from our "home remodeling" project library

Families gather in the kitchen, making kitchen tables and chairs among the most important and functional furnishings you buy. The table is where you eat, but it's also where kids do their homework, laundry is folded, and bills are paid.

Because kitchens are the pulse of the home, it's important to carefully consider your kitchen's design and optimize every square inch for cooking, entertaining, and everyday living.

Create a Design

Consider the shape of the room: is it open and airy or long and narrow? Draw a room map to use when weighing the vast number of options: there are rectangular kitchen tables, oval, oblong, square, and round of various sizes. To conserve space, you can buy drop-leaf tables or build a breakfast nook.
Kitchen chairs are an important component of this decision. Wood, metal, upholstered, armchairs, stools, and benches are just a few of your choices. The chairs don't need to match the table. But like the table, the kitchen chairs must meet your family's needs. Besides fitting the space, they ought to provide a high level of comfort and durability, function and style.

Try Before You Buy

Before you commit to a kitchen table and chairs, tape out their measurements on the floor where you intend the furniture to go. Live with the taped area for a couple of days to gauge whether the table and chairs are the right shape and size. If you have photographs, post them in the room. Get a feel for how the kitchen will look and feel with the new furnishings. Then when your new kitchen table and chairs arrive, they'll function as perfectly as you envisioned -- and you will be able to enjoy them for years to come.