Is my oak dining table dated?

[Zigzaggyzig]

We bought a lovely dining table from oak furniture land 8 years ago.

It’s a classic design. However it has a honey colour finish. It’s a bit like this https://www.oakfurnitureland.co.uk/furniture/canterbury-natural-solid-oak-extending-table-and-6-cross-back-chairs-with-dappled-beige-seats/1015845.html

The scroll back chairs are doomed and going to the tip. The table is coming with us to a brand new kitchen with neutral greige shaker cabinets and a karndean herringbone LVT floor.

I feel like the colour of the finish is dated and won’t match the floor of our new house.

do we sand it down and re finish it?

or replace for a more modern design table?

Thoughts welcome!

Does a dining table date?

We have the same one or v similar table from about 9 years ago. It’s great it probably needs a bit of care from scratches and wear but i wouldn’t replace it. It’s functional and matches our decor… if it won’t match the new decor you could refurb a bit but with the cost of living right now it wouldn’t be a huge priority for me.

Our chairs are more basic shaped with a darker seat so look fine.

As a whole set it’s very dated but I think it could be updated with some more modern chairs. Shame to waste a good quality solid oak table. I’d make it work.

My oak table is 300 years old. Yours has a long time to wait until it is ‘dated’.

Ours is very similar and 20 years old! I still like it.

The photos of it on the link you shared look good to me. Maybe try it in your new kitchen and see what you think. Otherwise I'm sure you'll have no problem selling it.

Why are the chairs doomed? . I have chairs like that for around 15 yeats and they are still going strong with new seat covers. They are very sturdy .

I think you're right about the chairs, I don't like them - but the table is ok and I think could work in a modern kitchen with updated chairs. We have a very solid oak table which we bought from John Lewis for £1k around 12 years ago and we updated it 5 years ago with black wishbone chairs with beige upholstered seats. The table still looks new. We brought it with us from our previous house it doesn't necessarily 'go' with our current kitchen but definitely doesn't look out of place. I would keep it, update the chairs and if it needs it, a good sand and refinish.

By the way you’ve described your kitchen, it sounds like the old table will go as it all seems a similar kind of style. If you don’t think it will go will all the grey you can use a tablecloth or stain it.

It’s your home.

If you hate the table, sell it/give it away on Facebook.

Or Chuck a table cloth over the table and buy chairs you do like.

Why take decent stuff to the tip?.a charity shop will come and collect them.
We seem to live in a throwaway society now. Fed up of it? Chuck it out!!
When my parents got married in 1958 they scraped the money together to buy a G Plan table and chairs, a sideboard and a tallboy unit. Apart from the dining chairs which needed replacing, the rest of the stuff was still functioning in the family home when my mum died in 2022.

100% this.

All that matters is if you like it or are you able to sand and paint to a colour you prefer.

Agree with this. Please give the chairs away to somebody that needs them. They cannot be beyond use after only 8 years.

It’s a much nicer colour than greige. If you don’t like the colour just sand it down and stain it to match your cupboards.

Yes its dated.

Up to you and your budget what to do with it.

Personally I wouldn't keep a dining table I didn't like because some people on mumsnet thought I should.

Beggars belief!!

Just so you know, second hand furniture like this has absolutely no resale value - you'll be lucky to get £100 for a table.
I am doomed with a whole matching set of Oak Furniture Land stuff that I detest also about the same age as yours, but I just can't justify re-spending that sort of money so soon.

That aside, the table isn't my taste either. It's quite old fashioned so if you feel that way then sure, get rid of it. But I do think it's a bit premature to even really consider it before you have actually moved house. You might find it suits the space more than you'd thought, particuarly with new chairs. I'd take it as an opportunity to get some nice table dressings (not necessarily table cloth as that's a bit old fashioned too IMO)

It is dated, yes

I sold a very similar dining table and chairs last year. The chairs were solid wood though. But the woman who bought it was moving to a farmhouse type property where it would suit much more

We live in a modern house now, having moved from a period property. We bought a ceramic top table and leather chairs.

Hoping these will last the 15 years the old set did.

This.
Someone will be very glad of them.
Stick them on FB marketplace for free.

My table doesn't 'match 'but it holds some great family meal time memories so it's staying !
Cost me £80 off Gumtree over 10 years ago !

I have a very similar looking table to yours. It's solid oak and yes I think it's dated. I'll be looking to replace it with something less chunky very soon. If you don't like yours and can afford to get a new one, do it OP.

It’s just a standard dining set, we’ve got similar in a smaller style. It’s still made and being sold so not out of date.

but i know when we bought ours that the prices of chairs in comparison to a dining set are astronomical so if you need six chairs they will probably be £200 each so more than a new dining set would cost.

I love oak dining tables so wouldn't care that it's dated. But if you don't like it and want to replace it I'm sure someone would buy it on Facebook.

Our chairs had faux leather seats which degraded over 20 years badly. It was actually quite easy to reupholster them myself after buying some fabric and a staple gun thing. I'd offer them online for free as an upcycling project before tipping.

Can you post a picture of the actual table and chairs?

Chairs are expensive and may work if painted, recovering the those sort of seats is relatively easy - using a staple gun.
Then the table legs can also be painted to match the chairs, I wouldn't sand the top but I would use a varnish remover - it is less agressive (but maybe more work).

I upcycle furniture to sell and get all my projects this way.
Can't tell you the number of times people say to me, "Honestly they're only fit for the bin" and then with a bit of paint and some graft I can turn them into something that makes me money.

The 'free to collect' market round my way is very competitive and lots of people do what I do.

Someone will snatch your arm off @Zigzaggyzig

Buy a pot of colour matched paint (same as your units) and paint the legs.

It's not my taste as I prefer either antique or extremely contemporary furniture, but if you like it who cares if it's 'dated'?

I'd try it in the new space first, then if it looks OK, look at getting contemporary chairs to 'bring it up to date' if that's what you want. Alternatively, try sanding/re-staining the top or painting the legs...or add a cloth which is a very current way of dealing with a table.

We have a round oak Arts and Crafts Movement table that is lovely and I wouldn't want to part with it, but looks a bit dull in our dark atmospheric Georgian cottage. I've got a selection of tablecloths (mostly made by me using interesting designer fabric remnants from eg Haines Collection) that I use to mix things up a bit.