Am I mad to be considering a white table?

[SarahL2]

We've just had our kitchen/diner ripped out and replaced. New layout and all new cabinets in a shaker style and just off white in colour (a bit like milk) They're a satin finish.

The worktops have a wood finish. Looks like a composite of lots of inch wide strips of wood, mostly an oak colour.

We need a new kitchen table too. I fancy a gloss white one as I'm never going to get one that matches the units and I think an oak effect one would be too dark.

Am I mad?

I have a 2 year old and another on the way. Will a white table be stained and ruined within a few months? Will gloss scratch? A satin finish table would match best but they're impossible to find and that will definitely stain.

I can't decide!!

It will get scratched and ruined. Sorry. Maybe in 5 years?

I suspected that. Bummer

Any tips on buying a bomb toddler-proof table?

yes oh yes

I just can't see that anything else would go

Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved...

with a toddler, a wipeable cloth (is it called oilcloth?) is a must for me. So the table underneath is covered up anyway. But a white table underneath?! Can't you keep the old one until the toddler is older (ie away at university!)

(sorry, not very practical help re the new table!)

I could keep our old table (which is currently covered in one of those plastic-y wipeable cloths) but it's ancient - a hand-me-down from the in-laws that they've had since they were married 35 years ago - and I don't like the shape. It has big rounded corners and I really wanted something more rectangular and less dated.

Possibly a new (maybe white) table with a cover on could work though.

Or a cheap white table I can replace fairly easily?

Get a cheap unfinished pine one and gloss paint the top. You can sand it down and repaint as necessary.

we have this one. it's incredibly resilient. in its early days I had serval panic moments when I though it had been stained with biro/tea/red wine. but every time the mark fades over a week or so. it's not glossy though.

I was about to show you which chairs we have to go with it, but say that I wouldn;t recommend them - they are painted wood and have chipped quite a bit. interestingly though it looks like they don't do them anymore - they now have the identical style, but made of plastic: here - so presumably they don;t chip.

the look of the table and chairs is great - quite retro but looked good in our Victorian suburban house and now looks good in our 300-year old stone-built house - pretty versatile if you like a mix'n'match eclectic look.

hatwoman your table is lovely. Laquered is a good finish, I'd only gone for gloss as non-gloss tables weem to be in very short supply at the moment. Now if only it were rectangular!

I was considering this one which has the added advantage of only being a fraction of the price so I wouldn't be quite so upset if it got ruined and I've just noticed it's laquered too

I also love soupdragon's idea. A cheapy Ikea table and a big pot of white gloss... Definite possibility!

that's lovely - and a good price.

I should say that dds were about 4 and 6 when we got ours - so a bit more sensible than toddlers (but not that much!). I just went to double check it - and it honestly is unstained (had it about 3 years). really wish the chairs weren't all sad and chipped though...

btw - there are some rectangular ones on that site - you could phone them and find out if any are made of the same material as the oval on (I bet some are)

I have a white kitchen table, but it is metal legs (painted white) and a formica top. It was my kitchen table when I was growing up (still has the remains of my sister's chewing gum stuck underneath it...) and it's totally bombproof. I'm not sure you can find formica tablesmany places any more, but it might be worth a google. It doesn't look plasticky either, if you're worring about that.

SarahL - I have a similar table and chairs. Really easy to clean. Mine is Ikea.

Monty Usually I would look at Ikea but we bought the whole kitchen (cabinets, drawers, shelves, oven, microwave, dishwasher) from there and now I am keen to avoid them whenever possible.

It was awful. 10 months to get an oven!!

10 months!

Maybe see if they have similar elsewhere? So handy with kids.

That John Lewis one is great.

i hate oilcloths
get a cheap table then replace when a mess