Pamper your Plates with Bamboo Placemats

Bamboo placemats are sleek… they are chic, and they add an exotic Asian flair to your dining table. And every set of dishes I know of looks great on a bamboo placemat, even bamboo plates. Bamboo placemats vary quite a bit in color and style. My favorites are the natural, heavenly bamboo colors… simple lines… exquisite! But there are other styles of bamboo placemats as well.

Bamboo placemats constructed from simple lines of natural bamboo strips strung together with string are not the only kind of bamboo placemats you can purchase. Since bamboo can be processed into bamboo fiber it can be woven from fiber strips, creating a checkerboard type of pattern. It can also be interwoven with other types and colors of fabric, creating bamboo placemats in virtually any accent color you need. Especially when you consider that bamboo itself comes in almost any color of the rainbow, the effects of interweaving can be very dramatic.

If you also have a bamboo cutting board, bamboo vase, or bamboo mats, you may want to match the color so they coordinate in your kitchen or dining room.

Aside from the obvious use of you bamboo placemats to both protect the surface of your dining table, and to show off your place settings, there are many other things you can do with your bamboo placemats. Consider this list of uses:

1. Hang the bamboo placemat on the wall with a small framed picture in front. This can give a small picture a larger presence and graceful presentation.
2. Store a few of them in the trunk of your car. They make a great sanitary surface to eat from when you are traveling or picnicking.
3. Wrap one around a plain glass jar. Secure it in place with a ribbon tied around the outside. You now have a beautiful vase to hold those flowers that came unexpectedly!
4. Use one in front of your cat box to help collect the dust and debris from kitty paws as they exit the box.
5. They are an excellent addition to your crafts bin. A creative child can paint on it or create a collage on it.
6. Last but not least, you can create a creative centerpiece by snipping the string from one edge of the bamboo placemat and pulling the other edge into a circle around a vase. It will fan out in a spray effect like a sun burst! (Must use the simple natural bamboo placemat made from strips of bamboo stock for this to work.)

As you can see, from the elegant to the creative, bamboo placemats are versatile and a great addition to your home. They are so versatile; consider having several styles of bamboo placemats.