Month: November 2016

If you’re hosting a Thanksgiving dinner or holiday party this year, and don’t own a traditional dining room table, there’s no need to worry. If you’re interested in investing in one, now’s the time. There are many other ways to use the dining room furniture you own to serve a holiday meal.

A breakfast bar

Not all meals have to be sit down and formal. Try using your breakfast bar as a buffet table. If you don’t have a large dining room table, and there isn’t enough room to seat everyone at the table and have the food, use your kitchen. Set food out on the kitchen counters or breakfast bars, and have guests serve themselves buffet-style.

This is a less formal dining option, and is perfect for a large gathering of people. If there are too many people a sit-down meal can be impossible, so have guests serve themselves buffet style to add ease to the meal.

Side or Serving Tables

If you do have a formal dining room and dining room table, but don’t have room for everyone and the food, set out a serving table in the dining room. You could also use pub tables, breakfast bars, or any other additional tables in your home to function as serving tables. Find any long table, and set it against the wall. Guests will still have to get up to serve themselves, but it helps you utilize the space in your dining room.

Bistro Tables

If you have a very small dining room table, don’t be afraid to use whatever tables you have around your home. The holidays are a cozy time to be together, and the formal holidays are on their way out. If you have hodge-podge tables pushed together for a meal, it will still work. As long as everyone has a place to sit. Using bistro tables, or small eat-in kitchen tables would work here as well. Bistro or Pub tables will work well as smaller side tables, use them for a kids table.

Investing in a dining room table

Perhaps you have no dining room table either because you haven’t had the space until now, or just haven’t gotten around to investing in one. You could also invest in a bistro table or breakfast nook table to add onto the end of an old or smaller dining room table. The important thing is to enjoy your hectic holiday gatherings. Let the formality go, your guests will figure out how to feed themselves, where to sit, etc. If you’re hosting a formal event, be sure to invest in a full dining room set, with chairs and a large table for everyone to gather around.

If you’re in the market for a new dining room table or perhaps your first official dining room table, there are some basics that you may want to consider before you make your purchase. Here’s a rundown of dining room table basics.

Dining room tables come in many, many shapes, sizes, colors, materials, etc. Some dining room tables come in wood, which then leads to what type of finish you’d like, dark or light, matte or glossy. A great way to pick out the perfect dining room table is to decide on a style that you want to go with, and then decide on other options from there.

Consider your lifestyle before settling on a table. If you have young kids that are constantly spilling things, a beautiful polished hardwood table may not be the best option for you. If your kids will be doing their homework at the dining room table, a wood table might not work, as writing on top of wood, will make indents and imperfections in the wood of the table.

Look at the space that you have, to place a dining room table in. If you have a spacious formal dining room that you’re trying to fill, a larger table will be no problem. If you’re working with a smaller space, you may have to be more strategic with your spacing.

Styles of tables feature different leg arrangements or pedestal supports. Some tables come with traditional supports, four legs supporting the table on each corner. Some tables feature one large support in the middle of the table. These types of tables are easier to sit at because there are no legs to get in the way. Essentially you can seat people all around pedestal support tables, without a leg in someone’s way.

Most dining room tables are 30 inches tall, so if you have tall family members, you may want to consider alternate heights. Some more traditional tables are oval shaped and feature removable leaves to change the size and length of the table. You can take the leaves out, and have a more round or short dining room table, and add the leaves in when you have company or more mouths to feed.

A new trend for dining room tables are benches, for a more family-style feel. Some dining room tables even come with chairs on three out of the four sides, and one bench for the fourth side, so that you get a mix of both.

There are so many styles to choose from when it comes to dining room table styles. You can always find the perfect one for your home style, functionality or space. Assess the space you have and the size you want, how many people you want to seat at the table and go from there. Choose materials colors, chairs vs. benches and more to design your perfect dining room table.