apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We have the same problem and over the last two years our nice wood table has gotten somewhat ruined (also, our table has grooves in it and everything yucky gets stuck in there). I recently went to the fabric store and bought a large piece of clear vinyl. I put it over the whole table top like a tablecloth and then taped the sides down underneath (which you can't see at all). It doesn't look GREAT, but it is better than a tablecloth with ugly designs all over it (we can still see the beautiful wood of our table) and I can wipe the whole table top at once... trust me, once your toddler is a little older, you will need to clean the WHOLE table, not just the area of one placemat, especially if you do art projects :) It only cost $14 and we can replace it periodically.

I did something similar to sarahez's vinyl, but used an oilcloth pattern instead and pinned it underneath. I just did one row on the end where my two daughters sit. Gorgeous table setting? No. But sometimes we have to admit we have kids and go for the functional!

Oil cloth and vinyl and plastic have pthalates in them and are not good for kids. I ended up selling my nice Danish modern dining table and bought a marble Saarinen style one instead, and for the kitchen table, I bought a glass Saarinen style table (from Arbogast)--both rounded so no head injuries. I like them both better because without legs underneath, you can scoot in close to eat next to your baby. Also, I went to the fabric store and bought denim and sewed a tablecloth for the wood table before I sold it. Stains always come out of denim!

You could take the measurements of your table top to a local glass shop and have a piece of glass cut to fit the top. This will protect it and make minimal impact on the design.

Has anyone tried the Kiddopotamus Tiny Diner placemats? They're flexible rubber, free of BPA, pthalates, latex, and PVC, and they roll up into a tube you can take w/ you. They're only like $10-12. Seems like it'd be worth a shot...
http://www.kiddopotamus.com/p_tiny.php

monkeyknuckles, we tried the Tiny Diner for our 2 year old. The 'scoop' part in the front bothered him and he would flip it up. He also made a game out of trying to pull the mat off the table (which is positioned with suction cups) I will say that it's worth taking to a restaurant or Nana's house. But we don't use it at home anymore.

Has anyone seen the new Orla Keily mats at Target? Some of them are kind of cute. The thing about vinyl placements is you can just wipe them clean and store them in a drawer.

If you don't want to cover the wood, then your options are a clear cover, some kind of protective finish.

For the main table I don't give my child heavy or metal utensils. For his table, I use a Tiny Diner placemat; it works. I found the suction works great, the tray crumb is helpful, and hell, that placement travels so nicely I take it to every family sit-down eatery.

Is it ugly? No, yes, maybe. There is worse out there. And for the times it doesn't work, I don't really care if the toddler table from Toy R Us gets trashed anyway. I'll just repurpose the table into something else.

I am in love with the kid's place mats from Modern Twist. They are made from non-toxic silicone, plus they are made so that kids can color on them with washable markers! Not sure if it gets much better than that.

http://tinyurl.com/ab6yt9

monkeyknuckles,
We have the Kiddopotamus Tiny Diner for our 1.5 yo. The suction cups do not stick on our wooden table. Luckily, our son does not realize this. He leaves it in place. The trap catches a lot, but not everything. We use it with a pocketed bib.
It's easy to clean. I just wash it with warm water & dish soap and let it drip dry.
I think it's a little bulky for outings though.

To prevent kids from pulling the place mat off the table just put some anti-slip rug underlay under it (e.g. IKEA - Stopp). Works great and you can rinse it off if necessary!

We use oilcloth on the table--I have a Mexican pattern right now. It's kind of funky and vintage (I tell myself) and it's better than a bang-ed up and encrusted table.

On the philates thing--the kids don't usually eat off the table directly, so I don't worry too much.

We use the tiny diner we were are out. The suction adheres best when there is a bit of moisture. Generally we don't bother and it works fine.

We put glass over ours and I love it! You still get the beauty of the wood but no stains or scratches to worry about. Spills clean up much more easily too. ;)