Dining Table - advice....

[ItsmineAllmine]

Bit boring. But looking for general advice in case one of these options (or both) is a ridiculous idea.

Going to be buying a new dining table and torn between getting a white high gloss one, or a marble topped one.

Is high gloss a daft choice for a family table that will be well used for eating, drawing, playing games on etc? Am thinking it might scratch easily. Start off looking nice but look awful after about 2 weeks.

Is marble similarly daft (my mum seems to think it will absorb stains)?

Humour me please and feel free to join the dining table chat.....!

Wipe clean tablecloth. Take it off when you want to impress people (or when not in use).

Actual marble? Won't that be very heavy if you have to move it? Also hard so unforgiving surface if you drop anything. We have granite work surfaces now which | love, but they are an unforgiving surface if you knock over a glass or anything.

What would the white high gloss be made out of?

Would you consider any sort of table covering?

Our dining table is made out of polished wood but is almost always covered up

Oh didn't mean to enable voting.

It's sort of marble topped. Not some massive monstrosity.

I wanted to avoid needing to use a tablecloth all the time...

When my kids were small the wooden dining table was always covered in a protector with a table cloth on top.
I currently have a white gloss table and it is a bit vulnerable to damage especially if heavy cutlery is dropped from a height on to it! But if you like the look of it, I say go for it. You could have a pvc table cloth on when kids are using it as someone else said.
Having tried many types of table mat over the years I have finally found ones which last and don't stain but they are perspex and large 27cm x 40cm. www.shades-placemats.co.uk/product/solid-colour-placemats-3/. This means that the cutlery fits on them as well as the plate which also reduces damage to the table surface. I get why you would rather avoid cloth/PVC coverings...in themselves a hazard for young toddlers to pull off.
IKEA clear desk pads are great for protection during homework/arts and crafts.www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/skvallra-desk-pad-10394935/
If not white gloss again, I think my next dining table might be glass topped as I have had good experience with the durability of a glass work station.

Marble, deffo. High gloss white will constantly show smeary finger marks and other such delights. Marble very forgiving in that respect.