Linens Reflections Set of 4 Placemats, Sage

Really, nothing. All I know is I've got an expensive kitchen table, 3 kids, and I'm kind of a slob. I have a wife but she's the neatest of our bunch. I've bought placemats before but I picked them up at Ikea on impluse while meandering towards the exit. Those placemats were cheap and colorful....think neons in pink, blue, yellow, green. My wife said they'd be great for when we eat outside in the summer but they don't match anything in or near our kitchen.She had me buy these. Yes, I did what she said...no, she's not the boss of me but marriage is give and take, you know? If 8 "merlot"-colored placemats (aka "red") make her a little happier then who am I to argue? Even if they are what I'd consider pricey for a few rectangles of fabric. Heck, I just went and bought MLB '11 The Show PS3 and called it even (like I said, give and take...I gave her placemats and took a videogame for myself). Now, if you look at my other reviews you'll see I spend a lot of time in the kichen, and I do love to cook. I just don't need everything to match...I only care if things work.The mats look like they do in the picture but they're stiff. Flexible, yes...it just feels like there's a sheet of plastic in the middle. They're 13" x 18" by the way, something I didn't see in the product description.All the other reviews talked about how liquids bead up on the mats so I was interested to see what would happen at dinner time with the kids. I was disappointed when all they did was slop food on the mat. So much for keeping them clean...One trip through the wash, though, and they look like new. The food came right off without staining and now the mats aren't as stiff. What's really nice is after washing the mats still lay flat. My beloved (inexpensive) Ikea mats tend to curl at the edges and corners. I can't speak to how the stains will come out of the other colors but our red, I mean "merlot", mats look great.These are pretty good mats, as placemats go, and if you need something durable I don't know how you'd find anything better than these.

I am an informal party planner, and I use this company's tablecloth for all my events because all the stains come out. I have both the Merlot and the pearl colors, and anyone who knows Indian food knows how oil and turmeric stains ruin clothing and table cloths. Not these. My pearl table clothes come out clean every time. when i am cleaning up i put some dish detergent on the stains just in case, and so far so good. There is one thing that did leave two small dots; a permanent marker. some kid got a hold of one and left some marks on the table cloth. but they getting lighter and lighter with each wash. The best thing about these is that there is no stain resistant coating (Teflon or some other dangerous chemical). It is the weave of the fabric that allows for it to be stain resistant. They never look old either and i have washed them at least 20 times. The place mats are the same top quality.

I ordered both the Merlot and the light blue. They wash up very nicely without wrinkling or having the edges roll up. If something spills on them, the liquid beads so you can just blot dry with a napkin or something. They are attractive enough for company yet durable enough for everyday use.

I have used these placemats at least half a dozen times. At first, they were everything that other reviewers describe--elegant, stain-resistant, easy to wash, great texture. But time has not been kind. After a few wash cycles, the strings have started to come out along the edges, making them look cheap. The "beading" quality that keeps liquid from absorbing has been diminished, and certain stains have yellowed and will not come out.In comparison to other linens that I have used, these placemats looked impressive when I got them, but they turned out to be pretty average in the end.

We bought a new table I don't want scratched up and have gone through several sets of placemats from nice stores. They all wrinkle up and shrink in the wash. I was afraid to wash these, just wiping them clean (which worked surprisingly well), but finally had to give in. They came out beautiful - not a single wrinkle, zero shrinkage, and soft/silky to the touch. I did not dry them - still too paranoid - but they air-dried quickly. One of the best Amazon purchases I've made. They look nice, too! Perfect with our dark-wood table.2015 Jan Update: Of course, I gave up QUICKLY on the air-drying - who has time for that kind of care with kids in the house? I'm happy to say that these mats have been dirtied up, washed, and dried at least weekly (I bought 2 sets so we can swap out during washes). They still look as good as the day I bought them in 2013. Still utterly amazed!

I thought they were beautiful, but they were a little big for my table. I washed them In and effort to shrink them a little, and that did work. It made my Christmas table look beautiful. The friends I had over for dinner really liked them too.

Poorly made, the pattern is not cut properly, it is not even. It is cut crooked on both sides. A disgrace that they have the audacity to sell such garbage. You will regret purchasing it. If there was a lower star rating i would not even give it a 1 star. I sent it back along with the so called matching napkins and got a full purchase refund.

These mats are excellent, at the price I expected something mediocre, at best. When they arrived they struck me as elegant, and actually less flimsy than I expected. They are pretty heavy and high quality. I have yet to have a stain of any kind, as they persist in appearing new. I would have been willing to pay 2x-3x as much for these. I immeadiately ordered a 2nd set as a gift. And I'm a perfectly reasonable reviewer, not one of these glass half full no matter what types. - promise.