Most of the time, dish towels and kitchen towels are two sides of the same coin—their only difference is their name. Both kitchen and dish towels are great for cleaning up messes and wiping off counters, and both can be easily laundered. However, some 'dish towels' are more decorative than functional—meant to be used for the drying of clean hands rather than the soaking up of spilled milk. But whether or not a towel is decorative or not is largely a matter of preference.