Do you have a narrow dining table? Let's talk

[jinkies]

We have a combined kitchen/dining area.

Our current table is 42" wide, and it's ok but makes the space tighter than I'd prefer so I'm looking at other options.

Would I regret going all the way down to a 30" wide table? This would be the only dining table in the house. I know it would limit space for serving dishes, but we host people for dinner approximately... twice a year so Im thinking we could live with it?

Even going down to 36 inches would probably help, but 30 would allow me to arrange other furniture in the room to my liking. And/or provide better clearance around the table if/when we ultimately add doors to the outside on one side of the room.

Do you have a narrow dining table? Is it fine? Do you regret it? Does it only work bc you rarely use it? This would be our every day table, but there are only 4 of us so we could spread out our place settings enough to have room for serving dishes.

[chilerellanos]

I am used to hosting in small spaces, and for holidays and such, we’ve just had the food set up in stations in the kitchen, and everybody goes through line, like a buffet and then sits at the table.

So the twice a year you do host something bigger, you could do something like that.

I would buy a table that suits your space and you lifestyle the rest of the time.

[macmars45]

Do what works for your family all year long. H and I had a very small dining table until roughly 3.5 years ago which worked really well for us.

[divanerd]

We have a pedestal table with a leaf in our kitchen we can take it out for half the size.

[dottyblue]

Our daily table is 38” wide by 60” long and extends to 78”. We rarely extend it. With just the four of us, we could totally make a 30” table work.

[lavender444]

In our last house we had a drop leaf table that functioned like this one in the link. It was fantastic as generally we had it pushed against a wall with only one of the leafs up and 4 chairs around it. Maybe you can look for something like that?

www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/zipcode-design-adams-drop-leaf-dining-table-zpcd1809.html

[aspentosh]

I'd go with what works for your family year round. Maybe bridge the gap and do 32-33" (if you can find it) so you have a bit more space both on the table and around it.

I had a heck of a time finding a table I liked that would fit. Why are all the tables *so* big now?

[jinkies]

Thanks everyone. I will look for something 30-35 inches across and see what I can find. We actually have plenty of space lengthwise for a 72-90ish inch long table. It's the width that's making it cramped, because the table seating is getting in the way of island seating. Cutting the width down by a foot would make a big difference.

And yes, as someone mentioned above, as the owner of a home built in 1970, I do feel like it's sometimes hard to find furniture on the right scale for our house. Everything seems to be either apartment-sized or McMansion-sized. Our current table is huge, but it wasn't an issue when it was tucked away in a rarely used dining room. Now that it's our main/only table, the scale just feels off.

[InBetweenDays]

I wouldn't be concerned about room for serving dishes with a 30" wide table. But I would be concerned about leg room. I would think people sitting across from each other would be hitting their legs against each other. Would probably be worthwhile to sit at one and see how it feels.

[maudefindlay]

Not sure your budget, but have you looked for a local furniture maker to get a table made custom fit for your space?

[Susie]

My dad made our dining room table.  It's about 6.5' long, and about 39" wide with the drop leaves up.  With the leaves down, it's about 24" wide, and much easier to walk around.

[jc2009]

We had a basic farmhouse table built for our long, narrow dining room. It's 36x96 and has sufficient space on top.

[froggy76]

I think my table is 33" wide and it's fine! A little crowded in the middle at holidays but day-to-day it's comfortable. I think a good length can also help make up for a narrow width. Still, I'm not sure I'd want anything narrower than 33".

[mccallister84]

Our kitchen table is 32 inches wide and it is definitely a little tight with four adults sitting at it (leg room wise).

[memenee]

I vote that you get something that works for your family 363 days a year and not the couple times a year you entertain.

We have a long, narrow Farmhouse table - probably 34” wide - we LOVE it. We also have an island in the kitchen that we set food on if it doesn’t fit on the table. GL!

[Deleted]

When I've had smaller eat-in kitchens, I always had a drop leaf table they worked awesome. I would recommend something like that. You can keep one or both of the leaves down when it is just the four of you, and when you need more space pop them up.

[libbygrl109]

We’re currently eating at a 30” wide folding table until we find the right one. There isn’t a ton of room for putting food out, but we are not on top of each other when we eat.

[jinkies]

May 19, 2021 18:50:53 GMT -5 libbygrl109 said:

We’re currently eating at a 30” wide folding table until we find the right one. There isn’t a ton of room for putting food out, but we are not on top of each other when we eat.

This is an excellent point. 

We have a folding table that I know is significantly more narrow than our current table. I can definitely set that table up in the space to see how it looks/feels! Thanks for the idea!