Though the days of eating formal dinners at home may be long gone, says Trish Lorenz, buying the right centrepiece has never been more important
\n
\nBritain has finally caught up with its European neighbours and embraced a love of good food.
\n
\nThis passion is reflected in our homes \u00e2\u20ac\u201d particularly our kitchens \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but has the dining room, once the domestic entertainment hub, passed its sell-by date? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dining rooms have become much less common,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Carolyn Parker, an interior designer. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Today it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about open-plan living. People want bigger rooms and are happy if that means fewer rooms.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Anne Lise Kjaer, a trend forecaster for Bo Concept, says: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The most essential room now is the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctimeshare\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 room, which combines the living room and kitchen as one united space.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d With that, she says, comes a need for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153flexible furniture to cater for busy lifestyles\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
We may rarely sit down together for formal dinners, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean we no longer need dining tables. In fact, they are more important than ever: from providing the focus of slap-up meals to serving as a desk for homework, they fill a variety of roles.<\/p>\n
Parker says wood is still the favourite material for dining tables, with pale, bleached types, such as Pippy Oak, particularly popular. Ocean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pure oak Baltic dining table, priced from \u00c2\u00a3395, has simple lines that work well in an open-plan kitchen and dining space. A matching bench, \u00c2\u00a3195, is also available. Laura Ashley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s solid oiled oak Medina range features tables from \u00c2\u00a3825, a bench seat at \u00c2\u00a3250 and chairs with a rope-weave seat at \u00c2\u00a3350 per pair.<\/p>\n
For sleek, contemporary lines, try Twentytwentyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Home dining table in oak, priced from \u00c2\u00a31,785 and created by Barber Osgerby. The table top is also available in coloured Corian.<\/p>\n
If you like traditional styles but want to avoid the slightly heavy, ponderous look that too much wood can achieve, then distressed finishes offer a less domineering alternative.<\/p>\n
For a flavour of the French countryside, try Marks & Spencer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Loire dining table at \u00c2\u00a3499, with its gently distressed antique white finish, or Laura Ashley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Provencale collection of hand-painted, ivory-coloured dining tables, starting at \u00c2\u00a3500.<\/p>\n
If your dining area is part of a large sitting room rather than kitchen, a more luxurious look may be required. Bo Concept\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weng\u00c3\u00a9 tables, from \u00c2\u00a3349, and Nicole chairs, from \u00c2\u00a399, would suit a modern living space.<\/p>\n
Debenham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Select range is another neutral choice \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a pale oak table costs \u00c2\u00a3449.50 with chairs at \u00c2\u00a3174.50 per pair.<\/p>\n
Or banish wood altogether and make a fashion statement in glossy black. The LC6 from Geoffrey Drayton, \u00c2\u00a31,421, is a stunning glass-topped table with an enamel base, designed by Le Corbusier. Black Cab chairs by Cassina, \u00c2\u00a3599, work well with it. Or try Habitat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all-black Lari table, \u00c2\u00a3449, and Tallow chairs, \u00c2\u00a3119, in red.<\/p>\n
Tom Faulkner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s handmade metal furniture, which includes a range of dining tables with elegant metal bases and glass tops, also offers an alternative to wood. The Albany, from \u00c2\u00a3799, is simple and modern; the Atlas, from \u00c2\u00a31,250, is a curvy statement piece.<\/p>\n
For those terminally short on space, Ikea has a great selection of tables that fold to become extremely compact. Try the Bjorkudden gate-leg table, \u00c2\u00a3125, which seats four when in use, folds down to just 26cm in width, and has six convenient drawers for storing cutlery and table linen. Combined with stackable Herman chairs at just \u00c2\u00a39.99 apiece, who says you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a dinner party in a bijou studio flat? If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working with a difficult space or know exactly what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like, why not commission a table, specifying its materials, size and shape? Firms such as Nottingham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 101fs accept private orders and work in everything from wood to glass. Or create a bespoke table with a young furniture-maker, such as Ed Carpenter or Sam Johnson, whose pieces should gain in value as their careers develop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Though the days of eating formal dinners at home may be long gone, says Trish Lorenz, buying the right centrepiece has never been more important Britain has finally caught up with its European neighbours and embraced a love of good food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-furniture-world-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}