Holidays at home can be just as cozy and relaxing as they are in the movies. With family and friends gathering at your house you’ll want to do as much advance preparation as possible. Once they arrive, just enjoy the company and have fun – I’m even planning to take my own advice this year!
From our house to yours: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thanksgiving feasts are a great time to see family and friends. Have fun setting a pretty table to welcome your guests. Once they arrive and you begin serving the food it’s also important to relax and enjoy the occasion. With table pads on the table, you won’t have to worry about food or beverage spills. You can also leave warm dishes on the table without fear of damaging the table surface. Make Thanksgiving feats a joyous time for both hosts and guests at your house!
Table Pads for Thanksgiving
Leave your table pads on for every day uses such as homework, crafts or computer. Your table pads will blend right in to your room’s decor. Your table will get full use without damage to the surface.
Fall dining brings family and friends indoors and around your dining table again. With table pads you can serve a big crowd family style while still protecting the table surface.
Sumptuous soups and warm bread are true comfort foods for a cold, snowy day. Our great friend cooks and bakes from scratch, so you know whose house we head to whenever possible.. Of course, she uses Superior Table Pads under the table cloth!
Favorite table decorations and serving pieces remind me of special family occasions though the years. My dining room table once belonged to my mother and was where we shared many holidays dinners together. There was lots of laughter and good food.
Today, I have plates and glassware from three generations on each side of the family. I love mixing and matching pieces from different sets. Each piece brings back a happy or funny memory a particular person or celebration. Tables can be rich in family history – if only they could talk!
My favorite table decorations go in and out of fashion. This year, I feel right in style. I noticed that a well-known designer used reindeer much like mine for decorating her table. Architectural Digest (December 14, 2015) features a sumptuous reindeer-themed tablescape by Carolyne Roehm. See her photo below.
Secret to entertaining? Keeping your cool. When it comes to holiday dinner parties, you’ll want enjoy yourself along with your guests. Don’t let a spill spoil your evening. With table pads under the tablecloth, your gorgeous table will stay safe from spills, scratches and heat stains.
The Thanksgiving countdown is underway. We are all working hard here at Superior Table Pad to get your Thanksgiving orders ready to go. This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for us, but we love the idea that our product will be on so many tables across America on Thanksgiving Day!
We know that many of you started your holiday baking this weekend and got out the holiday serving pieces. In many households it’s also time to put extra wooden leaves into the table and get out the table pads. Thanksgiving preparations and traditions are all part of the holiday fun – looking forward to having everyone together soon!
Fall table decorations are everywhere: Farmer’s markets and supermarkets are full of fall’s bounty right now. I love seeing the baskets of pretty, little pie pumpkins and crates of larger pumpkins just waiting to become outdoor jack o’ lanterns. There are gourds of all shapes and sizes and colorful dried corn, not to mention mouth-watering apples. Any of these will look terrific on the table at home.
Another great idea for fall table decorations are dried flowers. These are so easy to display and last all season.
I like to put my table pads on the table along with a brightly colored runner. That way I can display this week’s fabulous fruit and flowers without damage to the table surface. Keep these same fruits and flowers out for simple, yet elegant seasonal centerpieces when you set your table for guests.
Happy fall entertaining!
Happy Halloween from all of us at Superior Table Pad! Remember that dining room table pads keep your table safe from witches and goblins as well as every day household accidents.
You can see the same table below set for a less spooktacular fall occasion.
Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah holiday dinner guests will dip slices of apple in honey to symbolize a sweet New Year ahead. A dear friend of mine hosts a gathering of friends and family for this holiday every year. She is a wonderful cook and a marvelous hostess so it is always a great evening. This time, I took quick photos of her table before the guests were seated.
My friend always makes her own Challah bread which looks and tastes so festive along with the pomegranate, apples and honey. When I inevitably drip a spoonful of honey onto the tablecloth, I am relieved to remember that, of course, she has Superior Table Pad under the cloth!
It’s late summer already, but the sunflowers are still blooming and ready to add a bright touch to the table. This has been a hot August day, so I’ve made sure to have a pitcher of ice water on the table and plan a meal of salads and chilled soup.
By the time the guests arrive, the water pitcher has already soaked the tablecloth beneath it, but thankfully the table itself is fine thanks to my Superior Table Pads beneath the cloth!
Family traditions come in all shapes and sizes. At our house, holiday celebrations are a very important way to bring family together. Everyone has their own job when it’s time to get the house ready for a special dinner. One of the tasks is getting out the table pads.
Each generation learns at a young age that putting the table pads on is the first step in setting the table. Here some of our family photos showing my daughter (above) and her young cousin (below) showing off their table pad skills.
Many of us first saw table pads on our mother’s or grandmother’s table. We hear from our customers that getting their own dining table pads is a true mark of adulthood, whether it’s as a gift or their own purchase. We are proud to have served generations of table pad customers, helping them start their own family traditions.
Buffet table pads are the answer for expanding your off-table serving space. Remember, your beautiful sideboard or buffet server is not just for storing china and silverware, it’s also designed a to be a working surface for entertaining.
With buffet table pads on your sideboard, the wood surface is well protected from spills. No more running back and forth to the kitchen to refill plates. Your guests can help themselves without ever having to pass serving dishes at the table.
I often use my buffet for dessert and coffee after the meal so that guests can easily come back for more. Your buffet has plenty of space for cakes stands and sandwich platters making it the perfect serving surface for special gatherings like showers, teas and graduation celebrations.
With buffet table pads well matched to the color of the wood, your guests will have eyes only for your beautiful china and delicious food!
Summer table settings can be simple yet stunning with fresh flowers and bright table cloths. Serve cool beverages and keep the food light. No need for elaborate preparations, just enjoy the company!
Now that Summer is underway at last, we are all enjoying those long evenings that are perfect for entertaining either indoors, outdoors or partly outdoors. We often receive orders for table pads located on summer porches, verandas or lanais. Order pads for your summer table HERE
As kids, we couldn’t wait for local summer strawberries to come into season. Once available, we were in such a hurry to taste the sweet, red berries that we would always end up with red stains on our fingers and around our mouths, not to mention all over our clothes! To this day, strawberries are one of my favorite summer desserts. With the first of the season’s strawberries last week, I got out my camera to capture some of that mouthwatering summer goodness.
Summer flowers and vase – both Farmers Market finds. There are Superior Table Pads under the cloth of course!
Piano pads are the perfect way to protect the top surface of your piano. We love that they also provide extra display space for this homeowner’s glass sculpture collection. Thanks to our happy customer for sending us this photo!
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I love having plenty of flowers in my dining room, so table pads on my sideboard or buffet come in handy. No more worries that a wet vase will leave a mark on the wood finish. This year the peonies are gorgeous – I couldn’t resist these from our local farmers market!
Discounted buffet pads available with your table pad order, or contact us at service@superiortablepad.com
When this Chicago homeowner was expecting out of town houseguests guests recently, she called us to help get her new dining room ready for action on short notice. We delivered! She is all set now with dining table pads on both her table and buffet.
Superior Table Pad will help you prepare for those last minute guests. Receive a discount on buffet pads order with a set of table pads.
Tablescapes: What is it that turns everyday table settings into tablescapes? I’d always wondered if I could somehow get that magazine photo look at home and soon realized that the art of tablescape design is part artistry and part theater.
The artistry of tablescapes is in combining just the right colors, textures and shapes for a certain effect. I came across one striking look for a formal dinner involving the use of zebra striped table cloths highlighted by white plates on patterned gold chargers. I noticed that tall candles and bold flowers make plain tablescapes look exotic.
A touch of theater will grab guests’ attention to make it a memorable occasion. In my favorite example, song birds fly out from beneath the folded napkins of guests at a French royal wedding. Unusual presentation of an elaborate main dish is another old trick. Highly dramatic lighting effects are popular for modern banquet tablescapes. I even came across one table lit entirely by glow in the dark rings and sparklers.
Which of these effects should you try at home? It’s mostly a matter of personal style and taste. Start with changes that you feel you can carry off with confidence and ease. I may not be ready for glow ring lighting, but it may be just perfect for your event. Here are my favorites from this year’s trends:
Current trends show a definite movement away from sparse, monochromatic table top design. The order of the day is bold colors, patterns, and sheer fun. Even though my research didn’t quite result in the design epiphany I’d hoped for, it did help me refresh my personal style. I’m looking forward to trying some new tablescapes at home.
Sail into spring entertaining with fresh, bright, spring table settings. Don’t forget table pads, your secret weapon under the cloth!
Busy meeting rooms should be equipped with conference room table pads. Imagine the damage when staff spread out food, beverages and equipment on your conference table! Conference room table pads provide a safe surface for everyday meetings and working lunches. Just fold up the table pads and put them away to display a perfect table finish for a formal board meeting.
Call us today at 800-595-2292 to discuss conference room table pads for your organization’s meeting areas. Learn more about our product HERE
Dining table mats already come in many colors, but we’ve recently had numerous requests for a vinyl to match natural stone tables. So, in response to popular demand, we’ve added Pewter as a new color for our Athena line. This color would also work well on server pad for a marble buffet or kitchen island.
View Superior’s table pad colors HERE
Valentines gifts for tables? Yes, really! Your cherished furniture deserve the very best, so pamper your heirlooms with Superior’s exclusive Athena Table Pad. Our designer grade table pads will keep your table and buffet safe for many generations to come.
Trending colors 2015: This year’s hot colors are indigo and navy blue. These darker blues work especially well with secondary palettes of gray, cream, pink or sage. Lighting fixtures and table tops are in mixed metals or smoky glass. See more on current design trends HERE
We played with some of these ideas and colors for one of our table settings. Turns out that our tablecloth picked up nicely on the painterly look now in vogue for rugs. We added colored glass with our deep blue bowls which set off the understated tablecloth perfectly. The smoked glass vase was a final nod to current trends.
Even if you aren’t redecorating an entire room, just trying out a few new ideas for your table can freshen up your look. It’s often as easy as using pieces you already have in new ways, rather than starting from scratch. Make trending colors 2015 work for you and have fun!
Getting stains out of tablecloths is easiest if you can launder them right away. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible when you have house guests during the holidays. Still, the sooner you can wash a stained tablecloth the better.
It can also be tempting to delay washing your tablecloth if you are not sure how best to handle a particular kind of stain. One of my New Year’s resolutions is getting stains out of tablecloths promptly! I plan to keep stain removal information at hand so that I have no excuse not to keep my favorite tablecloths looking great.
I discovered that Better Homes and Gardens has an excellent post on the subject How to Treat Tablecloth Stains. This morning I tried out two of their tips for getting stains out of tablecloths with great success:
Candle Wax
Use a dull knife to scrape the wax from the fabric. For any remaining wax, place the waxy area between paper towels and press with a warm iron. Replace the paper towels as the wax is absorbed.Red Wine
Sponge or soak the stain using cool water. Pretreat it with a stain remover or liquid laundry detergent. Launder the cloth with fabric-safe bleach.
Finally, here is a tip from Superior Table Pad: while your tablecloth is in the washing machine, take a moment to wipe down the vinyl surface of your table pads with a damp cloth. Using a soft brush, gently brush off the bottom of your table pads. Now your table is ready for action again!
It’s sunny and cold here in Chicago today with snow on the ground next to our building. Great to be back to work making table pads after the holidays!
Best wishes to you all for the new year ahead.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Superior Table Pad!
Place cards are a fun way to add a little glamor to holiday dinners and make each guest feel special. Cut out special shapes from colorful, card weight paper or use plain business card or label stock. Enlist children or teens to decorate and letter place cards. This is a great way to get everyone involved in preparations for holiday festivities.
Get creative with place card holders or simply put a place card on each plate. Your guests will enjoy finding their personalized place setting at the table. DIY place cards are sure to be a hit and become treasured keepsakes just like homemade tree ornaments.
Table top pads are the key to keeping your table surface protected for the holidays and the secret to calm and confident serving. Put your table top pads on, then choose a festive tablecloth and table decorations. It’s that simple, you are now that perfect host or hostess with a beautifully set table!
I always enjoy decorating my table. As soon as I heard that plaids were all the rage this year, I remembered my plaid tablecloth and napkins. Some years I have used a plaid topper over a plain colored tablecloth, but this year I went all out for plaid and let the cloth cover the entire table. Next, I assembled some Christmas tree balls and placed them in a glass cake stand for a quick and easy centerpiece. As a final touch, I put out my deer-shaped candlesticks. They looked right at home on the Scottish Highland plaid.
Whatever your table top decor and table settings, don’t forget the basics. Shop HERE for your table top pads by Superior.
Festive napkin folding is a holiday tradition at our house. It all started one year when my then grade school aged daughter decided that she wanted to make her own distinctive contribution to decorating the table for holiday dinners. It was such a hit with family and guests that she continued, making more elaborate napkin creations every year.
Cloth napkins are already a step up from everyday paper napkins for me. Having taken the trouble to get out some nice cotton or linen napkins and put a tablecloth on the table, I like to be sure that the extra effort makes an impact. A few quick and easy napkin folds can have a huge payoff in added pizzazz. I’ve recently been having fun experimenting with some basic folds myself as you can see from the photos.
You too can impress your guests with festive napkin folding! My favorite source “The Simple Art of Napkin Folding” by Linda Hetzer illustrates both introductory and advanced napkin folding techniques. You’ll also find plenty of step by step video tutorials online.
I’ve been experimenting with bold, colorful, patterned tablecloths on my traditional table. This cheerful look warms the room on a cold day. I love having an arrangement of fresh seasonal greens and berries on the table. My local Christmas tree lot is a great source for fresh, decorative greens for the table and mantle.
Yesterday, a happy customer made our day with this photo and email:
” ..Just a brief note to say thanks for a great product and great service. The pads fit perfectly! Happy Thanksgiving!”
We hope you will all send us photos of your holiday tables.
Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours! We are thankful for our wonderful customers, employees and friends who make it possible for us to craft and deliver the product we are so passionate about. We wish you all a joyous holiday!
Let us make a custom table pad for your sideboard or server. Then they can help themselves to second helpings of your delicious food!
Add a server pad to your order HERE
It really makes our day when we get thank-you emails like these! Here are some recent Superior Table Pad reviews:
“Just to let you know we received our table pad and locks today. We are extremely happy with the pad, locks, and the super-fast delivery. Everything was superb from start to finish!”
“I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am with your service. I am shocked at how quickly I received my order and how great the quality is. If all business were as fantastic as you, the world would be a much happier place :) I won’t be able to recommend you enough times to my family and friends. Thank you!!!!!”
“I have never had a dining set that merited a pad before. The Internet had so much info … I was overwhelmed! There were different thicknesses, wide price variations and so … many … reviews! Superior had many great reviews so I went to their site. It was easy to navigate, pricing was clear and the color swatches were true to the actual product. I ordered it on Sunday and the custom-made, heavy-weight, beautifully color-matched product was on my porch this morning! I’ll be ordering a server pad soon! Thanks for a surprisingly pleasant experience!”
“I received my table pad this morning and I am really pleased. It is above my expectations. I will tell everyone I know about your company. It was so nice to work with you. Thank you so much.”
Birthday parties at home are fun for kids of all ages. Kids’ birthday parties at home are also a great way to save money. With a little planning you’ll all have a wonderful, relaxed time together. A few ideas to get you started HERE. Don’t forget dining table covers!
There is still time to get dining room table pads on your table for Thanksgiving. Ordering is simple at superiortablepad.com or just call us at 800-595-2292. Preparing and serving holiday meals can be stressful enough without worrying about your table too. This is the year to treat yourself and your table to a set of table pads!
Get into the spirit of Halloween – from mess to masterpiece with Superior Table Pads keeping your table safe!
With Halloween just around the corner, ghosts and goblins will soon be busy carving pumpkins and making taffy apples. Superior’s table protectors will keep your table safe from both tricks and treats. So bring on all those family Halloween projects and enjoy the holiday together! Check out our most popular table pad HERE
Get creative with centerpieces with a table pad on the table. Experiment with new colors or unusual materials without damage to your table finish. This week, I added fresh berries and evergreens to my flower arrangement and used a blue and white table cloth. Last week, I left a simple arrangement of gourds directly on the table pad and it looked terrific. Check out Superior’s Table Pad Colors HERE
Still raving about this light as air apple cake we ate last week! Our hostess, who by the way loves her Superior Table Pad, says her Croustade aux Pommes was inspired by this post. Her dessert was the perfect finishing touch for a holiday dinner.
Our friend always sets a beautiful table for her multi-course holiday dinners. I snapped this photo just before she began serving the soup. Throughout the meal there were serving bowls and sauces on the table in addition to bowls of honey for the apples, dates and challah. Each course was more delicious than the last! Thanks to her flair for cooking and advance preparation our hostess made the evening appear effortless. Thanks to the dining table pads underneath the cloth, no sticky spills came anywhere near the table surface. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so be prepared – select your own set of dining table pads HERE
Homemade braided challah dipped in honey – a deliciously, sticky way to welcome the New Year! Sweet apples and dates are paired with locally sourced honey. All these foods are part of the holiday tradition and a wonderful celebration of the season. Custom table pads from Superior is another familiar holiday tradition.
Relax with a cup of coffee and your reading. Enjoy your dining room table with Superior Table Pads.
Plan ahead – dining room table pads are the perfect gift! See our affordable choices HERE
We’ve had some lovely cool, crisp weather recently in Chicago. I’ve even started seeing pumpkins for sale. All this has made me think in fall colors at home. I’m now using oranges, reds and yellows as I set the table. There are still plenty of fresh flowers in these colors. Use them to make your table setting pop!
This is a good time to plan ahead for holiday entertaining. If you have a new table, be sure it’s protected with custom table pads. Dining table pads come in a wide assortment of colors so you are sure to find a good match – see our selection of colors HERE
Don’t forget that at Superior custom table pads are individually made to the exact size and shape of your table. We make round table pads as well as pads for rectangular or oval tables. Notice that the table below has a rounded end with matching pads. It’s all in a day’s work at Superior Table Pad Company
Ever wished for more space to spread out your fabric and patterns? Don’t like being banished to the basement for your sewing projects? Reclaim your dining room table with Superior Table Pads on the table. I love my sunny dining room and enjoy putting the table to use when not entertaining guests. When I work in the dining room I can more easily keep an eye on what’s cooking in the kitchen and hear what’s happening in the rest of the house. 
We were delighted to be introduced to this delicious soup, originally from the Andalusian region of Spain. Naturally, our hosts had Superior Table Pads under the cloth! Guests passed the soup tureen and water pitcher as well as beautiful dishes of garnishes. Everything could be easily set back down on the table without worrying about multiple trivets. This ease of serving made for a relaxed and enjoyable evening for guests and hosts alike.
Many of our customers have childhood memories of doing homework on their mother’s Superior Table Pads. Now that the family table is in their own home, it’s finally time to replace the old pads which have given so many good years of service. Our quality never goes out of fashion. Now that you are all grownup, it’s time for your very own set! Table pads are still a great value, still custom made to fit your table perfectly, and now come in many new colors to match the table.
Click HERE to see our table pad selection.
Watermelon salad and cucumber soup for the guests – Superior Table Pads for the table
Stay cool a
nd keep calm with water resistant table pads.
No more rings on your table’s finish from wet glasses.
Now doesn’t that make you feel cooler already?
Superior Table Pads are made right here in Chicago at 3010 N Oakley, near Belmont and Western. We are in West Lakeview on Chicago’s north side, not far from Lane Tech High School. Some of you will remember the old Riverview amusement park nearby. See our map location HERE
From farm to table – prep work made easy with table pads on the kitchen table
Table Pads are an important part of a household with cats. Cats love to sit up on the table and supervise the room around them. From there they can keep track of the birds just outside the window too. But, jumping up onto the table can result in scratching – Table Pads to the rescue!
“Don’t you agree – it’s time for Table Pads?”
” Yes, let’s order from Superior right now!”