Before you buy anything for your table, run your hand flat across the fabric in good light. If it wrinkles the second you touch it, that's exactly what it'll look like after one dinner and a glass of red. Linen does this. Cotton does it less. A cotton blend with a little synthetic mixed in barely does it at all, which is the whole reason I own more of those than I ever admit to in polite company.
Now for the honest part. A pale, precious tablecloth in a house with kids or a dog that thinks under the table is its job is a losing fight from day one. I had a cream linen cloth for exactly one Thanksgiving before a gravy incident retired it to rag duty. Pure white napkins look gorgeous in the drawer and guilty within a week. And if your table gets daily use for homework and laptops and whatever else, a cloth that needs ironing every time is a chore you will stop doing by week three, I promise you.
Color and finish matter more than people give them credit for. A warm terracotta or a deep mustard hides stains better than you'd think and still looks intentional, not stained. A busy pattern, stripes, a small check, anything with movement in it, is far more forgiving day to day than a solid pale color, because nobody can tell where the coffee ring is hiding in all that print. White works beautifully for one thing only, a proper sit down dinner where you're setting the table on purpose, not for the Tuesday table that sees breakfast, bills and a toddler's crayons.
Natural fiber, linen or heavy cotton, suits a house that leans toward slower, warmer rooms, farmhouse kitchens, older houses with worn wood floors, the kind of place where a slightly creased cloth looks like character instead of a mistake. A crisper cotton or a wipeable coated cloth suits a smaller apartment kitchen where the table is doing six jobs a day and nobody has time to fuss over it. Summer tends to pull me toward lighter, breezier cloths and brighter napkins, something with a bit of citrus or blue in it. Winter is when I want the deep colors out, rust, forest, that burgundy that looks like it's been on the table forever even when it's brand new.
One practical note before you order anything: measure your actual table, then add at least ten to twelve inches per side if you want a proper drop, more if you like it closer to the floor.