Monday, October 20, 2014

How to Choose the Right Table Style - Shape for Your Room?

Round Table with Pedestal Base
Many of our customers assume that all farmhouse tables should be rectangular in shape.  But that shape may not be the best one for their needs.

Our home, for instance, is an old farmhouse with very square rooms.  The best shape for our family’s kitchen table is either square or round because these shapes best match the shape of our particular dining area.  A rectangular table simply wouldn’t be a good fit for our space.

When Are Square Tables or Round Tables Your Best Option?

A square table or round table works well in a square room because it allows each person seated to have enough room to push their chair out and get up and move around.  This also means square and round tables often have pedestal bases instead of legs.  Pedestal bases work very well with these tables because chairs can be easily pushed under them and nobody gets their legs caught on a table leg when moving around.


On average, a 36 inch round table with a pedestal support will comfortably seat 4 people.  A 48 inch table will comfortably seat 6 persons.  A 60 inch round pedestal table will comfortably seat up to 8 people.  And an 84 inch round pedestal table generally seats 9 persons very well. 

Be aware that when round tables grow to 60 to 84 inches in size (6 or 7 feet in diameter) then it gets harder for everyone to reach for food on the table’s center.  So what we typically recommend for these larger tables is that you also get a matching Lazy Susan.  We’ll make you one that’ll be an exact match for your table and it’ll make your piece much more functional and easier for everyone to enjoy.
Round Table with Pedestal Base

We generally like to keep round tables fewer than 65 inches in diameter if they have a single pedestal because very large round pedestal tables tend to become more unstable without extra leg support.  For larger tables, we build a double pedestal base to provide them with that extra support. 

Occasionally we build larger round tables with legs if that is what will meet our customer’s needs the best.  To make such a table look nice, however, we also add an octagon-shaped apron around the underneath of it.  This apron not only helps the table look great, but it also secures the legs and makes the structure very stable.  (All tables that have legs, no matter what style they are, have aprons in order to give them stability).

We typically make aprons 4 inches high.  And we also craft a bead around on the apron because it looks nice.  But we can adjust the width or shape of table aprons in order to give, for example, tall persons more leg room when seated in their chair.  So that is an option you can choose if needed.

Square tables can have either legs or pedestals.  We recently built a very large square table for one of our customers … it was 60 inches X 60 inches in size.  And for this table we constructed a double pedestal in order to give it a very secure base of support. 

When Are Rectangular Tables Your Best Option?

Rectangular tables work very well in rooms that are rectangular in shape.  As far as width goes, we always recommend that a rectangular table be at least 36 inches wide.  The table’s length, of course, can increase proportionally with the room’s length if that’s what the customer desires. 

In general – for a rectangular-shaped table with legs – a 48 inch long table will comfortably seat 4 persons and a 5 or 6 foot table will nicely seat up to 6 persons.  I’d say that the most popular sized rectangular table that is built in our shop tends to be 6 feet (72 inches) in length.  This allows 2 persons to be seated very comfortably on each side with one person on each end. 

Tables that are 7 feet in length can generally accommodate 8 people comfortably … 8 to 9 foot long tables can seat up to 10 persons very comfortably … and 10 to 11 foot tables can generally seat up to 12 people very easily.  (We’ve actually been building quite a few 12 foot tables recently).

What About Trestle Tables?

Trestle tables have not only pedestals but also feet that come off the pedestals.   This allows them to have very stable support while also keeping the pedestals from getting in the way of those seated at the table.

Trestle Table
One of the beautiful things about a trestle, for example, is that it’s usually possible to fit up to 8 persons around a 72 inch long table.  This is because it doesn’t have traditional table legs and there is simply more room for people to sit down around it. 

We often have customers that have banquette seating, where bench seats are already built into the space they want to put a new table.  A trestle table is often a perfect solution for such a situation because it’s easy to for individuals to maneuver around the trestle in order to access any built-in seats.

Trestle Table Base

Trestle tables also offer a variety of seating options.  For example, one seating style that is popular right now is to have seating on both sides of the table … but not on each end.  For this, we typically place support legs at each end of the table so there is more room on both sides.   You can however, install “company boards” on the ends of the table so that it’s possible to seat guests on both ends of the table if more seating is needed.    Such boards allow you to get even more seating on a trestle table during special occasions.


Table with Company Boards
What About Getting Custom Tables & Seating for Unique Situations?

We recently constructed a custom farm table for a beach house in Bethany, Delaware.  Our customer wanted to have a large table that would allow for every member of her large family to be seated when visiting.  The problem, however, is that the room where she was going to place this table was pretty small.  What we were able to do for her is tweak a couple of things.  We placed the legs just a couple of inches further apart than we normally do.  And she ordered narrower chairs so that 3 seats could be placed in between legs on each side of the table.  This gave her just enough space so she could fit all of her children and grandchildren at the table at once. 

Trestle Table with Chairs and Bench

These are the sorts of things we can do to meet your needs.  Please don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions about having a custom farmhouse table built for you … one that will perfectly fit your space.





Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php

Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php

How to Choose the Right Table Size for Your Room

5-Foot leg Table Seating 6 Persons
One of the things we love about building custom tables is our customers can choose a shape and size that is a perfect fit for their home.  We really want you to discover what sort of table will be just right for you.  You’ll find the following information very helpful because it’s based upon extensive research and our real-world experience here at Furniture From the Barn.

When thinking about what your table is going to look like, the main thing you’ll want to do is evaluate the space where your table is going to reside after it comes into your home.  The table should not only look good in that space, it should also provide ample seating and functionality to meet your family’s needs.

Measure to Get Enough Room Around Your Table…

We usually begin by discussing your table’s width.  Ideally, the width of your table should be at least 36 inches.  This will give you enough room for both place settings and food.  Depending on the size of your room, the width of the tabletop can correspondingly increase with its length if there is enough space to accommodate it.

6-Foot Leg Table Seating 6 Persons
When measuring the space in the room it’s important to allow for enough seating so that everyone at the table will be able to sit down comfortably.  One great trick we’ve found to measure this is to take a bed sheet and then fold and shape it to size of the table you’re thinking about getting.  You’ll want to move existing furniture out of the room before doing this and then get a table measure to determine how many inches there are from the walls (or other furniture in the room) to that bed sheet (which is serving as the imaginary edges for the table size you’re checking).  There should be at least 36 inches of clearance so that every person seated around the table will have enough room to be comfortable, plus allowing others to get around them when they’re seated.  In reality, 42 to 48 inches of clearance is better, but you should really have a minimum of 36 inches. 

Since we’re going to be crafting a custom table to fit your particular space then, as much as possible, you want to avoid overcrowding that space.  Many customers tell us that they want the table we make for them to be the “last table” they’ll every buy … perhaps even hand down to one of their children someday.  So we typically have this goal in mind.

7-Foot Leg Table Seating 8 Persons
Measure to Be Sure You’ve Got Enough Room for Your Place Settings…

Each person sitting around a table needs a minimum of 24 inches of table space in order to accommodate their place settings.  Most of the chairs we offer range from 19 inches to 20 inches wide. 

We do have a popular chair that is 22 inches wide, but if you use that chair then you’ll probably also want to calculate at least 26 inches of space for on the table for the corresponding place settings for that seat.

7-Foot Trestle Table Seating 8 Persons
Can You Get Customized Table Legs?

We usually make the legs on our tables to be removable.  The exception to this rule is when a customer wants legs built with mortise and tenon joints.  Making removable legs allows for safer transit of tables from our workshop to customers’ homes.  We never recommend shipping a table made with mortise and tenon legs for a long distances because there is a chance the legs may get snapped off at some point during transit if the movers fail to properly handle the table.

Table with Cabriole Legs
We also custom make tables for taller individuals.  For example, our standard tables are 30 inches high, but we can increase that to help make taller persons more comfortable when seated.

What About Bench Seating?

Yes, we often make custom benches to fit a particular table.  Not only do we tailor make the bench to fit so that it slides under one side of the table, but we can make bench legs either higher or lower, depending on the need.  We even make taller benches especially for children (kids really love bench seating).  After the children grow bigger many customers repurpose their bench for use in a mud room or other ways.

Really neat!

The point here is that it’s your table and seating … we try very hard to meet the needs and desires of every customer so long as things can be built and shipped safely.

Leg Table with Chairs and Bench
You can typically get more seating on a bench than with chairs in the same space.  One thing many families order from us is a table that has chairs on one side with a bench on the other side.  Benches can also be made to slide under tables and be nicely tucked away so there is more room around the table when the bench isn’t in use.



Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php

Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php