The kitchen table is often the heart of the house. From memorable meals shared with family members to game nights, crafts, and conversations over a bottle of wine, having an epicenter to your home with good lighting, a centralized location, and the right mood is crucial for making a house a true home. You’ll want a table that’s all your own, and speaks to your personality as much as it does to your design sensibilities. Pick up some tips on how to choose and decorate a contemporary kitchen table, and you’ll be well on your way to perfecting the beloved spot in your house that draws family and friends to its warmth.
Appeal of the Eat-In Kitchen
Some people favor a formal dining room, while others prefer to keep it ultra-cozy with an eat-in kitchen. It usually boils down to how much space you have available. This Old House notes that eat-in spaces can help simplify mealtime by shortening the distance between preparation and serving, and creates a usable space for busy families to gather. The key is always to consider traffic, and to avoid blocking off frequented pathways as well as entrances and exits.
Fitting the Space
Before you can find the perfect kitchen surface, size up your space with a critical eye. Would a square, rectangle, or round table work best? Are there any spatial limitations that you need to note? Better Homes Gardens considers proportion and scale to be the biggest determining factors on how you choose your kitchen table. The design will not go so far as to cancel out the fact that choosing an ill-fitting table is hardly the starting point to creating fond memories and bringing together your dream space.
Luckily, modern kitchen tables throw outdated rules out the window. With variations like triangular, oval, seating for one, seating for eight, glass top, metal, extension, wooden, four-legged, café style, and many more, it’s never been easier to channel your individuality into a piece of furniture that also serves as an anchor point in your home.
Consider the Banquette
One way to maximize a tight space and create a pleasant social vibe is to opt for a banquette on one side of your kitchen table. Rather than trying to slide chairs into a tight space, a small cushioned bench will capture the charm of your favorite sunny brunch spot. Pair a banquette with mismatched chairs for an eclectic look that’s all held together by your table. As HGTV points out, a bench can even provide hidden storage that helps you hack putting together a polished furniture arrangement in a small space. The moral of the story is that you don’t have to confine yourself to the idea that only a large table and a matching set of chairs will do. The kitchen is your casual palette to shake things up in your own house, so don’t be afraid to venture into the eclectic.
Accessorizing the Table
Are you a notorious candle aficionado? Is a fresh-cut bouquet your summer season must-have? Do you like to update your decorating scheme with the seasons? The right kitchen table gives you the perfect outlet to create accessory groupings that tie the whole room together. Play with color, size, and materials to craft a jaw-dropping arrangement, and remember this one golden rule from Decoist: there is power in numbers. Think of your table arrangements as a flexible group of items rather than trying to go over the top with just one large piece. It will loosen up the look in a way that perfectly complements your kitchen, and makes it more casual than adhering to any strict dining room rules.
Choosing a kitchen table for an eat-in area means giving yourself permission to play with shape, color, materials, and design in a groundbreaking way. The right modern surface will provide a splash of personality to one of the most important rooms of the house, not to mention the convenience of proximity to your oft-used cooking appliances.
