Mary Berry's secret to an effortless and stylish table setting - it makes so much sense

One of the best outcomes of lockdown has to be the re-emergence of home entertaining. If you're looking to host the perfect dinner party, you're going to need some versatile placemats to complement your dining room ideas, and we've got a tip from the cooking queen herself, Mary Berry, on the best table mats to choose from. 

When it comes to placemats, the feature Mary Berry always pays close attention to is the shape. Forget oblong or oval, Mary Berry recommends opting for a round mat. 

'I find that a round mat is much easier to lay on a round table, or any table,' she told Ideal Home when we spoke to her for our Home Truths magazine feature. 

Mary talks from experience as she was gifted oblong placemats when she was first married. 'I wanted round ones,' she confesses. 'Round ones are much easier they take up less room in the drawer.'

As soon as Mary shared her table mat preference the Ideal Home team was struck by how right she was. After a quick poll we quickly realised nearly all of us owned round placemats and agreed that they were much easier to work with when creating an effortless table setting. 

Personally, I am a fan of a round woven placemat and have John Lewis round jute placemats at home. Not only are they versatile for whether I'm squeezing two guests or six onto a table, but I also like how they add an extra shape and dimension to my rectangular dinner table. 

When it comes to her round placemats, Mary Berry uses quilted ones from her own Mary Berry Signature collection. 'They're quilted which means it cuts down on ironing,' she says. 'At the end of the week, I just look for which ones need washing, and they wash like a dream.'

'They're nice and thick, so if you put a hot plate on them you don't have to put another mat underneath,' she adds.  

If you've been convinced to embrace circular placemats here are three of our timeless favourites that will elevate any dinner table.