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30 best dining tables for family dinners or festive gatherings
Whether it’s a lavish dinner party with friends, or a cosy Sunday lunch with the family, the dining table often finds itself centre stage. Yet, much like its close friend the dining chair, it can be tricky to find one that ticks all your boxes and fulfils all your requirements.
These days dining tables play a multitude of roles, functioning as work desks and school desks, craft stations and canteens. Of course, we thank them for this and are grateful for their ability to metamorphose, but we're also looking for tables that make a great backdrop for clinking glasses breaking bread and conversations that continue well into the night.
Although purchasing a dining table set makes things very simple, they also assume a kind of “one size fits all” attitude. Every room is unique and mixing and matching a few antique dining chairs alongside a high street table can be a great way to elevate the whole space, so don’t be afraid to branch out. Perhaps you're looking for a small or extendable dining table to fit into a corner of the kitchen or living room, or maybe you have a dining room where it can be a lovely focal point. Whatever your requirements, always obey the golden rule and deploy your tape measure carefully before purchasing.
Scroll on for our pick of the best dining tables to buy now, from extendable to round to marble dining tables.
30 best dining tables to buy in 2025
The type and style of dining table is very much dependent on the amount of space you have, and the style of the room that the table is going into. If you have a small dining room, a shared living / dining area, or you're looking for a smaller dining table to fit into a kitchen, a round dining table could work well. Consider too, that a round table with a central stem rather than four legs, makes it easier leg room-wise, if you have a group gathered at the table. Alternatively, if you have a large family or often host dinner parties, an extending rectangular table would be great, as it will have a smaller profile when not at full capacity, giving you more space around the table, but the leaves can be brought up whenever needed.
Solid wood is a popular and extremely hardwearing choice for a dining table, due to the material's durability, the visual appeal of natural wood grain, the variety of styles available, and the ease with which wooden tables fit into lots of decorating schemes. Appropriate care should be taken of the wood, such as re-staining or oiling when needed, to keep it looking tip-top. Oak, walnut, birch and acacia are commonly used in dining room tables. Solid wood tables can be very heavy, however. A more affordable alternative that is still very durable, would be a wood veneer table, where the exterior surface is a thin layer of wood, such as oak, but the inner core is particleboard. For a modern and clean look, opt for table with marble, glass or metal elements.
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