Dining tables for everyday meals and long weekends

A rectangle seats more people along a wall. A round table keeps conversation even and is kinder in a square room. If you host rarely, do not buy a table for a crowd you see twice a year. Leaves exist for that.

Leave 36 inches between the table edge and the wall so a chair can pull out. In a tight apartment, a bench on the wall side saves that clearance.

Stone tops are patient with heat and less patient with a sharp drop. Wood tops want coasters and a quick wipe. Both are correct. Pick the one you will actually maintain.

Furnivora extendable tables list the closed size and the open size. Tape both. The open size is the one that surprises people.