12 Brilliant Placemat Ideas to Revamp Your Kitchen Island

The kitchen island is often the focal point of the room. An easy way to revamp your kitchen's style is by decorating the island with stylish, eye-catching placemats. Placemats instantly add color, texture, and personality to your island. Whether you want to go for a classic, casual, or modern vibe, there are so many brilliant placemat ideas to breathe new life into your kitchen.

Read on for brilliant placemat inspiration!

Materials to Consider for Kitchen Island Placemats

When selecting placemats, the material is one of the most important considerations. Popular placemat materials each have their own pros, cons, and style implications.

Leather

Leather placemats are a luxurious choice that instantly elevate your kitchen's style. The pros of leather placemats include:

• Extremely durable and long-lasting
• Easy to just wipe clean
• Adds a classic, sophisticated look

Potential cons to keep in mind are that leather can be prone to watermarks and stains if not cared for properly. Leather placemats also tend to be more expensive than other materials.

In terms of style, opt for leather placemats in rich brown or black hues. Go for a textured leather pattern or tooled design for visual interest.

Cloth/Fabric

Cloth placemats are a great budget-friendly option and come in a wide variety of colors and prints. Benefits of cloth placemats include:

• Tons of pattern and color options
• Inexpensive compared to materials like leather
• Casual, relaxed style

The downside is that cloth can stain easily from spills and food. Fabrics like linen are prone to wrinkling. When choosing cloth placemats, darker solids or subtle patterns tend to hide stains best.

Try solids, tone-on-tone prints, or buffalo check patterns for a fresh farmhouse vibe. Linens like cotton and linen give a natural look.

Silicone

Silicone placemats have grown in popularity thanks to being kid-friendly, stain resistant, and heat resistant. Benefits include:

• Can withstand hot dishes right out of the oven
• Liquid beads up and wipes off instead of staining
• Fun, bright colors available

The downside to silicone is it can sometimes seem "plastic-y" and look cheap. Muted solid colors tend to appear most stylish. Avoid neon bright shades.

Other Unique Materials

Looking to try something different? Here are a few more unique placemat materials to consider:

• Seagrass or rattan: Natural tan hue with subtle woven texture
• Felt: Inexpensive material great for crafting no-sew placemats
• Cork: Eco-friendly material with visual interest

12 Stylish Placemat Ideas for Your Kitchen Island

Now that we've covered materials, here are 12 brilliant placemat ideas to liven up your kitchen island!

1. Simple Leather Placemats

You can't go wrong with classic rectangular or square placemats in black or brown leather. The leather gives a polished, sophisticated look. Opt for a subtly textured leather that is easy to wipe down.

2. Woven Seagrass Placemats

The natural tan hue and visible woven texture of seagrass placemats bring subtle pattern and visual interest. Seagrass has a casual, organic style perfect for farmhouse kitchens.

3. Monogrammed Linen Placemats

Personalize your kitchen island by having linen or cotton placemats monogrammed with your family's initials. Choose a font style that matches your kitchen's aesthetic.

4. Farmhouse Check Placemats

Simple check print placemats in a buffalo check or classic gingham instantly give your kitchen island farmhouse charm. Red and white or black and white are classic color combos.

5. Fringed Placemats

Fringe trim along the edges of placemats adds texture, movement, and a bohemian flair. Fringed placemats look especially pretty in natural fibers like cotton, jute, or linen.

6. Geometric Print Placemats

Make a modern style statement with placemats featuring bold geometric prints. Graphic black and white patterns look particularly striking.

7. Round Rattan Placemats

The softer shape of round placemats can beautifully complement a round kitchen island. Natural woven rattan has an earthy, casual style.

8. Felt Placemats

For a fun DIY option, cut your own placemat shapes out of inexpensive felt. Go bright and bold with colors like emerald green, sapphire blue or tangerine orange.

9. Metallic Placemats

Instantly glam up your kitchen island with shiny metallic placemats. Silver, gold, bronze, rose gold and copper all create an eye-catching shimmery effect.

10. Faux Bois Placemats

Placemats mimicking a natural woodgrain look timeless and elegant. Resin placemats with etched woodgrain details are durable and easy to care for.

11. Cross-Stitch Embroidered

DIY some handmade charm by cross-stitching pretty designs onto placemats. Use embroidery floss in your favorite colors.

12. Silicone Placemats

Silicone placemats are naturally stain and heat resistant, making them ultra kid and accident friendly. Opt for muted solids over bright colors.

Tips for Styling Your Kitchen Island Placemats

Once you've selected the perfect placemats, use these tips to style them beautifully:

• Mix and match colors, patterns, and textures for visual interest
• Layer placemats over table runners for dimension
• Pick up placemat colors in coordinating napkins and centerpieces
• Change out placemats seasonally to keep your kitchen feeling fresh
• Clean spills right away before they can stain

Have fun with your placemat combinations! The options are endless.

As you can see, placemats are an easy and affordable way to give your kitchen island a fresh new look! With so many colors, prints, textures and materials to choose from, you're sure to find the perfect placemats to revamp your space.

What placemat style are you loving for your kitchen island? Let me know in the comments below your favorite placemat ideas!