Love a small vase with fresh flowers from the grocery store or an orchid (anything tall gets pushed to one side when we eat so we can see each other, though). A luxury that lifts my mood every time I see it!
+1 to nothing decorative on the kitchen table/island. I prefer it that way - and yeah, if someone wants to sit with a laptop or papers or anything else that is not food they have clear space.
During farmer’s market/my outside garden season I sometimes have fresh cut flowers on the dining room table - but only fresh.
@abasket …I’m surprised you don’t have a basket!
I have a ceramic bowl I bought in a pottery gallery. It is decorated with has aspen leaves and dark green trim (so sort of outdoorsy). It is full of pine cones.
And I don’t have a dining room, so just have one table.
Haha - back in the day I might have had a basket - I collected Longaberger for quite a while - no more! - I’ve sold many of them except for some especially useful ones!
I have no financial interest in this young couple’s product.
Large ceramic bowl with fruit it in (usually apples, bananas & tomatoes) on my island (where we eat most meals.) On my dining room table I have a very large hand carved black wooden bowl.
Those are awesome, @bookworm!
I’m in the computer-papers-stuff group. My mother was in the formal dining table always set with candles and seasonal floral centerpiece group. Is anyone else old enough to remember waxed fruit arrangements as a centerpiece?
Another one here with no centerpiece.
The kitchen table that functions as an island has a lazy susan with salt, pepper, vitamins, sugar, honey and the butter dish. The breakfast area table is round and has a gorgeous mosaic. We got it in Jordan. Right now there are Valentine flowers. Sometimes there’s a round trivet/mat, but it really isn’t necessary. The table is so pretty mostly we want to be able to see it.
@mathmom …is your avatar your table?
A basket full of napkins.
I use my kitchen table more for sewing than eating.
Our kitchen table has a low rectangular platter where I keep fruits and peppers, etc. Sometimes it has a decorative small runner with candles. My dining room has a runner and 3 vases. It’s mostly just the two of us at a rectangular table for 6, so usually I sit at the end and hubby sits catty corner to me. We don’t need to move the fruit tray
Now ask me about one of my counter tops, it’s where I throw my purse, my dog leash, mail, etc.
I have a little ficus tree that lives there.
Our kitchen table is rather small, so we keep it completely bare. I did have a glass top made for it to facilitate cleaning, so no need for placemats.
I have a kitchen island with bar seating that is home to the fruit bowl, candlesticks that should be on the table but never get put there, cookie/candy jar, etc. But not much room to sit and eat there.
Salt and pepper shakers. They prevent Mr. from spreading his piles of papers…
Normally a laptop or two 
A vase with fresh flowers – Mr. happy1 buys (almost) every weekend at the local florist – he pays very little and they give him whatever they have around – we both enjoy having the flowers.