apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Plain white seems to fit the bill.

Can we see a better picture? I can't make out the details.

I sent a better photo, hopefully they can post it.

You talking for dinner or for everyday?

I think tablecloths should be reserved for when dinner is being served, and the bare wood should show when not dining.

For dining, you can never go wrong (as already mentioned) with pure white linen, or a white-on-white jacquard.

The room is fairly formal, so the cloth should be, too.

I think the tablecloth also needs to relate to your dishes. I wonder if something like this might work well if your dishes are white or cream. I've seen these linen tablecloths with their faggotted borders, and they are really beautiful.

http://www.linenway.com/display_product.php?productID=52

Nice- love the idea of white or the ones from linenway. My only beef with white before such as a "hotel" linen is that I don't have time to iron. Linens Things has great no-iron cloths though so maybe they have a white white.

It is where we eat everynight since I gave up my informal dining space of of the main living area for my office. Our dishes are white white Crate and Barrel and our Fine China is Royal Arcade by Lenox. It's very whimsical. Robin's egg blue with gold.
http://www.homeclick.com/web/catalog/product_detail.aspx?did=3335&cm_ven=Froogle&cm_cat=Tableware&cm_pla=Lenox&cm_ite=Lenox-China-3335&cid=D58C33E4F3213C467E11D65BD7186E84

BETTER PHOTO:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_64c50lUHh1Y/R6HgYxvbShI/AAAAAAAAAaE/P7YJvptsFe8/s1600-h/diningroom_no.jpg

If you're using a tablecloth for everyday (I do), you don't need to iron your linen. I just put the cloths in the dryer for a short time, and then hang them while they are damp. They don't look wrinkled, but the fabric retains a little 'rumpled on purpose' texture. I like the organic of them. When you iron, it makes beetled cloths look more flat and smooth, for a more formal look.

I often have a hard time finding tablecloths (esp in a square size), but lately I've been having good luck at Anthropologie in addition to the usual suspects.

I forgot to add that sometimes I think white dishes get lost on a white tablecloth (though your formal china would look lovely on one). You might want to go with a 'natural' color or add some colorful napkins or something.