Fun At Your Table: A "Place Setting" Placemat

Bryan and I still live in an apartment and don't have a great dining room table. In fact, I still have the same dining room table I bought straight-out-of-USC as my first "adult" dining room table. It's compact-able, having traveled with me from LA to Chicago, Chicago to Dallas, Dallas to Scottsdale and finally settling in a tight dining room in our 1950's LA apartment. Forget the fact that it can barely accommodate the plates and wine glasses of four people; it's great for other things (stacks of mail, anyone?) and until we upgrade to an adult home with an adult table, it still does the trick.

That's not to say I will buy accoutrements for it, as we still use the same placemats from years past and "wow" our guests with paper towel napkins. We're pretty casual, I guess you could say. Which is why I think these Place Setting placemats, made by Donkey Products (don't get me started) are really cool. If you're at risk of forgetting how to place the knives vs. forks, consider your problem solved. Same goes for the wine and water glass arrangement. The placemats blueprint-esque design makes it both modern and a great conversation starter.

Photo courtesy of Design-3000.de

And while you're at it, why not check out the DIY tablecloth? It comes with markers so your guests can thank you for a dinner well done right in front of your eyes. Or draw pictures of flowers and butterflies. Their choice. :)

Photo courtesy of Design-3000.de