Extending tables for easy entertaining

You’ll never be short of space with our new extending dining tables – simply add two leaves to take them from a spacious 2m to a magnificent 3m in next to no time

The impressive Sherborne dining table is 3m long when extended, perfect for entertaining or for large family gatherings.

The dining table is the social hub of the home: it’s where families routinely converge for (usually) home-cooked meals and (not-always) polite conversation and friends and relatives gather for similar fare, potentially with a soupçon of refinement.

Since lockdown, of course, the dining table has become even more essential to everyday family life, serving not only as a place to share meals but also as a desk for home-working and home schooling, an arts and creative space, games table and more…

No wonder sales of dining tables have boomed during the pandemic, mainly fuelled by the need for larger tables to cater for all these different uses, as well as to provide more social distancing space between seats for visiting households.

Huge demand

Here at La Residence Interiors, we have experienced such huge demand for our dining tables, in particular the extending Brunswick, that we’re struggling to meet capacity and get them made quickly enough. Fortunately, we did have the forethought a while back to design two more extending rectangular dining tables to complement our collection.

We’ve just taken delivery of our new Warwick and Sherborne extending weathered oak tables, both of which are a hefty 2 metres long without their extension leaves, and a humungous 3 metres long once the leaves are added.

“Until now, our Montague dining table has been the largest rectangular table in the collection – at 240cm long – while the larger version of the Belvedere comes in at 220cm. Both are a good size and seat up to 10 people, but we’ve had many requests from customers for even larger tables, and especially extendable ones because they provide so much flexibility,” says co-founder of LRI, Sarah Cook.

“With the extension leaves, the new tables can comfortably seat 12 – perfect for a celebratory or Christmas gathering, which we hope we can look forward to again later this year.”

Stylish backdrop

The best dining tables serve as a stylish backdrop for all types of get-togethers, from homework club to a smart dinner party to informal work space. They also say a lot about you, your sense of style and the kind of atmosphere you want to create in your home, so if you’re considering a new purchase, it’s worth bearing a few points in mind.

How much should you spend?

Substance is just as important as style and dining tables are an investment that should be built to last, so high-quality materials are a great starting point. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to pay premium prices for a quality product.

“At La Residence Interiors, we pride ourselves on crafting solid weathered oak tables that will last for years at an affordable price. Our tables aren’t cheap but they’re really well made and represent good value,” explains Sarah. “They're built to last for years to come.”

“The table tops have a wire-brushed finish, which brings out the natural grain of the oak beautifully and means that every table is individual,” she adds.

What style should you go for?

Wooden, metallic, glass, marble? With so much choice available, it’s important that your dining or kitchen table fits with your décor – and is able to cope with the demands of your individual family.

If it’s used purely for entertaining on the odd occasion, for example, it won’t need to be as robust as if it has to host breakfast, lunch, dinner, extra-curricular activities and the cat jumping onto it on a daily basis. Glass or marble tables might look super chic and contemporary but they probably won’t withstand heavy-handed use.

The advantage of weathered oak is that it already looks, well, a little bit weathered – in the most attractive and natural way – and that it boasts both a rustic and contemporary charm that makes it extremely versatile when blending in with different styles of décor. From traditional farmhouse kitchen to modern open-plan diner, La Residence Interiors’ weathered oak tables complement a wide variety of interiors.

Our tables are also pre-treated with an invisible stain-resistant coating which helps protect the wood. 

What shape should you choose?

The shape of your kitchen or dining table is down to personal taste, but can also be informed by the size of your home and shape of your rooms. A round table is a really sociable style to choose, and works well in smaller spaces. An oval kitchen or dining table is ideal for narrower areas, while a rectangular table is great for larger rooms and open plan kitchens.

How big should it be?

The size of your kitchen or dining table mainly depends on how much room you have and how big your family is. If you love having friends for dinner but you’ve also got a big family and not a huge space, an extending table might be the perfect solution; something that has the ability to host large groups but that can be made smaller for day-to-day life.

Which of our extending tables would best suit you?

We now stock three extendable dining tables: the round-to-oval Brunswick seating 4-12 guests, the rectangular Warwick seating up to 12 and the rectangular Sherborne seating up to 12.

The Brunswick has four extension leaves, each measuring 58cm, and fully extends to 3.5 metres (nearly 11.5ft) long.

The Brunswick is the most versatile in terms of size, taking up minimal space as a round 4-seater, with the addition of four leaves taking it to a 6-seater, 8-seater, 10-seater and 12-seater. It’s perfect for those who want a compact table for everyday use but who like to host family and friends on a regular basis. The soft curves of the oval table are ideal for a narrower room or in an interior space where there are lots of squared-off angles, such as in a kitchen-diner with square or rectangular units and kitchen island, as a contrast to the hard edges.

The simple lines of the Warwick are easy to live with and complement most interiors. It has two leaves measuring 500cm, extending it from 2m to 3m.

The Warwick is an unfussy, monastery-style table with four column-like legs and clean lines. It’s quite understated yet still imposing and would look just as at home in a contemporary setting as in a more traditional one. It is ideal for a large kitchen or in a separate dining room where its slightly more formal look could be appreciated.

The Sherborne is inspired by our bestselling Belvedere table and is classic in design. The table top rests upon two large and very impressive pedestals. It marries a slightly rustic farmhouse kitchen feel with an extravagance that comes from the beautifully carved and mitred embellishments to the base. The Sherborne would look imposing in just about any style or size of a room that could accommodate its full 3-metre length.

The Sherborne has two extension leaves of 500cm, extending it to a full banqueting length of 3m.

Whatever the circumstances, extendable dining tables are hard to beat for flexibility. So if you’re thinking about hosting family and friends later in the year – given the current restrictions, it's difficult to predict what we’ll be able to do or not – it might be worth being prepared.

We're hoping that the extra space will come in handy at some point – if not right now then post-coronavirus…