Every Home Needs a Family Dining Table

A family dining table is central to most of our lives. A place to gather once a day (at least), to share not just food but our latest adventures, our worries, our plans. It really is good to talk and it is more enjoyable over dinner whether it’s just you and hubby, you and your flatmates, or you and your growing brood.

It’s also a place to catch up on emails, do the household accounts, help the children with their homework or even as an extra work surface in the kitchen. I’m looking forward to a kitchen table in my new house and I’m hoping it will become the hub of the house. No more standing conversations while the BF cooks dinner and no more guests hovering over the cooker while I flap. Get back to the table and drink more wine!

So, whether your family dining table is in the kitchen, the living room or it’s own separate dining room my advice is to make it inviting. Choose a surface that will take a few spills and scratches. Some woods look better with age and a few of life’s knocks. Make the dining chairs comfortable with cushions – furs thrown over the back even. Guests should feel that it’s too much effort to move after a meal. And leave the table fairly clear. There’s nothing worse than having to move things to use the damn thing. A vase of flowers and a candle or two for everyday living is enough. And you might find yourself gravitating to the table more often.