The Good Table

It seems these days more and more people are into home decorating, which is made easier with all the great resources through blogs, sites like Pinterest, and DIY tv shows out there.  Among these resources is HGTV.com, which has so many boards, ideas, how tos, shopping lists, and pictures that you could just about drive every nail in your house starting with the set of plans you drew up yourself (well, almost). I decided to see what HGTV had to say about finding that good dining room table. 

When on the hunt for a good table, you should take into account several factors.  The material, the style, the size, the construction, and the architecture of the home its going in. From country to modern, oak to glass tops, round to rectangle, large to small, there are so many choices out there.  The HGTV boards all agree, whatever style you choose, a good table always has the same things in common.  It can seat at least 6 people, it is comfortable, and it will stand the test of time.  And, while I think these are all important, HGTV boards are missing the most important ingredients in a good table.

Family.  Conversation.  Traditions. 

It's true.  Have you ever noticed, families would hardly ever be all together at the same time but for the dinnig room table?  And have you noticed, the family time around that table usually dwells long after the dishes are carried away?  What is it about the dining room table that engages us in so many conversations? And holidays, birthdays, special get togethers... you'll catch us all doing the same thing.  We pull out that tablecloth, those centerpieces, the good china, the good plates...why?  Because.  It's our tradition.  Now that I think about it, maybe HGTV boards are right.  These aren't ingredients to the good table.  These attributes make the table, well, great.

In my post The Dining Room, I mentioned that my dad was building us a farmhouse table (it seats 8 people, it's in keeping with the architecture of our Georgian/traditional style home, and it is made of solid wood and will last forever... good table? check).  Well, my parents came to visit on my birthday this weekend, bearing gifts.  Here's the table assembled and ready to be put to use:

The first meal we ate at the table was hubs' grandmother's BBQ recipe, broccoli, and potato salad.  Yu-um.  As we devoured our plates and went back for more, my dad, hubs, and I talked and reminisced.  Actually, it was more me listening to old fishing tales the men shared back and forth.  And, wouldn't you know, I cleared away the plates, and there we sat for a good hour swapping stories and laughing.  That's when I realized, this is a great table.

To finish off a great table, you need some comfortable chairs.  That I had.  However, they were... well.. boring.  Nothing a little fabric can't fix.  My dad helped me change the fabric on the seats, and I ordered slipcovers for the end chairs.  Some before and after shots:

It appears our table is also a morning person.  Here it is at breakfast just before my parents had to make the trip back to their home after a great visit.  

Pancakes, coffee, oj, bacon, and sausage don't hurt a great table, either. :)