We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Table

Family in town? These five tables can accommodate.

By The Editors
December 14, 2015 9:00 am

Chances are extendability wasn’t the first thing you were looking for when you bought your current dining room table, whether it was a just-get-the-job-done IKEA number or a glorious 1960s rosewood model from Denmark.

There is something distinctly grandfatherly, something that suggests a preference for practicality over aesthetics, in the extendable table. But as the holidays draw near, think of having more seats at the table as less of an ugly necessity and more a joyous expansion: more butts at the table means more people to love (and more arguments about Donald Trump, sure, but let’s focus on the love).

So let this be the year you stop counting seats on the sofa and commit to making good on the promise that everyone’s welcome.

Restoration Hardware 1900s Boulangerie
They call it “a reproduction of an early 1900s French bakery table,” we call it a woodshop table that doubles as an eating table. Four legs and a single long, broad plane built from restored British scaffolding. Available in six sizes. From $645, largest version extends from 108” to 144”

BoConcept Monza
BoConcept promises its extension tables offer “beautiful design that is never compromised by the functionality” — and that’s pretty much what’s on sale with the Monza, which makes use of two glass panels at either end. The Monza is customizable; this model has smoke-colored glass and oak legs. $3499, extends from 75” to 110 ¼”

Room & Board Adams
Beautifully spare, the Room & Board Adams extension table is a modern take on Shaker aesthetics, with tapered legs and a minimal profile. Available in cherry, walnut and maple with charcoal stain. From $1699, extends from 72” to 100”

Pottery Barn Benchwright
Pottery Barn’s Benchwright sits squarely between industrial minimalism and farmhouse brawn, with saw marks on the wood’s surface added for a rustic feel. Available in mahogany, spruce, and a “rustic brown” stain. From $1699, largest version extends from 108” to 144”

IKEA Norden
This is the sort of great-looking table that keeps IKEA in business, and dreams of clean, quiet Scandinavian kitchens dancing in our heads. $299, extends from 61” to 82 ⅝”

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