My cat! She loves to be on the table and look out the window so I put a fleece bed there for her. Indulgent I know but she is a good little cat.

We keep a vintage globe on our table--colorful AND it's a great conversation starter!

Salt/Pepper shakers, napkins in a ceramic quiche dish, round cutting board used as a trivet, and our pretty wooden Drug Basket :) because once you go past fifty years of age, it's handy to keep the drugs close at hand!

I have a wooden tray with olive oil, vinegar, container of fleur de sel, salt and pepper shakes and a butter crock.

A metal bowl from IKEA that is either empty or has fruit inside.

Drill bits, countertop samples, sawdust, apples and my sanity. (We're in the middle of a kitchen reno - my table is in the living room).

All those pictures are from staged photo shoots. I'm pretty anal retentive, but the only time my table is clear is when company is on its way over - probably 10 seconds before they ring the bell.

Bowls of fruit, tomatoes, dried fruit and berries, raw crackers, linen napkins. It's always at least half full, usually more :) But it makes us snack on fresh stuff, and it looks lush.

Absolutely nothing.

It's a long table in a small apartment. On one end I keep my antique sewing machine and works in progress (that I started 2 months ago). The center has potted herbs where they get the best light and our salt cellar. And my husband and I sit at the end. It's in a constant state of disarray unless we're having guests over.

Kitchen table is the place where the laptop goes, right?

We have one of those corner-bench-and-table combos and there's a little ledge at the back of the bench where I keep a vintage bread plate on a little stand (it's just like one my mom had) and a cute little wooden elephant. On the actual table I keep a matching trivet and napkin holder, salt and pepper mills, and a diner-style sugar dispenser. Sometimes also a candlestick.

We don't have room for a kitchen table, so our very nearby dining room table does double duty. I almost always keep a cool graphic multi-wood cutting board my dad made for us as the centerpiece. Sometimes that has a potted plant or vase on top of it. Other times, like now, the entire table is covered in hammers, screwdrivers, pictures and hanging kits -- we're getting ready for our housewarming party. I like it when it's clean with one charming item in the center, but that's rarer than I'd like.

I have a small apartment kitchen. There are no outlets above the coutertops, but there is one by my table, which is against the opposite wall. I keep the coffee maker there (it's the one appliance I use daily), along with the napkins in their holder and a colorful woven placemat I got at a fair trade store. But if I need to use the blender or toaster, the table has to serve counter duty.

Photo #4, to the 'fear less', I would add a 'do more' on a different wall.

Select pieces from my depression glass collection. I always look for ways to display this collection with out looking like a collector.
Pieces include a tray holding domed butter dish, toothpick holder, diner style sugar packet holder and mini goblet holding silver spoons. Pretty and useful!

Mail, purses, guitars, shoes, magazines, trash, shoes, more shoes so the dogs don't chew them up, and anything else I happen to have in my hands when I come through the door.
But if I happen to be blogging about it, just a table runner and candles.

I keep a bowl with fruit, or a simple candle centerpiece. Never anything big enough that you'd have to move it to eat breakfast, or that served no purpose. "Tablescapes" just aren't practical @ my house! Maybe for a photoshoot..

Don't have a kitchen table...kitchen's too small. On my dining room I usually have an orchid or whatever flowers are in season, and that's about it. The cat uses the table as a stepping stone to the window sill otherwise.

@home body, great minds think alike!!!

My dining table is sitting at a tiny tiny little area nex to the kitchen, so I absolutely want nothing else on it except for my laptop which I can take away whenever I want. Maybe I ought to snap a photo of how it's layed out and you guys can help me to better use of the space.

A funky napkin holder and place mats that end up getting moved out of the way all the time (but they look nice!).

A bowl of fruit. An iPad. A to-do list...

A large Tibetan singing bowl with the mallet for it inside. We ring it at mealtime instead of praying, basically to take a moment to be mindful of where our food came from and appreciative of it.

When I had one I kept nothing on it. It's over 100 years old and covered in tons of lovely flaws that I couldn't bear to cover.

At the most... flowers. I don't like to keep things on it. I feel I can breathe easy when it's nice and clean.

dinner. sometimes, lunch.

Ours is probably closest to #6: a table runner with a vase of flowers in the middle (lilies, and little green berry things - both fake, but lovely) and some candles along the runner.

We tend to keep our placemats out on the table as well (it's harder for the roommates to destroy the table that way). I'm thinking upgrading everything though, or at least getting some supplies to mix it up.

It works very well for romantic dinners.

Kitchen table ? What would that be ?

If I ever have one, I'd put my fruit bowl on it, it's bothering me all the time, and I can't find a place for it. Then, I'd just look at that table with dreamy eyes.

I keep it clear, although mail has been known to pile up there.

Our "kitchen table" is actually our kitchen island (2 feet by 4 feet), where we tend to eat breakfast and lunch, and occasionally dinner. On the island at all times is our main cutting board (2 feet wide and 18 inches long) and a couple of cloth napkins. Otherwise I keep it clear, since it is also a primary food prep space.

a large, hand-painted plate my husband brought home from a business trip to Mexico

Ahahahahaha, kitchen table! HA! Our kitchen is clearly a reconfigured closet, or possibly an old butler's pantry. There's no room for two people in there, much less a table.

only a ralph lauren table cloth, because it belongs to the cat for birdwatching

Kitchen table? What?

We have TV tray tables we eat dinner on. My boyfriend's is usually empty. Mine is usually covered with magazines.