Good question!
I have some capiz shell mats which are cork backed, and I have some very inexpensive(cheap!!) cotton quilted mats, and light weight linen which provide no protection for the table if your plate has been in the oven, but for hot foods served in a normal manner it's fine!
And there are lots of lovely mats out there, straw, quilted, heavy woven, crocheted....you name it.
You don't need the weight and bulk of those pimpernel mats to keep your table from harm....unless you are serving mexican in a sizzling plate!
Linda C

I am careful to use pads under serving dishes, but I've never sensed that the dinner plates were excessively hot. My placemats seem adequate for the purpose.

Ditto graywings. Even warmed plates should not be so hot as to damage your table - you can hurt someone if you serve them a plate that hot!

I have some W-S placemats but they seem so thin. My main concern is a new table we bought which we'll use at TG next to the DR table.

I always use trivets for food anyway, so I'm not worried about that.

I'll try to find some nice quilted cotton mats, the quilted seem a bit thicker.

I would take the extra precaution of protecting my table too. I was very disappointed to see that my coffee mug had left a definite ring on my new Henkel Harris end table. The ring was not caused by liquid spilling on the wood but by the heat from the mug. I think the wood is fine but the heat lightened the finish and I haven't been able to restore it to the original shade.

I purchased dark brown faux leather placemats from Bed, Bath and Beyond that match the color of my end tables and use them under the lamp and they're large enough that you can place a glass or mug on them.

I found nice quilted ones at KMart from Martha Stewart. They're very large too. If your placemats seem thin you can always buy felt and cut to the desired shape to place underneath them- and felt comes in different thicknesses.

Unless you use a tablecloth you will get some dings with time.
Somebody will set their glass on the table or their fork and when passing serving dishes someone will set it down. Things happen.
Heat is not much of an issue but trivets, plates, serving dishes, salt and pepper all need to have protective pads or something on the bottom because they will scratch- most china included.

Oakley, before you rule out the hardboard placemats, you might want to look here. Lots of styles and the functionality is hard to beat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Something for everyone

Wow Amy, those are nice! I thnk I'll order four just for the new table. No one will care if they don't match the big table, lol, because there will be times my dh and I may sit at the new table to eat while we watch TV.

Bumble, the table I'm concerned about is a game table, but doesn't look like an official game table. It will only be used at big dinners when we have more than 6 people. We'll be moving it to the dining room at Thanksgiving. This is the one I'll get the hard mats for.

MC, I always use coasters, even for glasses that don't sweat. Just this morning I ordered four more (for the table, lol) from thirstycoasters.com. They're expensive but they're the best one's made and come in a lot of different designs.

This morning my husband and I sat at the new table in the LR and drank our coffee together before he left for work. I really like having a "game" table in there. I wish it were called something other than a game table though. But he intends to play chess there (by himself) so I guess it's a game table. lol

Amy, these are what I'm ordering. I love them! They'll match the new room perfectly! Plus, my dh hunts a couple of times a year and we have a Pointer. lol. Perfect!

Here is a link that might be useful: Placemats

I agree- game table sounds like it's for a rec room. You could call it a Chess Table which conjures up a more refined image.

Mc, when we told the salesman at the store we needed a game table, he took us to a poker table. lol.