Dining Tables

The dining room is the crown jewel of any household. This is the area where any formal event is held, where family bonding over dinner conversation occurs, often a quiet place to utilize as office space to do work or homework. It is a statement in a glance and everyone wants to get that perfect dining room table to service their exact needs. It is no longer necessary for the dining room to match the style of the rest of the house. A standard country style home can be dressed up with a Victorian table, a small apartment can boast a heavy, ornate table, and a classy modern household can tone things down with a quiet pine dining area. It all depends on your style, your needs, and your vision. However, in order to make those things come to light there are a few things that you will want to take into consideration.

Dining Tables

How big should your table be?

The most important thing to decide is the size of the table. Look at your room and decide if you want the table to fill the room or if you have other furniture that will need to be placed within the room itself. Once you know how things will be set up measure the room (if a wall is taken up with a sideboard or buffet, measure to it instead of to the wall). If your dining area is shared space with another room, measure from the wall to the end of the area you want to designate for dining. You’ll want to keep 30”-36” of free space around the perimeter of the table to allow for chairs to be scooted back and people to walk around. If you are interested in a table with very large chairs or have a household with larger people, you may want to leave up to 48” of space around the perimeter for extra comfort. You’ll want larger, more comfortable chairs not only if you like that style, but also if you will have larger people sitting in them or elderly people sitting in them.

Round Dining Tables

How many seats?

Once you know how much space you have available for a table you’ll want to count up how many people will need to sit at the table. Each person should have 22” of space along the perimeter of the table for eating comfort (you may need to add more for large people, but don’t take away any for small children as they often use just as much area as an adult) and 14” into the table. That means that a table that is 32” across in the center only gives you 4” of space in the middle to place food (don’t worry- most tables are larger than this!). That means that for a 10’ x 12’ dining room, you can have a 48” x 72” rectangular table at the largest, and this will comfortably accommodate ten people maximum and a 20” x 44” area in the center of the table for food. While you are able to fit that size table in the room, you don’t necessarily have to. If you have a smaller family, get a smaller table. There is nothing that separates a family more at dinner than dispersing four people around a 12-foot table! If you have a small family but occasionally entertain larger numbers of people you may want to get a table that will allow you to alter its size so it is scaled down for daily use but enlarged for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Wooden Dining Tables

Shape of the table

Typically you can get dining room tables that are rectangular, square, or round. I went with rectangular because a rectangular table will hold the largest number of people. A square table in that same room would hold eight people, and a round table six to seven people. The plus of having a round table is that you can often add a leaf to gain an extra two people; it is also the best type of table to stimulate conversation if you are the type of family to sit at the table during and after dinner to chat while drinking coffee.

Table materials

Now knowing what size table you can purchase you are ready to look at what is available. Tables are often sold in wood, acrylic, and glass-topped tables. Thinking about your family will often let you choose a style that is the most logical; if not always the style you want. If you have small children you will probably want to avoid a true glass top table due to the risk of breakage. If you like the look of the glass top, you can always go with an acrylic to get the look of glass but a bit more durability. However, if you have young children that may sit at the table to draw, color, or work on crafts, you might want to avoid the acrylic as well as some of these tables may be more prone to scratching. A sturdy wooden table with a thick finish may work best in homes with children due to the durability and ease of cleaning.

Glass Dining Tables

Choosing a quality table

Dining tables can get to be quite expensive, especially when getting real wood or higher quality acrylics. It may be tempting to settle for the cheaper table but remember that tables are showpieces and often become heirlooms. Buy the best quality table you can afford. It may hurt the pocketbook at the beginning, but you’ll be much happier with your decision over time. It is comforting to know that you won’t have to go through this process again in a few years or settle for a beat-up piece of furniture for years to come.