Dining Room Furniture Buying Guide

Your dining room is a place where family and friends gather for special occasions. The dining room furniture you choose will show that everyone is welcome in your home. When the room feels comfortable, looks stylish and accommodates all your guests, every meal you eat there will feel like a celebration. Chances are the dining room furniture you buy now will be the furniture you will have for many years to come. Knowing a few key facts will help you shop intelligently and purchase dining furniture that will meet your needs and last for years. Consider these tips when buying dining furniture.

Buying Dining Room Furniture:

1. Dining tables: Before choosing a dining room table, measure your dining room. Remember that you will need space to walk around the table and pull out the chairs. A round table or a bistro table will feel right in a smaller room, while a rectangular table fills a larger room better. Generally, try to leave 48 inches between the edge of the table and the wall or closest piece of furniture. To give your home a cohesive feel, choose dining room furniture which reflects the architecture of your house and the style of other rooms in your home. Many wood dining tables are durable and may need only occasional furniture polish, but softer woods may be more susceptible to scratches and could benefit from the use of a tablecloth. Glass dining tables may not scratch or stain, but fingerprints show up easily. Generally, any window cleaner can be used to clean glass dining tables.

2. Dining chairs: If you purchase your dining chairs separately from your dining table, be sure the sizes work together. Most dining tables are 29 to 30 inches tall, and you want about 12 inches from seat to the top of the table. Look for dining chairs that are 18 to 19 inches tall for standard height tables. A seat width of 20 to 24 inches will be most comfortable, but other width sizes can be stylish if they fit the scale of your table. Remember to think about who will be sitting in your dining chairs. A narrow chair with a low back won't work if your family or guests are very tall. Heavy dining room chairs will be frustrating for children to pull out from the table.

3. Dining sets: Many dining room tables and chairs are sold together as dining sets. This is an easy way to furnish your dining room so you can start using it right away. It can also save you the trouble of figuring out whether or not the chairs fit the table. Wood dining sets are often the most expensive, but they are quite durable and beautiful. Remember that you will probably have your dining room furniture for many years. Choosing the style and size you like now will matter years from now, long after you've forgotten the price.

4. Extras: Once you've chosen your dining table and chairs, you can sit down and eat in your dining room. But don't stop there! Including other furniture in the room will make it feel complete. Bar furniture, china cabinets and wine racks are decorative and functional. Buffet tables give you space to serve dishes and store table linens.