Everything You Need to Know About Table and Kitchen Linens

From festive holiday hand towels to elegant cloth cocktail napkins, investing in high-quality, gorgeous linens for your home is essential for any host. We've discovered that something as small as a kitchen towel or cloth placemat can brighten a room. With countless creative designs and versatile ways to incorporate different linens into your décor, table and kitchen linens should be a part of every home.

We’ve discovered firsthand the importance of surrounding yourself with things that elevate your everyday life, from holiday hand towels in the bathroom to matching placemats in the dining room. Every piece you choose helps to arrange your home just the way you want it. Having entertaining essentials you love, like cloth napkins and kitchen linens, makes it easy! Unlock the many benefits of using cotton placemats, cotton-linen blend dish towels, and more with our everyday and seasonal linens collections.

The Importance of Kitchen Linens

They may seem small, but every type of kitchen linen, from a decorative hand towel to the napkins, has the power to transform the atmosphere and décor of your space. With simple touches, like hanging decorative hand towels in your guest bathroom and setting a pretty placemat for an intimate dinner party, these little cloth details can make an impact on how you and your guests view your home.

Why We Love Linens

Bring vibrant colors and inspired designs into your home with our stylish kitchen and table linens. Every cloth napkin, placemat, and dish towel is created to be as practical as it is functional, so while beauty is certainly a goal when we design (how could it not be), we know cleanup is a priority.

Everything, from our cocktail napkins to our kitchen towels, is designed for endless combinations, allowing you to take creative chances on the table and in your home. Use a carefully coordinated set of cloth napkins and placemats, or be bold by mixing and matching different linens together to create a dream tablescape for your gathering.

What Are Our Linens Made Of?

Most of our table linens are made with 100% cotton, while our hand towels are crafted from a 50/50 cotton-linen blend. No matter how often you use them, our cloth napkins and dish towels get softer with every wash, so they'll feel luxurious and plush, even after multiple uses. Many of our favorite placemats and napkins are enhanced with hand-embroidered details to add a special design touch to your table.

5 Reasons to Use Kitchen Linens

Whether you're looking to replace your current dish towels or refresh your placemats for a holiday tablescape, there are many reasons to invest in linens for your home.

1. Elevate a Tablescape with Cloth Napkins and Placemats

Taking the time to set a place for your guests, no matter the occasion, makes them feel welcome and adds a special touch. Cloth napkins and placemats will always feel more luxurious than paper alternatives. Some may treat table linens and hand towels as an afterthought, but they can make or break the design of a tablescape. This easy switch to cloth placemats helps you layer in a bold color, pattern, or texture to bring depth and style to your tablescape, no matter the theme.

2. Use Kitchen Towels to Dry Dishes

When your kitchen towels aren't hanging prettily off the oven door, they are great for carefully hand drying your curated dinnerware collection. Made from an absorbent cotton-linen blend and featuring beautiful designs, every dish towel can be put to work! Make doing the dishes as enjoyable as it can be by investing in plush, patterned dish towels for your home.

3. Decorate Your Home with Linens

Linens are a thoughtful way to decorate a few key areas in your home, mainly the bathroom, kitchen, and dining table. When you find patterns you love, setting the table with cloth napkins or adding hand towels to the bar cart can transform a room or tie together a theme throughout your spaces. Every linen in your collection can make a difference to the atmosphere of your home, from the cocktail napkins you set out for guests to your everyday kitchen towel. 

4. Kitchen Towels Are Essential for Hosting

Kitchen towels are a necessary item for hosting any event. Before guests arrive, use one to polish up your favorite wine and cocktail glasses. While cooking, keeping a dish towel nearby can help you dry off your hands and keep your countertops clean. Once your gathering’s ended, your kitchen towels are perfect for a quick and easy cleanup. 

5. Cloth Napkins and Dish Towels Can Be Reused

Skip the disposable options and invest in beautiful, sustainable dish towels and cloth napkins. We love helping the earth by reusing our favorite placemats and cloth napkins time and time again. When your linens get dirty, just throw them in the wash, and they'll come out good as new for your next use.

Using Different Types of Linens for Entertaining:

Whether you're looking for a complete set for an intimate gathering or to mix and match different linens, unlock your inner designer at your next event with these three types of linens: 

1. Hand towels
2. Cloth napkins
3. Placemats

The Many Uses of Hand Towels

We grew up using hand towels in different rooms of the house, but if you're new to entertaining, you may not know how versatile kitchen towels can be. From enhancing the décor of your bathroom to cleaning up your kitchen, a collection of hand towels for the home should be on everyone’s list.

Our large hand towels are designed to double as kitchen towels for whatever you need, from drying dishes and utensils to hands in the kitchen. Our smaller hand towels are great for decoration or quick drying. Whether you pair the two together or use one on its own for a pop of pattern, you'll love these versatile towels.

Setting the Table with Cloth Napkins and Placemats

While some formal, seated gatherings call for a traditional tablecloth, cloth placemats and cloth napkins can achieve the same upscale look. Whether you’re hosting a celebratory birthday dinner or an average weeknight meal, linens can help you set the table for any occasion.

Pro tip: if you're serving drinks to guests, always have cocktail napkins at their place or in the bar area. That way, they can mingle throughout your gathering while carrying their tasty beverages and keeping hands and tables dry.

5 Ways How to Show Off Your Kitchen Linens

From entertaining to storage, we enjoy finding innovative ways to use our favorite kitchen linens. Here are our five favorite creative ways to display and store our cloth napkins and dish towels around the home:

1. Create a matching set
2. Stack up on a bar
3. Fold towels in your drawer
4. Cover food in the kitchen
5. Gift to your loved ones

1. Match Your Hand Towels Throughout the House

Hand towels are necessary and functional home décor in the kitchen and bathrooms, so why not select hand towels for every room? Take your home design into your own hands and decide whether you want different hand towel sets in every room of the house or one cohesive pattern throughout. When the seasons change or a holiday nears, you can immediately change the tone of a room with your favorite dish towels.

Our Favorite Hand Towels

No home is complete without a beautiful collection of hand towels. Whether you’re looking for a matching set to layer on a guest bathroom towel rod or want to mix-and-match styles to personalize your home décor, browse our contemporary and vibrant towel designs to find ones that show off your style:

• Blush Arabesque Printed Large Hand Towel—pair it with the medium Arabesque trim hand towel for a complete set.
• Citrus Large Hand Towel—matched with the zesty small lemon hand towel or small orange hand towel.
• Oyster Hand Towel Set—perfect for an unforgettable coastal gathering.
• Deco Gold Large Hand Towel—paired beautifully with the scallop medium hand towel of the same collection.
• Iris Blue Sprout Kitchen Towel—for a pop of calming blue in your home!

2. Stack Cocktail Napkins on the Bar

With kitchen linens you love, why store them out of sight? Stack your cocktail napkins on your bar area or coffee station when they're not being used. That way, when guests come around, you can avoid the scramble for napkins—they can grab their cocktail napkins and drink as they prepare to dig in.

3. Fold Kitchen Towels for Your Drawer
Forgo the traditional linen closet and store your kitchen towels within reach! Keep your dish towels in a drawer close to your countertops for easy cleanup. Take this practice one step further by folding each decorative dish towel Marie Kondo-style in your sink-side drawer as a pleasant surprise to all who open it.

4. Use Kitchen Towels to Cover Food 
Kitchen towels are versatile linens, especially when preparing to entertain. Use a nearby dish towel to keep bread warm in a breadbasket, to cover a hot or cold dish, or protect a recipe before serving.

 
5. Give the Gift of Kitchen Towels
We believe you should never attend a gathering empty-handed! Maybe we're biased, but every host deserves a gift—so why not a striking and colorful kitchen towel? With countless reasons to own a dish towel, every host can do with one more! And if you have another gift hosts will love, use a kitchen towel to wrap it for two presents in one.

How to Properly Wash Kitchen Linens

Placemats, cloth napkins, and kitchen towels must be washed, but it's a small price for the elegant and classic look they bring to your home. As you use your hand towels throughout events or during everyday cleanup, store the dirties in a separate bin. At the end of the week, or whenever your dirty dish towel pile is overflowing, it's time for a quick load of laundry. Don't let this stack get too high—kitchen towels and other dirtied linens should be washed frequently to avoid stains and keep your home sanitary.

Understanding the correct way to wash linen is important to elongate the lifespan of your hand towels, placemats, and cloth napkins. If your dish towels are particularly dirty, keep them separate from any clothing and bedding being washed. If your kitchen towels and napkins were only lightly used and remain unstained, save some water and throw them in with the rest of your laundry.

Our decorative hand towels and linens should be machine washed in a cold setting to protect the pattern and vibrant colors. When they're all done, hang your hand towels carefully to let them air dry so you won’t have to iron them. With the proper care, your kitchen towels will come out good as new with every wash! 

Switching to Seasonal Kitchen Linens

Whether a big holiday is coming up or you want to celebrate the start of a new season, switching your dishes and linens out for seasonal ones is an instant way to refresh your surroundings, from turkey towels for a modern Thanksgiving table to switching to gold napkins just because, you can always find a reason to rotate your cloth napkins.

Decorating for any holiday is easy with colorful dish towels and cohesive placemats. Set a springtime table with Speckled Rabbit Easter Napkins and matching cocktail napkins for a pastel sage vibe that’s perfect for spring. Place the large hand towel in the kitchen and the medium hand towel in the bathroom so you can carry the theme throughout your home!

As the days turn colder, welcome the winter holidays with the festive green and red Balsam and Berry Towels Set. Setting the holiday spirit has never been easier than with simple, elegant kitchen placemats and Christmas hand towels.

Whether you're looking for memorable placemats for a themed gathering or want to elevate your everyday dish towel collection, we believe every host needs beautiful kitchen linens. Celebrate the small moments in life and enjoy the sight of gorgeous, bright hand towels in different rooms of your house. Prepare to host with beyond-soft cloth napkins and cocktail napkins. Transform your home with our stylish linens today.