These days, rather than being shut away in a separate room for Sunday best, the dining table is at the heart of the home. It’s one of the hardest-working bits of furniture you’ll find – not just where we eat, but the space where we set up our computers, where the kids do homework and watch TV on tablets. It gets covered in clutter one moment, only to be cleared for communal get-togethers the next. Above all, it needs to be durable and suit your lifestyle, so here’s how to find the right one for you …
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The best if you’re on a budget
Docksta round table, Ikea (£130)
The Docksta has been a staple of Ikea’s range for many years and there’s a reason that it’s perennially popular. Yes, it shamelessly takes its lead from Eero Saarinen’s iconic Tulip table, but it costs less than a tenth of the price of an original, so you’re getting timeless Scandi style on a shoestring. Not only that, with a diameter of 105cm and a surface that’s been rigorously tested to ensure it’s resistant to liquids, food stains, oil, heat, scratches and bumps this is a great all-round family favourite.
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… and the best if you’re not!
Grasshopper round table, Piero Lissoni for Knoll at Innes (from £3,095)
Luxury lovers seeking out the perfect dining table need look no further than Knoll’s recent launch by the master of Italian furniture creation, Piero Lissoni. The Grasshopper is the epitome of simple, pared-back design using the very best materials. Like its namesake, the table sits on precise, thin legs – here made of cast steel. The beauty lies in the slender top, which comes in a number of different materials – the most stunning being the rare and exquisite rosso rubino red marble.
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The best for wooden craftsmanship
Originals Plank dining table, Lucian Ercolani for Ercol at twentytwentyone (from £1,100)
Designed in 1956, Ercol’s Plank is a classic of British design, which looks just as fresh today as it did over 60 years ago. With its elm top and beech legs, it’s a lesson in how to work wood in a beautiful, timeless way. This table’s appeal lies in the fact that it comes in a wide array of different finishes, with five shades of stain, including one option with a darker top and lighter legs, a black, white, navy or chartreuse lacquer or very contemporary ombré-graded half-and-half effect.
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The best if you want to go retro
Paulson dining table, West Elm (£599)
Mid-century furniture enthusiasts will love the fab 1950s vibe of West Elm’s Paulson table, which is reminiscent of American diners or Formica-filled Brit cafes from a bygone era. It may look vintage, but this is a thoroughly modern and practical piece of furniture, ideal for family life. The durable laminate top makes cleaning up after messy meals a doddle, while the slim powder-coated supports mean you can fit enough chairs and legs around and under it to accommodate everyone at one sitting.
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The best for mixed materials
Design Project No 169 eight-seater dining table, John Lewis & Partners (£999)
Embrace the contemporary furniture trend for combining different types of materials and finishes, with the sleek No 169 table from John Lewis’s Design Project collection, which offers cutting-edge style at high street prices. It matches a thick, high-grade oak top with splayed cast-iron legs for a minimalist look that really celebrates the integrity of the stuff it’s made from. The honed oval shape may be very much of the moment, but this is undoubtedly a future classic in the making.
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The best for dinner party throwers
Alle table, Staffan Holm for Hem (from €1,499)
Some of us are entertaining fiends, loving nothing better than gathering our nearest and dearest at home for good food, wine and a catch-up. To do this properly and with panache you’re going to need a generously proportioned dining table such as cool online retailer Hem’s Alle, which comes in two finishes (pale or black-stained natural oak) and a staggering four different lengths, each even bigger than the last. The most expansive is 250cm long, for those looking to hold entire banquets!
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The best for modern-meets-rustic style
Dublin eight-seater table, Habitat (£425)
Both country-style and contemporary in equal measure, Habitat’s Dublin table is a winner on all fronts. It’s an expansive eight-seater, yet thanks to its transparent glass top resting on a simple walnut-stained oak cross frame base, it doesn’t dominate or overpower the room where it sits. This means it can work even in relatively compact British kitchens, where space is at a premium. The wood and glass combo is also flexible enough to work with either modern metal dining chairs or classic wooden ones, depending which way your style goes.
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The best for cutting-edge design buffs
Clay round table, Marc Krusin for Desalto at Chaplins (£4,665)
You’ve got your subscription to interior design bible Elle Decoration and a space filled with achingly cool design classics. The dining table to fit such an aesthete’s abode has to be this seemingly gravity-defying piece from Italian firm Desalto. The material is key – it comes in a white, glossy effect, but those in the know plump for this special lava-stone finish, spread by hand using a broad knife to give something that’s both sculptural and tactile. One thing to bear in mind though, it’s anything but lightweight, so ensure your floor is strong enough to withstand something so hefty.
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The best for unexpected guests
Brooklyn extending dining table, Next (£585)
We’ve all been there. You’re expecting four guests for dinner, then that turns into six or eight. How are you going to fit everyone in? Fortunately, the joy of Next’s Brooklyn table is that it has a nifty panel stored under its surface, allowing you to transform it from relatively compact to something more sizeable in a matter of minutes. Plus, the distressed wooden finish gives it a modish industrial-yet-warm look, suited to most modern kitchen settings.
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The best for colour lovers
Wrongwoods table, Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong for Established & Sons at Made in Design (£3,120)
An eye-catchingly functional dining table that also doubles as a piece of modern art, furniture doesn’t come more statement than artist Richard Woods’s design for Brit brand Established & Sons. Available in an all-grey finish or this top-end multi-coloured version, the wood-effect patterns of this hand-painted piece play with our perceptions of the classic wooden essential. Go bright and bold by putting this at the centre of a minimal kitchen or open-plan living space, for a table that’s as much of a conversation starter as the meals you serve on it.
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To find discount codes for the best dining room tables from major furniture retailers, visit discountcode.theguardian.com/uk
