DECOR TIPS: HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DINING ROOM TABLE?

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR YOUR FUTURE DINING ROOM TABLE?

Ignoring what is important to you is dangerous. You may end up with a table that you don’t like and that doesn’t meet your needs. As it’s not a purchase that you make every two weeks, it’s important to take the time to ask yourself a few moments and why not, put on paper what you need, what you don’t don’t want, etc. Here are the different points to consider:

• The number of places around the table: How many people are found around your dining room table generally? Do you receive regularly or is it for everyday family use? For the moment, this is only an observation regarding your needs. We will see in the rest of this article the extendable tables if necessary or the passages necessary to take into account in your space.
• The shape of your table : I’ll come back to this later, but I’m sure you probably already have a model that caught your eye.
• The materials that make up your table: wood, metal, glass, a mixture of several materials? If you have no ideas for the moment, ask yourself the question of the use you are going to make of them. If you have young children, a material that is easy to clean and does not fear knocks is interesting. If your dining room is used once in a while with adults, on a daily basis it will be aesthetic above all, you will not have to constantly protect your table so the materials will also have a decorative role. (More than if the table is under a protective mat and a tablecloth).
• The chairs around the table. I’m talking about the table, it’s very cute, but you also have to take the seats into account. We don’t think you plan to eat standing around the table. What type of chairs or armchairs do you like? Do you have any idea of ​​the size of these seats?
• We don’t often talk about it, but it is a component of the table: the base. Some table models have more original legs than others. It is essential that the table legs are not an obstacle when you sit down. There’s nothing worse than bumping your knee against the table leg every time.
• Is your table used for anything other than eating? My question may be surprising to some extent. We often talk about home offices, when you work from home. And we know from experience that the dining room table sometimes turns into an office annex because it offers more space than a small computer desk. It is also to be taken into account… Even if ideally, the office and the work do not encroach on the rest of the house, sometimes, we have no choice!

WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS RELATED TO YOUR PART?

Now that we have seen what you would like to have as a table, we will complicate things a bit and we will wonder what you can really choose as a dining room table. Unfortunately, often, between dreams and reality, there is a difference. Without taking into account the space you have, as we said in the introduction, you risk choosing a table that is too big, too bulky or, on the contrary, a model that is too small and that you won’t like. So what to watch? What are the “rules” for choosing the right table for the space you have?

THE MAIN DIMENSIONS AROUND THE DINING ROOM TABLE

If there are two dimensions to keep in mind when choosing your table (and chairs) for your dining room, they are these: You need to allow 70 cm of passage around the table + 50/60 cm of setback for the chair. This gives an “empty” space around the table of about 120 / 130 cm. It is difficult to cut corners on these two measurements because without them you will not be comfortable leaving the table or moving around it. A chair knocking against a wall leaves marks and sometimes it damages the wall. Passing between the chairs and a piece of furniture or the wall when your hands are caught by a hot dish is easier when you have space. So we absolutely avoid cutting corners on these dimensions.

A LARGE DINING ROOM FOR ENTERTAINING

Now that we have seen the two measurements to absolutely keep in mind before choosing your table, we are going to look at the different possibilities linked to your room. Your dining room is a room in its own right, you have space, why not choose a rectangular table that will allow you to receive people without worries. The risk of a large space is not related to the table, but to the furniture that you will add as storage. They must not weigh down your space and especially not hinder the passage.

A DINING ROOM OPEN TO THE LIVING ROOM OR KITCHEN

Another possible configuration: the dining room is open to another room, often the living room or the kitchen. Your table should not encroach on other spaces. There are also aesthetic constraints that come into play since you will have to harmonize your new table with your existing decoration. We are no longer in technical constraints but in aesthetic constraints. Are you going to stay in the same style or on the contrary radically change your style to create a contrast? There are no magic rules except to follow your tastes.

A SMALL DINING AREA IN ANOTHER ROOM

Unlike the previous part, the space is not the same. We are talking about a dining area, often in a small house and not a room in its own right, whether open or not. In this configuration, the table must not encroach on the rest of your room. We often recommend a square table or a folding table, which once folded will take up little space. Unfolded it will offer you 4 places to receive more easily.