not, Etsy is now 13 years old. Which means, if it were a person, it could officially see PG-13 movies and yell things like, “UGH, you just don’t understand.” But because it’s an online marketplace for creators, a 13th birthday just means an excuse to have a sale. The sale, which runs now through June 22, includes more than a million listings across the entire site.

The folks at Target have been pretty busy lately. In 2017, the store reintroduced Threshold (one of our favorite brands of all time!), launched an approachable modern line called Project 62, and teamed up with Chip and Joanna Gaines to give us fun farmhouse-y finds through Hearth & Hand with Magnolia. And now, just a few months into 2018, they’re launching Opalhouse. What exactly is Opalhouse?

My daughters are 3 and 5. And while breakfast is usually at the kitchen island and lunch is away at school, we make an effort to sit down to dinner every night. When they were younger they would eat dinner really early — before my husband and I even got home from work (we’d start our meal after they were in bed). But now that my girls can hold out until 6:02 p.m. without self-destructing, we make an effort to all sit down together for dinner every night. This can be tricky.

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of cloth napkins around here. Not only do they look nicer on the table (or on your desk for an office lunch), but they also cut back on waste and make a typical meal feel just a little more special. We have a million and one cloth napkins in the Kitchn studios. Our editors use them, our photo team scatters them around during shoots, our video crews pull them out — we have a lot of people using them.

Hit up Etsy for one succulent planter and you’re bound to end up spending the rest of your afternoon poking around on the site. There are so many things! It can obviously be a lot of fun, but it can also be totally overwhelming. To help you stay a little more focused, we spoke with Etsy’s Trend Expert, Dayna Isom Johnson, to learn about what’s hot right now (among sellers and shoppers).

The party problem: You’re throwing a Southern-themed brunch or dinner and aren’t quite sure how to set the table. The party trick: Use bandanas as napkins. We adore cloth napkins at the table, but we’re not blind to how much they can cost. It’s especially hard to justify when you want something fresh and colorful for a special occasion — it’s not exciting to drop $10 apiece on new napkins!

Even if you think they’re fussy or too much work, we’ve got some good reasons why you should own (and use!) cloth napkins. No one wants to use paper napkins that are going to disintegrate after a few quick hand wipes during a messy meal. A cloth napkin can stand up to the messiest fingers — every single time. If your response to the gripe above is to just use paper towels, please stop right there. Paper towels (and paper napkins) are super wasteful.

As you may have figured out by now, you can put pretty much anything in the IKEA RÅSKOG cart, including kitchen linens. Your clever and styled cart will look right off the showcase floor, which in turn will inspire you time and time again to tightly tie that apron, lay the tablecloth down, and reach for your favorite embroidered napkins.

When it comes to summer DIY projects, there’s nothing better than shibori. It’s a little messy, completely free-form, and a lot of fun. Plus, you can feel a bit like a hippie mad scientist stirring up a bucket of dye in the backyard in preparation of this tie-dyeing project. But lest you think shibori is a one-trick wonder, we found five glorious DIY projects to show off its full range. Spoiler alert: Indigo isn’t the only color you can use.

I travel a lot for work and fun, and shopping while abroad is one of my favorite things to do. With all the idiosyncratic treasures out there to be had, and the thrill of the hunt, bargain, and score, I actually prefer shopping in foreign locales! Plus, the items I bring home evoke fond memories every time I use them. Here are the five souvenirs I always bring home in my suitcase. I love tea and the magic of tea salons all over the world, so whenever I go somewhere, I seek out these hideaways.

The newest design collaboration from Target was released last weekend, and it features one of our all-time favorite brands: Marimekko. The iconic Finnish brand, known for its use of pattern and color, lives up to its reputation with this affordably priced line. While we spent plenty of time drooling over the swim coverups, kids clothes, and throw pillows, it was the kitchen linens and tabletop items that really stole our hearts. Even better?

If there’s a day to go overboard with cuteness, it’s Easter. Why not get hopped up on pastels? This year, consider adding any of these adorable serving dishes, plates, napkins, and more to the pieces you already have. We guarantee there’s something for everybunny. 1.

I know — how can we possibly talk about napkin folding when you’re still using paper napkins at the table? Disposable may cut it for everyday dining, but if you’re setting out paper napkins when guests come over, cute design or not, it’s time for an upgrade. First you’ll need to get yourself a set of 100 percent cotton napkins, or make them yourself. You don’t even have to spend a lot! Most home stores have a least a few options on sale.

When I visited IKEA a while back, the summer collection had just hit stores. I always look forward to IKEA’s seasonal collections (February’s was pretty great), and the summer line is no different. With its recurring pear and strawberry motifs and subtle checks in pink, white, and green, it’s super fun and playful without going over the top. Here are the 10 things I’d totally get for my kitchen. Sommar 2015 Tablecloth in assorted patterns, $14.

The first set of cloth napkins I can remember owning was a cream-colored pair given to me as a gift. They were lovely out of the box, but didn’t stay lovely long. It only took a couple saucy dinners and a few lazy loads of laundry to relegate them to the back of my linen closet. Dingy, stained white napkins are just too sad. After this I was off cloth napkins for a few years, convinced they were too fussy for regular use.

Nobody does color and pattern quite like Finnish company Marimekko. We’ve long been fans of their kitchen textiles, and we still love this super colorful pot holder. As if that weren’t enough, now we’re smitten with their vibrant paper napkin collection! How pretty would these be at your next summer bash? Marimekko’s paper napkins come in sets of 20, and range between $4 and $7, depending on where you purchase them. (Crate & Barrel and FinnStyle carry most styles.

Whether you’re looking for one-of-a-kind, hand-printed linen napkins or a good buy on something basic, crafters on Etsy have a range of linen napkins to choose from that suit the spectrum. Ten of our favorites are listed here:TOP ROW Pillowlink‘s set of 12, $60 Handmade in Highbury’s screen printed set of 2, $22 Giardino’s hand-printed set of 4, $40 Aqua Door Designs’ screen printed set of 4, approx.

The ikat trend probably hit its peak sometime last year, but it’s still around. (Not sure what ikat is? Read all about it here.) For a small touch of the textile in your home, look to placemats. As my mother would say, it’s a great way to jazz up your dinner table. And you know what? She’s right!

Looking for a cheap yet pretty way to style your dinner table? Think like a restaurant, and use dish towels as napkins!While Faith first shared this tip a few years ago, the folks at Turntable Kitchen reminded us of it again in a recent post. The TEKLA dish towels from IKEA are super inexpensive ($0.49 a towel) so you can buy a few dozen at a time. Roll ’em up and tie with a leather string, like Turntable Kitchen did in the photo above, or a piece of twine.