What do you have on your daily used dining table?

[SwigofBaileys]

20 years ago I have moved in with now DH and yesterday we have bought out first dining table together - his old one is to be disposed of to charity, still Ipin good condition. Now we have a much bigger table but only two us empty nesters, so we can have it dressed up nicely maybe with something in the middle, like a tray with a vase and a candle. Lots of inspiration on SM but would love to hear if anyone makes an effort with a real life dining table?

Always flowers, candles and a nice tablecloth and placemats. Now it’s just the 2 of us it’s lovely to sit down to a nice kitchen table for supper every night.

We have a kitchen diner, no separate dining room and use the table daily. With two little children it has any amount of stuff which is cleared away for meal times. I aim to have it clear.
Right now it has a few playing cards, guide book from a safari park we visited in the summer that I'm wondering if we should keep, some sweets, receipts and the last of yesterday's bread on it!!!

This is mine…minus the chairs. They are on the way 😂 very boring

For special occasions I put down a nice table runner, and a nice glass candle holder I got from a charity shop.

The rest of the time it holds a lot of junk. Right now there's a board game, a pop up leonardo da vinci book, crystal growing kit, remote control car, a lot of cables, a half eaten bag of sunflower seeds, and my laptop.

A large grey cat (not ours)

also an adult child, working from home - sign of the times

We have a separate dining room with a table we only use in the winter. When it's not laid up for dinner there is a protective cloth and the cat's bed on it (he likes being up high). The kitchen table currently has a crate of ripening tomatoes.

Placemats and a big, heavy sewing machine in the spare corner.

We have a candelabra and occasionally flowers.

Salt and pepper pot

And crumbs normally

At the moment, mine has a bread maker on it.

I'll put that away this weekend, as I have a quiet couple of days.

I have a kitchen/diner & the table is covered in stuff, mostly mine. DH & I were saying the other day that it would be good to stop eating in front of the tv every night. I still have the Christmas cloth on!

Vase of flowers and a couple of candles. Sometimes the placemats if they havent been put away. Usually some ironing waiting to be done.

We don’t have a dining table.

2 tables in our house. Kitchen, used daily has a pot plant in the middle which is moved for meal times. Sometimes letters. Mostly clear as it sits 4 and is used by 4 twice a day.

Dining room table, kids home work, a massive puzzle, my laptop and assorted stationary.

Our table is normally clear apart from a pile of round place mats (used for placing hot dishes on) and a vase often with flowers in and a napkin holder - all place in the middle.

Often someone is working at the table with a laptop / papers etc, even though we have a study and the kids all have desks in thier rooms.
At dinner time the table is cleared and we all sit down to eat.

I dont understand how people never eat at a table - Things like pizza, or one bowl stuff you eat with a spoon/fork but it would annoy the hell out of me to sit on the sofa balancing a plate of roast dinner or a steak or something else that needs to be cut up!!

Just a fruit bowl.

I have a bonsai tree as a centre piece.

Although it's hard to see among a laptop, DDs books, school and sport bags and usual at least 2 water bottles.

I too will clear mine tomorrow… (ditto).

Ours has on it a box full of meds for a poorly chicken, some dismembered barbie dolls that daughter is modifying for Halloween, 2 scewdrivers, a kitchen roll and a plate of chop for parrots breakfast. 🙂

If I were in you situation I’d have a fruit bowl as they’re colourful and I like your idea of a fancy tray with salt and pepper, a candle and either fresh flowers or a succulent pot plant.

My mum has a large glass dish that she fills with seasonal ‘bits’ as extra decor which is quite sweet.

Mine has placemats, coasters and a large rattan candle holder. We eat all meals at the table so the placemats are always out.

Place mats, coasters, various bit of the weekend paper that DH is still reading, books.

No point in doing anything fancy as the cats would just knock it over. I mean, they don’t go on there but I bet as soon as I did something nice, they would, the little bastards.

Feels like the whole house!