Burning Question: Just Coasting?
All the impending holiday parties that everyone will be throwing and attending got us thinking about… coasters of all things. Most homes are either a please-use-coasters zone or a we-don’t-own-a-single-coaster area. Which one are you? Do those of you who go without just embrace drink rings or do you have some secret formula (or fabulous furniture) to ward them off? And do those of you who use them regularly have a favorite type (metal? monogrammed? glass with a photo slipped inside?). Do tell.
And we’d love guesses about which type we are. The answer might just surprise you…
Image courtesy of Pottery Barn
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My sister-in-law always has adorable sparkly coasters she finds at Pottery Barn. And with my big move to a new apartment right around the corner, I plan on entertaining often. So I purchased two sets of these great slate coasters from Anthropologie – they come with a piece of chalk so guests can doodle or write their names on them. Fun, eh?
http://search.anthropologie.com/?q=slate+coasters&international=false
Cheers,
Alaina
We are a ‘please use a coaster’ household. But, it’s much more my boyfriends doing than mine. We don’t have any ‘favorites’.
My guess is that you’re a ‘we have no coasters’ kind of couple…I don’t think I’ve seen any in your pictures and you said that the answer may surprise us.
Since we’re big tea-drinkers in our family (among other things), we’re pretty much coaster fans. Currently, we’re using a wood-and-cork combination of coasters, but will be asking for some monogrammed ones (similar to your picture!) for the wedding. :-)
As a kid, my mom had some pretty ugly plastic-and-foam coasters that we used as some pretty awesome weapons; suddenly one or two would go missing and she wouldn’t find them until a week later, when cleaning under the couch. She still hasn’t figured out why her coasters ended up in such strange places.
We don’t do coasters, with the exception of my husband while he has a drink at his wooden desk. We use cloth placemats at the dining room table, have crappy don’t-care-about-this-furniture-anyway wood near the television, and don’t take drinks to the rest of the wooden furniture.
As for you guys? I’d be shocked if you didn’t have coasters in every variety possible!
Coasters are a must in my house. I’m turning into my mother.
I prefer glass coasters with either etching on the back or silver shapes in between. (I’ve found some super-awesome dragonfly ones.)
We have coasters, which I love and got from Pier 1, but we could care less if people use them . :)
i have coasters b/c i think they were pretty but i dont require anyone to use them b/c my tables have glass tops. this is confusing to guests. haha
We do have costers, but I am not religous about using them. My hubby is because he hates wet marks on our glass coffee table.
My husband and actually have many coaster sets: cork, glass, plastic – 2 sets in the family room, one set in the great room. They are usually used – but we’re not super picky if someone forgets.
As for you guys…i have to say your coasters would be made of some kind of natural material – perhaps yours are cork? or straw?? or maybe even wood? am i close?
I’m guessing you guys are a non-coaster household.
I have some cheap ones from Target I’ve been using for several years, but I’m dying for a set of glass monogrammed ones!
I think you are a no coaster home. Your coffee tables are either glass or the ottomans so you don’t really need them. Am I right?
Hey Erin,
Bingo! We have leather ottomans, tables that we’ve painted and poly’d (so they’re totally drink-ring-proof) and a glass coffee table so coasters aren’t necessary in our house since we don’t have any raw wood around. We just knew people would assume that we’re super anal about coasters since we’re kind of obsessed with organization and order in general, but we actually don’t even own a single coaster to speak of!
xo,
s
We have a glass coffee table and the kitchen table is tile so no worries about costers at our house! Although I do have quite a few for some reason.
For you guys? I guess none.
We have a few lying around on some antique wood tables that I really don’t want ruined, but other than those, we are a no coaster family. Ours are some kind of stone. I am guessing you don’t use them at all.
We don’t own any coasters. We have placemats on the table, which we only use for our laptops anyway, and our coffee table is a cheap-o intended for dorm use deal. That is pretty much all the furniture we have. Even if we cared about it, we usually have so much clutter on our lateral surfaces that we can just set our drinks on papers or a magazine or something.
Our kitchen counter top does stain something fierce though. I dropped some vanilla extract on it and by the time I grabbed a paper towel there was already a little brown smudge embedded in it that won’t come out.
My guess is that you don’t own coasters. You seem to prefer pretty clutter, and like Alaina, I don’t think I’ve seen coasters in your pictures. On the other hand, your rooms are always spotless in your photos. Do you hide all your junk before you take pictures, or does it really look that nice all the time?
Hey Nicola,
We actually get that question a lot. Our house pretty much looks like it does in our house tour since I work from home so I can just clean as I go (if I’m on a call I’ll do a little dusting, and if I’m waiting for my lunch to heat up I’ll do some vacuuming). Here’s a post all about how we keep our house ready for company (since our friends and family tend to drop in without a lot of notice). And of course our minimalism (aka: aversion to clutter) also helps because dusting is easier when there aren’t a million things to pick up and put down- and it also makes rooms look crisp and clean since there’s not too much going on. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
We have coasters, and use them sometimes. I don’t make a big deal out of it. None of our stuff is that important. I made coasters for gifts this year, and made an extra set for us too. http://wordsonwendhurst.blogspot.com/2009/12/diy-monogram-coasters-from-tiles.html
I’m guessing you guys are non-coaster. :-)
We used to use coasters! We had a nice set of the glass coasters in which you could change the photos – I would do this seasonally. Then our baby started cruising and grabbing, and now walking and running… Coasters were much too tempting as things to be thrown! ;) The things you have to look forward to! :)
We don’t own any coasters. Our dining room table has a finish on it that seems to resist drink rings. And we don’t have a coffee table. No worries at our home.
I love coasters, but once made the mistake of getting glass ones from IKEA. Wet glass on glass coaster makes for drink everywhere …
We have great photo-insert glass coasters, but we don’t use them often. Our coffee/end tables are wood with glass centers, so we just ask people to place their glasses on the glass. Easy, you don’t have to dig around for coasters and a quick wipe-down of the glass surface and we’re done.
You guys? Hmmmm, I would’ve guessed you used coasters but from the way you worded it I’m thinking maybe you don’t! If you do, I’m guessing you have something you found at a fantastic mom and pop shop. Or at Quirk??
We own a ton of paper coasters leftover from German pubs. They’re stored in a memorabilia box. We don’t use coasters at all.
I’m guessing you don’t use them, either.
i never was a coaster fan until i moved into my first real home and my parents refurbished an awesome wood coffee table for me. i live in the south, so there is always ice in our glasses and condensation is an issue.
i tried all different kinds of coasters but the water would just pool up and eventually spill off onto the table anyway. i longed for some of those absorbent stone coasters but couldn’t find them in any non-hideous designs.
finally, my mother randomly found some in a neutral color and they are amazing. and a little magical. i’ve been known to set an ice cube on there to see what happens to the water once it melts. it just disappears!
those are the way to go if you drink a lot of drinks on ice like we do.
Our coffee table is very much “under the weather” since our 8 year old Resident Artist sits & draws & colors & markers & glues & tapes there. When we’re old & grey we’ll buy a new table & we’ll use coasters.
I use coasters because of my slight case of OCD. I think you have coasters and pull them out for entertaining, but use s/s bottles daily and don’t even set them on surfaces. But, I could be way off.
We use coasters on our wood dining table but for some reason my husband uses coasters on our glass coffee tables. Is there a reason to use them on glass tables? I don’t believe so and I don’t but when we have guests and they put their drink down on a glass table, my husband runs and grabs a coaster.
Most of my glasses are insulated, so there’s no need for coasters. I keep some floppy, cheap plastic ones that look like Legos around, just in case. They blend into the furniture and hold the water well. I never like when water puddles on the top of coasters. It almost makes them seem pointless.
I didn’t even know what a coaster was until I met my husband. LOL His family uses them religiously (even on their glass side tables), but we no longer even own any. When I met my husband he had cow print coasters, but after we had our twins, they were more dangerous than useful.
I happen to love coasters. I am not as anal about them as my boyfriend is though. Ours happen to be ones we got from a street vendor in Argentina with different poses of a drunken Homer Simpson on them; they are quite the conversation piece.
Neither. Or both. Years ago we bought some decorative square clay tiles to hang on the wall, about six inches square. Instead, we ended up sitting them on end tables and coffee tables. They look nice all the time, and when we (or our guests) sit our drinks down, they just kind of naturally go there, protecting the tables.
We have the glass photo kind. But we only have 3 of them left(we started with 4). The problem is that the condesation from the glass makes the coaster stick to the bottom of the glass. So when you pick up your drink the coaster comes with it and then when it gets to heavy it detaches and falls off. So we broke one completely and chipped two of the others. The same thing happened to the ceramic ones we had before these.
My favorite coasters I’ve seen were at a friend of mine’s hoouse. She took a bunch of old CDs that she wasn’t listening to anymore and glued felt to the label side of them. The felt protected the table and the shiny backside of the cd reflected the glass when you put it on there. It makes colorful drinks far more fun!
There are coasters that my dad insists we use, but never do. Plus, I usually just hold on to my drink and don’t really ever put it down (or on the floor next to the chair) because the coffee table set up really far from the couch so our feet can’t reach, so neither do drinks.
Coasters ftw! Seriously, I’m a little over-the-top about coasters. We paid a lot of money for nice wooden end tables and a coffee table when we were first married, and I don’t plan on buying new ones anytime in the next 30 years. I have glass coasters (which I don’t love, since the condensation just sits and eventually spills onto the surface you’re trying to protect) and even fabric ones. The fabric coasters have held up the longest and do a great job of wicking moisture. I got them from Target several years ago.
We have several kinds of coasters: slate, metal and my personal favorite the “thirsty-stone” ones. The thirsty stone coasters absorb the condensation rather than just letting it sit on the surface of the coaster where it can be knocked off onto the surface you’re trying to protect! In contrast to the number of coaster types we have, we’re not really stuck on using them. We use them in the living room with the wood coffee table, but that’s about it.
I love coasters. Two years ago, that was #1 on my Xmas list. I have one set of monogrammed coasters, one set of glass photo holder coasters, and one set of Italian ceramic tiles that are not coasters, but with a couple of felt tips glued to the bottom, they are now!
We have coasters – a metal kind and also the photo-in-the-glass kind. However, our tables are made of stone, so it doesn’t much matter if people use them or not!
I have a George Nelson table with a laminate top that I use as a coffee table so no coasters are necessary there. But I have a wood dining table that needs protecting.
I have a bunch of coasters, mostly because they’re fun. I have a few that represent my college, and then a few my older bro gave me as a gift, and a few that are mock airplane instruments….I don’t enforce usage though (except on my brand new media console/side tables…so that’s where they usually sit out, just waiting to catch a drink!!)…my coffee table is a low, huge rectangular shape mass of wood, and it saw better days about 50 years ago, so I don’t worry about it…and my table has a glass top!
Hmmm, never seen a coaster in your place, so I guess you don’t use them?? I’d be surprised though, they’re such a pretty accessory!
Hey guys! We (I) are definitely coaster people. We love the stone ones with the cork bottoms. They stay dry which is a must for me. We have them strewn about but never ask people to use them or make a big deal of it. We just really hope they’ll get the hint. =)
Does everyone get glass rings while drinking anything from a cup or a glass?? How come I don’t get those rings ever??
My furniture was purchased from Target 3 years ago. It is starter stuff and I don’t care what happens to it. Go ahead, put your drink down! Maybe we can make fun designs with the rings ;)
LB
I was going to say you don’t use coasters but I see that you have already answered that. Same with us, we have a an all glass dinner table, marble coffee & inn tables, or our night stands we have flat basket type mats on them so we don’t have to use coasters. They aren’t necessary! :)
We too have a glass coffee table that is easy to wipe off, but I have a bunch of round mirror coasters from West Elm leftover from my bachelorette days. They are a little out of place in our now more traditional living room, but guests assume that I’m a stickler for them (I’m not) so they get used. I agree with the above folks who said that puddling on a coaster is annoying. These mirror ones get pretty nasty but wipe clean with a microfiber towel.
Coasters are more of please-use-but-oh-well-if-you-don’t thing at our house. I have some old tiles bought from a salvage yard. After putting cork pads on the bottom they work great, at 15 cents each are really cheap, and are already mismatched so when a clumsy guest or my husband breaks one it’s no big deal.
I’m only anal about one table in our house. It’s solid wood piece that my mother just passed down. I’ve been eyeing these costers from Anthropology: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=&id=973102&catId=HOME-TABLETOP-COASTERS&pushId=HOME-TABLETOP-COASTERS&popId=HOME-TABLETOP&sortProperties=&navCount=75&navAction=middle&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=mul&colorName=MULTI&isSubcategory=&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=
I have never been a “coaster-a-holic”, but I recently spotted some beautiful coasters at Hobby Lobby. They had a few different color choices and were square-shaped with beads all over the top. I picked up three sets–two for my family room (a red set and black set, both of which match my color scheme perfectly) and a set for my mom (leopard print, perfect for her!). I realized we needed some when everyone kept asking where our coasters were when we have parties…we have such polite friends! :)
We have coasters; I use them and my husband uses them occasionally. I have some fabric coasters that I’ve made, we have some monogrammed “thirsty” stone type coasters, and some rubber coasters from CB.
We do have coasters, but don’t really care if people use them or not (even the little that’s wood in our living room were end tables that were picked up super cheap, so we’re just not worried about them getting thrashed). Our coasters are ceramic, with the first initial of our last name…I think I picked them up at Ross for like $4.
I’m going guess you guys are coaster people. I think once I get furniture that wasn’t my mom’s, I’ll be more inclined to use coasters. I actually have some pretty etched glass coasters my sister picked up at area decorating phenom Nell Hill’s.
Thanks for all the fun guesses about where we stand when it comes to coasters! We actually already revealed our preference, so scroll back through the comments to see our response!
xo,
s
We use coasters since we purchased an expensive coffee table 2 years ago (that we hope will last us a good 20+ years at least). We had glass coasters on our wedding registry, and we keep them around for when we host big crowds or parties, but we are not a fan (glass on glass…not cool). The set we use more often are funky rolled paper coasters from Anthropologie which I love.
We are definitely a “please use a coaster!” family! Most of our furniture is wood, but even the glass-top stuff I use a coaster. Who wants to be wiping up drink rings (even if they don’t damage the surface in any way) if you can prevent them from happening in the first place?!
We use the stone/pottery ones, they absorb any sweat from the glasses pretty well.
Oh and …. i love the green you choose for the basement room divider!