In your home you no doubt have particular areas where you do things – where you sleep, where you exercise, where you wash your dishes and (most importantly) where you eat. This is different for nearly everyone. For example, some people like to use their dining table and chairs to have a nice, slow meal with plenty of conversation with their family, while others are perfectly content with scoffing down their dinner whilst sitting in front of the television.
Decorating your dining room and finding new dining room tables and chairs to go in it can be something that can often seem a bit overwhelming and scary. There are so many options out there and so many different combinations of dining room tables and chairs that they can make your head spin.
As long as you have a dining room (and a fairly large one) then you should go all out (providing you can afford it) and buy a formal dining room table and chair set that will be large enough to seat your whole family (or at least 6 people). For me, the dining room should be used mainly for one thing – eating in, so make it a place where you can relax and enjoy your food in style. This also means that you shouldn’t be frightened to use the space available to you and fill it up with a dining table.
The right dining table set for you is a bit like finding the perfect partner. You shouldn’t rush into the decision about which one is right for you – finding the right one will make you life better but you won’t really know if it was right for you until you’ve spent a little bit of time together.
The right dining table set for you is a bit like finding the perfect partner.
Factors influencing your decision
I’m not going to tell you what I think is right, but I can say that making the most out of your dining table and chairs will not only ensure that you get the most value out of your dining sets but also that you spend more quality time with your family. I also find that sitting down at the dining table for at least one meal a day lets me enjoy my food a lot more (since I am distracted less) and helps me put my day in perspective (since it gives me time to sit back, clear my head and think about things).
There are a few things that you need to keep in mind before buying dining table sets for your home.
Size Of Room
First of all, you need to remember that you are limited by the size of your room. Before you even think about buying a dining table set go around the length and width of your room and measure everything up properly so that you have a list of measurements written down or in your head that you can go off. From here you can work out the maximum size that you dining room table set can be (don’t forget to include the space around the edge that you chairs will go into and extra space so that people can pull out these dining chairs and sit down on them).
Number Of People
Next you need to work out how many people your dining room table needs to fit. The most common numbers usually range from around 5-10 people, although for larger numbers of people you’ll need an extending dining room table (meaning you’ll have to factor this in to see if you have enough space in your room).
Style and Material
Now comes the time when you can start to think about what you want your dining table set to actually look like! Hopefully by now you have some idea of what you’re after, but if you don’t consider these few things:
- what kind of material (i.e. what kind of wood) you want your table made from,
- what kind of style you want it in (eg. art deco, modern, classic)
- how these things will match (or not match) the current décor in your dining room.
I’ve got an oak dining table set and it seems to match with just about everything I put in my dining room, so think about that if you’re stuck for ideas.
Cost and Budgets
Lastly, always set a budget and stick to it. This sounds obvious but people can often get slightly carried away when they see a dining table set that they fall in love with and they seem to forget their financial restrictions.
When looking for a home dining table it’s important that you get one that not only suits you budget (i.e. it is not too expensive) but that also is made to a high standard. There’s no point buying dining room tables and chairs that fall apart after a year (since you’ll only have to spend more money to buy a new set) so sometimes spending a little bit more to ensure you get quality is worth it.
Lots of people don’t properly plan before buying their dining set and they are lead to disappointment. Do not be one of those people!
Best Way to Enjoy Your Dining Room Rurniture
While dining room tables and chairs were once only used on Sundays and on the rarest of occasions (such as Christmas) they are now used more and more commonly by the average family. In my eyes this is a good thing, since nothing brings a family closer together than when they can all share a great meal and some stimulating conversation together over their dining room table. In our world today where time is such a precious commodity (and where time with the family is even rarer) it’s good to sit down once in a while and really talk to each other.
One of the real problems with the Western society today is the ‘TV dinner culture….
One of the real problems (in my opinion) with the Western society today is the ‘TV dinner culture’, where kids and parents seem to spend their meals sat in front of the TV whilst not talking to each other. It’s a lot harder to ignore one another when you’re sitting on dining room chairs and around a table, and in my eyes that’s a good thing.
You don’t need to use your dining table and chairs for every meal (such as breakfast and lunch), but taking the time to sit down for at least one long meal per day (usually evening dinner) will do wonders for you. It’s often said that part of the reason that Italians live so long is because they take the time to sit down every day with their family and spend at least 2 hours eating a meal. While you might not have a large family to share dinner with, even if you’re on your own as long as you have dining chairs to sit on you should try and make the most of them.
Sitting down at your dining table and chairs and relaxing over a long meal is something that’s best suited to doing in the evening, since it lets you wash away the stresses of the day (sometimes over a glass of wine) and relax. The problem with doing this in the day is that you can’t relax too much, since you often need to get back into ‘work mode’ fairly soon and you often won’t have more than an hour to eat lunch (not to mention the fact that all of your family will also be at work).
