What sort of dining table do you have?

[thaigreencurry]

Buying a dining table should be a simple thing but we are really finding it hard to find something thats right. We have limited space, we have a living/dining room and are therefore tight on space. We bought one of those space saving things where you store the chairs inside but its ghastly and we both hate it. It doesn't work for us anyway as I think we need something that is up all the time where ds can sit and do his homework.

I don't know what style to go for. Its a victorian property and I do quite like the rustic french style tables but when I imagine it in here it all looks a bit twee. My friend has a lovely oak solid modern looking table but I worry that something like that wouldn't really match our other stuff.

We have oak flooring, duck egg walls, white painted built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace and a creamy storage unit thing with wicker baskets in. It can't be too big there isn't much floor space.

Any ideas anyone? What do you all have?

I've got a chunky reclaimed wood one which is 6ft by 2ft it has benches the advantage being they tuck underneath and it saves space, the whole thing can be pushed against the wall when not in use. Its from goodwood cellars, their website is poor on the picture front or I'd link for you.

www.johnlewis.com/27585/Product.aspx

We have this one. We had it in our smaller Victorian house and now in our larger 1930s house. Looked great in both and you can have chairs or benches.

Thanks will check them out.

You can get extendable oak dining tables which might work. Try googling to get suppliers

We have this and it's fantastic - much nicer and sturdier than it looks in the pic. Plus a total bargain for solid oak. We Danish oiled it and it looks lovely. Don't know whether it would be too big, even in its unextended state, but you can see the measurements.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30101333

I have the small dining table from this range - www.johnlewis.com/3903/Product.aspx

Went for it as space was also limited and didn't want a very long one that would block a through route.

They do a very simple, plain Arts & Crafts style (so in keeping with victorian house) oak dining table at Habitat, named Ruskin, and available in 2 sizes. (seating 4 or 6/8 I think). It's lovely.

We have a rectangular (70x140) beech table with 2 extending leaves making it square (140x140) and seating 8 comfortably at max. It is Habitat's Hampton table, but discontinued now- we've had it 14 years or so and still looks brand new- very solidly built (from Habitat's pre-Ikea days, ahem)

www.indigofurniture.co.uk/dining-room-furniture/wood-dining-tables/plank_table

We love our plank table from indigo furniture. You can get a matching bench which pushes underneath, so that you can have the table up against a wall with chairs and pull out/get the bench out on the other side when you've got extra guests. Looks lovely too. Also any scratches or marks can be waxed over. The delivery was great and they leave you a tin of wax for future use. We have also got extra bits to slot into each end which makes the table longer for big parties. Hope this helps.

From the sounds of it a white/off-white or cream colour table would fit in.The french rustic tables are usually fairly large [and dark wood].Why don't you look at Oka online for inspiration and then look at Ikea to get a cheaper version.Alternatively John Lewis have some nice tables in stock at the moment.

I got one made by a local charity which trains homeless and long term unemployed people to do woodwork.

It is beautiful, made from planks in all sorts of different reclaimed woods, and the guys that made it were able to tell me where each piece of wood came from - a hotel that had been refurbished, a famous artist's garage, a local manor house etc.

It was made to my exact requirements - size, height, varnish type, leg style etc, and was no more expensive than something you might find in a furniture store.

We have a vintage Ercol round table which folds down (to a rectangle), we are very short on space so needed something that folds, dh picked it up at an auction (better quality than the modern stuff). I would look into buying something rustic or made out of reclaimed wood if i had room for something bigger.

I have one that was made too. The top is bleached and waxed scaffold boards and the legs are chunky and painted in F and B French Gray. It is long and skinny which is great for space. I have habitat verdi chairs with it

Hi we have an Edwardian house and have a big farm house style table. I bought it for a snip off eBay, £85. The top is waxed pine and the underneath section I have painted duck egg blue. I didn't want anything too new and modern as the rest of the kitchen is not new and modern:)

We have the large version of this Ikea extending one Stornas which looks a lot better in the flesh than in this pic! It's v sturdy, reasonable price, and we bought the Ingolf chairs with it that are v comfy (ie you can happily sit around chatting without a numb bum). As it's darkish stain pine, could probably be dressed either country or modern styles - ours is normally covered in a plastic tablecloth, but when it's out we've had it with a table runner and Emma Bridgewater stuff on and it's looked good, also with a more formal dinner service and smart cloth.