Square Dining Table

Dining tables are an essential piece of furniture in a home as they give the residing family and friends visiting an area to congregate and have meals together. So not only are dining tables meant for a practical sit-down meals, but they are meant to be a device to support socializing amongst a group of people.

The shapes that dining tables generally come in include round, oval, square and rectangular (or oblong). With multiple options, it can be difficult to make the appropriate selection. I personally prefer square dining tables over the other shapes. They tend to be smaller and hence take up less space than rectangular dining tables, which means they are suitable for smaller homes. At the same time, they have corners which round and oval dining tables don’t. These corners provide additional space for placing items. As such, I’ll focus on square dining tables.

However, even choosing a specific square dining table isn’t this simple of course. There are a bunch of things to think about, out of which I’ll cover the main points here.

Establishing the purpose or purposes of your square dining table early on is important. For example, do you intend to use the table primarily for casual dining with the family or for casual get-togethers? On the other hand, do you expect to regularly host dinner parties involving formal dining? If you want to leave a good impression on your guests, not only should the dining table match well with the rest of your home décor, but it should be visually appealing to those that sit around it. An alternative is to dress up the table with table cloths, runner and other place settings during formal dining occasions.

Probably the worst thing mistake you can make when buying a square dining table is getting the wrong size. If you buy a table that is too big, it either doesn’t fit the dining room at all or it will be too impractical to use. What I mean by this last point is that there should be sufficient space around the edges of the tables to allow people to move freely whilst others are seated. People getting up shouldn’t need to squeeze or shuffle their way awkwardly behind those that are sitting down.

You’ll notice that the typical tables are the 54 and 60 square dining table. Although these are common sizes, you should perform your due diligence and actually measure the room in which the table will reside.

Another factor impacting on the choice of size is the number of people that will be sitting at the square dining room table. Once you have established the maximum practical table size to fit in your room then this is the next step. If you often hold small dinner parties with a group of close friends, then a square dining table for 8 people is suitable, which can comfortably sits 2 people on each side. It is perfect when if the party consists of 4 couples.

If inviting guests over to your home only happens occasionally and you normally have a meal in a small group (e.g. a family of 4 is common), then such a large square dining table may be a waste of space and you might want to consider a square dining table with butterfly leaf. When you have guests over, simply pull and fold out the center leaves to extend the table space. During the other times, just retract the leaves in. This feature allows you easily turn a square dining table that sits 4 people to one that sits 6 people.

Once you have got the practical side of things sorted out, the next thing you want to think about is the aesthetics of the table. This can be quite subjective so I won't dwell on it much. On one hand, the choice you make needs to suit your taste, but at the same time compliment with the room of your home. These days I find a black square dining table seems to be quite popular amongst homeowners.

During this whole time, I’ve only discussed square dining room tables as used in homes. There is another variety of tables which are designed with mobility in mind. If you ever go camping outdoors whether as a family recreational trip, a fishing trip or hunting trip, you probably experienced the annoyance of having your meals on plates that rest on you lap or on the ground. If you are lucky, you might find a flat rock on which to rest your plate.

Instead of going through this, you can get dining tables like the ALPS Mountaineering square dining table, which can easily fold out and have a sturdy build, letting a group of people to huddle around for a comfortable sit-down meal. They are relatively lightweight making them convenient to transport.