Side by Side Comparison of: Benson Mills

These are exactly what I was looking for. I had some identical to these that were purchased at Big Lots 3 or 4 years ago. The quality on those seem inferior to these that I just received. The ends were frayed and after awhile the sticks began to fall off. However, the color palette was exactly perfect for a decorative piece on my table. I have been searching for some time for the exact shades. I finally found them! Contrary to the posts of the hues being more pink. They are natural earth tones with splashes of primary colors. (See my photo for an example). I do hope I am right about the quality of these and they last for many, many years to come; or until I change my interior design colors.

Love these fun mats. Great for outdoor dining with vibrant colors. Easy to clean and store.

I love these colorful placemats I also have the tablerunner

I just received these in the mail so I haven't had the opportunity to see if the colors run with washing as other reviewers have suggested but I did want to comment on the colors. I read the poor reviews stating colors are not true to picture with lots of pink hues. At first I was tempted to not purchase these because of those reviews but for the price figured I could live with pink. There is NOT OVERWHELMING PINK in the mats I received. Perhaps 3-5 of the bamboo sticks are pink on each mat MAX. I have found the 8 I received to be very true to the colors depicted. It may depend on the luck of the draw, but mine are great!

These are good quality - I have no complaints. They are a good deal for the price. My toddler got hummus on one but it cleaned up easily without l leaving any damage. I was aware of the pink reviews but didn't care. Mine, however, aren't disproportionately pink. I think that the colors are put together randomly and that there must have been a big batch that had lots of pink that I just missed because four of mine look similar to each other but two of them have a few more black and green strips. That said, though, they don't stick out when you mix them up.

Love these. Very strong. Nice with rustic look. Colors pop. Really would go well with any wood, bright colored decor, or for a natural look.

I love these placemats. They look great on my kitchen table and also help protect the table. They are exactly as described and wipe off easily.
It is important to note that these are WOVEN, so if you have any spills, they will go right through the place mat.

These look very nice, come in a variety of colors, and are super easy to clean and durable. VERY happy with these mats!

These are not machine washable, which is the only potential drawback...but they are easy enough to clean that it hasn't been a issue for us. And I will take their durability over cheap, wrinkly washer-safe fabric mats any day!

Two kiddos in the household drove me to search for some easy-care, attractive placemat and I'm just delighted with these. Yes, they're open-weave and a spill will seep through. But they'll at least retard, if not prevent, run-off onto the floor and the placemats can be run under the faucet, shaken briefly to remove the water, air-dried, and they're good as new. We've used them every night for more than six months and they're as good as when we got them.

These arrived exactly as expected. Woven vinyl so they won't catch spills but I just needed them to catch the occasional greasy piece of meat or a slop of mashed potatoes from my kids. I have a reclaimed wood dining room table and didn't want to dig food out of the ridges and these fit the bill. The color was spot on and the fact that 8 comes in a package was fantastic since I'll have two spare.

I bought this style for my breakfast/everyday eating area next to our kitchen. I wanted a more casual look since I bought the Benson Mills Longport Crossweave Woven Vinyl Placements in Nickel for my dining room, but to be quite frank, they can easily be interchangeable. Either way, these are easy to clean and a great look. Love the color as well. My breakfast area is a glass table with chrome legs and the chairs are med-dark gray velvet and leather with chrome nail heads, so these silver/gray colored Nickel table mats are perfectly matched and a very nice touch.

I used them all fall. The grandkids liked to roll them up after the meal where they store neatly in a drawer. I gave them four stars because the strings are not tied off at the ends and they will eventually unravel.

They're sturdy, and roll easily for storage. My primary accent/accessory color is green in my kitchen, and these go well.

I ordered three sets, when I received them (all at the same time) they were two that were EXACTLY alike and one that was similar but smaller in width and height. So that was disappointing. But I do love the look of them, they are easy to clean off, just run them under the faucet and pat dry.

These are very pretty and bright, I ordered six rainbow and got 4 rainbow and 2 earth tones, they are not red bit pink. Im keeping them because I am using with fiesta ware this weekend.

What I was looking for. These colors are a bit more mixed than the photo...they look better in person.

They are more beautiful in person. The colors are brightand vibrant. 4stars only bc they are difficult to clean.

Uncomfortable texture on elbows. Easy to clean up.

So far these placemats seem to be exactly what I wanted, as far as their function.

The only warning I give is that the color displayed is not representative of what I received. I ordered Chocolate. The picture makes it look like a grreenish-gray, which would have been awesome, but the actual color is more like, well, chocolate. And it's fine for me anyway, but I write this caution because the pictures of the other colors may not be as they seem either.

These are really nice mats, but it would have been ideal if there was another soft layer underneath to help prevent heat absorption into the table. It's just so thin and the heat does get through, which over time can damage your table.

I like these place mats. They are attractive, not too fancy, but nice enough for company. They wipe clean with a dishcloth. BUT -- they are porous and if you spill or drop food on them the food will go through to the table. I wondered why my oak table was getting sticky in places until I discovered it was where the place mats were. I quickly cleaned the wood and now watch carefully for food residue, especially when I feed my grandchildren at the table. You could ruin good wood if you aren't aware that food goes through these.

I gave 4 stars because it looks very nice but one flaw is the woven pattern has small openings which will not protect your table should you spill liquid items. The liquid or sauce will leak through. Other than that, it functions well as a placemat & looks very nice that you would not be able to tell it was made of vinyl, it looks like a very small fiber woven basket turned into a placemat. I would recommend this product for daily use, wipes up easily.

Decorative, but not very functional. I like how these look with all the colors, but they started breaking as soon as I put them on the table. My shirt sleeve snagged the edge and ripped the end off and I have since had several more pieces fall off. The string that keeps them together is generic. If you barely pull they will come apart. I bought them to keep our plates from scratching the table, but crumbs fall between the sticks and end up all over the table & floor - trying to carry them to the garbage to shake them off leaves a trail of crumbs.

I purchased these placemats to place n my table that has oak edges with terra cotta tiles in the main part. I was surprised when they arrived and they were not stiff and firm like most placemats are. If you were to place the mat in the palm of your hand, the only part that will stay straight is what is on your palm. The rest will flop down. Also there is no backing, so they slide all over the tiles on the table ANF will not stay in place. May I should have considered the possibility of these problems, but I don't think that most people would foresee these problems. It would cost me more to return them so I will probably give them to someone who can actually use them!UPDATE 5/25/15. I tried to use these again and still found them to be very annoying. A breeze could make them move around the table and it makes the table look messy add that to having a cat and the fact that my table is near the front door because I have a Living room/Dining area, they just are not of any use to me. I can't even give them away because my friends and relatives can see that they would have the same problems as I have been having. It is a shame that there is no stiff backing that has a non slip surface. A positive note is that they are separate bamboo sticks woven together so you can just roll the placemat up to store it and when you use it, it lies flat right away. I am sure the problems I have had with these placemats might not be a problem for someone else, because they do look nice, so it is up to each individual what works best for them. That is why I gave them three stars instead of two.

Complaints:--The ones I received did not match the item description photo, rather it matched the customer image photo showing all the pink. I read the reviews first, so I knew it was a possibility. if there had been less of the pink, I don't think I would have been as bothered by it.--Of the package I opened, two of the placemats were crooked/at an angle rather than a straight rectangle. It wasn't so drastic that they couldn't be used but it would annoy me.Likes:The colors were bright.The bamboo sticks were tight together. I've looked at some bamboo place mats where they weren't. These seemed well-constructed.Great value!In the end, I decided to return them since there was so much pink in the mats and not any red. If the item photo had been accurate, I wouldn't have ordered at all.

I made the mistake of ignoring the reviews commenting on how there was so much bright pink in these bamboo placemats. I thought it must have been some sort of error, but nope..these are definately not the same colors as the stock photo for me as well. I decided to keep them because they arent too wild for my decor, but I suggest checking out the photo I posted before purchasing, it should give you a better idea.

I just received these today and am sending them back. The photo looks like the "rainbow" is a fairly subdued rainbow kind of spectrum, but the placemats I received have a LOT of hot pink running through them, which doesn't seem present at all in the item photos online.they're very nice quality, but the brightness is more than the photos appear.

I was looking for colorful bambooo placemats and these sounded great. When I received them the quality and weight of them were excellent. However, the colors were not accurately represented. What appeared to be deep reds and browns were actually hot fushia pink and black. The rest of the colors were accurate. I was sad to return them, as they seemed to be well made.. but the colors did not match...

Returned as the product description said square and these were rectangles. Nice quality and looked pretty - just not what we wanted.

I like them but they're not cut straight. This is just made from a large tapestry of woven plastic fibers that is then cut by machines (or people) that are not very precise. Word of advise to the manufacturer... order your coils a fabric to your specified width then you only have to worry about cutting two sides!!

They look great!! The problem with them is they are truly woven, so there are holes between the weaves. I was looking for placemates that would keep moisture/food off my wooden table.

You need to be aware of how dampness goes right through the mat and onto the table. Cold drinks with ice, sweat and sits on the table below. Be sure to check.

There is nothing wrong with these mats, but they are a woven plastic so fluids can go through them. I thought they were solid.

had this for several months. just noticed that some of the colors bleed and left a couple of long blue lines on my wooden kitchen table.

These are beautiful and exactly what I wanted, except the colors bleed if they get wet. In this case it bled onto my table, which is now color stained. In my case I actually don't care because it's a cheapy tabernacle that's getting replaced soon, but these won't be going on my new table without something underneath to protect the wood.

I purchased the Rainbow set last year and thought they were great. They were bright, fun colors - exactly as pictured. I decided to get another set recently but the colors have changed dramatically. They looked so much like the Earthtones I requested a replacement from Amazon thinking the manufacturer had shipped the wrong item. But the replacement ones don't look any better. Colors are muted, lots of browns, burnt sienna, etc. Also, quality isn't great - chipped wood, broken threads, etc. Not going to order these again.

Good looking and get compliments on how they look nice but are impossible to clean, especially if you have kids. Would definitely not recommend.

Nice enough. For a place mat, though, not so great because it has spaces between the bamboo sticks. I should have thought of that. Certainly doesn't keep from making a mess on the table beneath. However, pretty.

The picture is true to how these look in real life. Sadly in the first week my cat knocked a glass of water on them. The colors bled all over and permanently stained my kitchen table. I was so bummed.

Cheap looking vinyl mats. Not always cut on the grain so they look crooked. Slide all over the place. I may try and sew a decorative edge with my sewing machine to make them look less junky. You can get the same thing at the Dollar stores.

Read reviews that suggested these are good for kids. Maybe okay if your kids are older and spill occasionally, but not okay for a toddler who spills off his plate daily, because the mats have many tiny holes.

I'm sure these would be nice if they were actually RED. They aren't even close to red, but more brown. I'm returing them!

The placemats are mesh, so any liquids are going to drip straight through and stain your table. The color and workmanship looks great, but it falls short functionally.

Very thin and flimsy. I was under the impression that they were fabric and sturdy. They are plastic and paper thin so I was disappointed. They also just look brown and not red.

Absolute junk. They were unraveling inside the package when I opened it. Should have mailed back for a refund.

They come apart. But they looked nice while they lasted.

These are lovely to look at but splintered after just a few uses.

Placemats got wet and the dye leaked through and stained my wooden table (it is even sealed with polyurethane)! Unacceptable. I sent them back.

Used once and bamboo piece crushed leaving holes and broken pieces in the mat.

These placemats look fantastic out of the box, but beware. I'm not sure what happened, but the color from one transferred directly to the finish of my white breakfast table. I can not get it off and fear i'm going to need to have the entire table refinished.

Placemats were not as described and were not cut into rectangles. Instead, none of the shapes matched and all were off center with uneven lines. Promptly returned

Were not the color requested and were bigger than normal placemates.

Not what I expected. Very cheaply made

Too thin! Different in the pictures! Please, just awful.

These placemats are beautiful, but they ARE NOT a solid barrier. If you have a glass with condensation, or there is a spill on the mat, or food that is not completely solid, it can go through the mat to your table. It's proven to be a problem a few times, so I'm buying something different now. Too bad, because they are beautiful, and I've received compliments on them... : (

7/30/15
I'm updating my review, because I've become so irritated with these place mats! I'm constantly pulling them up to find that crumbs/liquid have settled underneath them. You think what's under them would be fine, but again, they ARE NOT a solid barrier to protect your table. I'm not working on replacing them, because I really don't want my table to be ruined.