The 5 Best Dining Tables of 2024

The best dining table for you is the one that works for your budget, offers solid construction, fits your space, and has a style you’ll love for years. To make sure you find a model that does exactly that, consider these factors.

Size

A dining table is a deceptively large piece of furniture. “In addition to the footprint of the table, you’ll want three feet of breathing room on all sides—more is better!—to comfortably sit in a chair and move around the space,” said Lucy Harris, an interior designer and principal at Lucy Harris Studio.

So whether your dining area is part of a multiuse space (such as a great room that’s divided into living and dining areas) or a separate dining room, start by measuring the length and width of the dining area. Then subtract about 6 feet from those two measurements to get your target table dimensions.

Next, think about how you’re going to use the table and how many people will typically sit at it, said Max Dyer, a vice president of marketing at La-Z-Boy. To not feel squeezed, each person sitting at the table should be allotted 22 to 24 inches along a table’s perimeter—even more, if the chairs are large. Below, we’ve listed size recommendations depending on the number of people you’re hoping to seat.

In addition, the visual weight of a piece of furniture can influence how big it feels in a room. It may technically fit, but it’ll seem huge if it’s a dark or bulky piece or if it’s too close to other furniture.

If you’re tight on space, consider options that allow the table to contract and expand. Experts prefer expansion tables where the leaves are solid, separate units that you place on the base once you’ve opened the table. There are also flip-up or butterfly styles, but those tend to be less sturdy.

Finally, measure any area you have to bring the table through, including doorways, hallways, and hard turns into a room that will limit your maneuverability.

Shape

Tabletops come in two main shape families: square/rectangular or round/oval. Ideally, your table should fill your space proportionately. Scroll through the following gallery to see some examples:

Square or rectangular tables are the most common shapes, so they tend to carry the most styles, sizes, and extensions. But a round or oval table provides almost as much surface area while giving you more space to move around in your room because it cuts off the corners. The only downside? You lose a little space for serving pieces once you have all your place settings at a round or oval table.

Supports

A table’s base can affect how many people you can fit at the table. There are generally three types: legs, pedestal, or trestle. When you shop for a table in person, sit at it to make sure your legs can comfortably avoid hitting the table’s legs; also verify that you have enough space for your knees and to cross your legs when you scoot in all the way. The apron—the frame that holds the tabletop up—can cut down on room to maneuver.

If you want more flexibility in adding dinner guests, pay attention to the leg width and placement. “In general, a table with thinner legs, or where the legs are at the corners, will make it easier to squeeze an extra chair in,” said Harris.

With a pedestal or trestle table, you have more flexibility to add more people to the table. However, larger round pedestal-style tables could be a little less sturdy than a four-leg table. “You have to be able to lean on it and dine on it every day without it tipping over,” said Christophe Pourny, master furniture restorer and author of The Furniture Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Identify, Restore & Care for Furniture. 

As for trestle tables, look out for spots along the table where a chair would be straddling the base. This can make sitting in that spot uncomfortable, not to mention make pushing in chairs impossible. To ensure space for your knees, look closely at how much space a trestle design has between the edge of the table and where the trestle supports are attached.

Style

This is the fun part! Start by narrowing your selections. “Do you want formal elegance or casual comfort? Do you envision a cozy room or a grand one?” said Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of public relations and marketing for the American Home Furnishings Alliance. If you’re starting from scratch, make a Pinterest board as you browse online to see what you’re attracted to.

Because a dining table is a big investment, your best bet is to find something you’re going to like for a while. “If you get something too funky, with too many weird details, one day you may wake up and wonder what you were thinking,” said Pourny, who is also the founder of Christophe Pourny Studio. “Keep it simple and sturdy.”

In general he found that lighter woods (such as white oak or bleached woods), raw or natural finishes, and weathered materials done in cleaner lines tended to stand the test of time. Mid-century-style furniture has become more popular in the past 10 to 15 years, and that popularity continues to grow.

Materials

Wood

Solid wood is a classic material because it is durable and easy to repair, but it also can be pricey. Pine, acacia, mango, and teak are less expensive woods that are becoming more popular, but different woods have different hardnesses: Pine is much softer than acacia, for example, which in turn is softer than walnut. Generally speaking, the cheaper the wood, the softer it is, and the more prone to nicks and scratches.

Even though wood expands and contracts with heat and humidity and can show scratches and wear, it’s fairly easy to repair. “If it’s good wood, in 10 years you can strip it and you’ll still have something to work with,” said Pourny. “Still, it’s always best to use pads, cloths, mats, or trivets to protect the finish,” added Hirschhaut.

Veneer or wood-look

Wood veneer is often a more economical alternative to solid wood. To create wood veneer, a manufacturer glues a very thin layer of solid wood (or material printed to look like wood) to a plywood or other wood core. “Generally, veneer is used to achieve one of two objectives: a decorative patterned top (for better goods) or a faux solid wood appearance (to reduce cost),” said Dyer. “A well-made veneer will be a little thicker (1/36 of an inch, or greater) and use multilayer, cross-banded plywood as the core that it is glued to.”

Depending on the maker and the materials, wood-veneer pieces can be just as sturdy as solid wood—or quite flimsy. You can usually touch up a good wood veneer with a bit of stain or paint, but as with solid wood, try to avoid direct contact with heat and moisture. You can expect to pay under $500 for a less expensive veneer piece, but the higher-end ones go into the thousands.

To identify good veneer:

• Check the label. Tables with a core made from multi-density fiberboard or particleboard are cheaper but less durable and more susceptible to delaminating (in which the veneer detaches from the base). If your budget allows, opt for clearly labeled core interiors, such as kiln-dried hardwood. Particleboard that is California Air Resources Board–compliant, which means it has passed emissions tests, is a plus.
• Be suspicious of phrases like “all wood.” This can refer to anything derived from wood—like newspaper—or “engineered wood,” which can mean everything from wood composites to synthetic resins, said Dyer.

• Check underneath the table at the store. “If just the outside is finished, but the underneath looks like a different material, the manufacturer is cutting costs,” said Dyer.
• Look along the table’s outside edges. “On a solid-wood table, or one with a good veneer, the wood grain will run all the same direction, instead of changing direction,” Dyer noted.

Stone and stone-look
Stone tabletops can include marble, quartz composite, or cement. “There are both natural and man-made options in the stone category, but it is not a big category in dining tables,” said Dyer. Although stone is durable, it can be porous and can absorb stains easily. “Depending on how it’s made, it can chip or crack,” added Hirschhaut—and once that happens, it can be tough or impossible to repair. Such tabletops can also be quite heavy.

Glass
Glass tabletops can be clear, frosted, or tinted. They’re relatively inexpensive and “can create a feeling of space and openness,” said Hirschhaut. Though glass isn’t susceptible to moisture, it can chip, scratch, or crack from heat. It also shows every fingerprint, making it a higher-maintenance material. A good glass tabletop can start to look bad in a few years if you’re prone to chipping the edges or dragging plates across the table.

Metal
Metal, including stainless steel, brass, zinc, and lacquered or painted versions of those, sees use more frequently for table bases than for tabletops. “Metal is durable and not easily damaged,” Hirschhaut told us. But because it has a higher shine, it shows every fingerprint and can require special cleaning tools, so it’s a higher-maintenance option. And Harris has found that painted metals can be hard to repair: “If you nick a high-gloss or lacquered table, it’s hard to touch it up. I’ve had to try to match nail polish to finishes to try to repair them.”

Plastic and laminates
Man-made materials, either molded into a shape or glued onto plywood or another core, are an inexpensive option. “They can last a long time but aren’t considered the nicest-quality material,” noted Harris. These materials tend to resist staining and require little upkeep, but the pieces often appear cheap.

Construction

A good dining table should have some heft to it. “The material is a major part of good construction, but a table is only as good as the joinery,” said Dyer. “Joinery” is the industry term for the places where the base and tabletop fit together—the more solid this fit is, the longer the table will last.

At a store, check underneath the floor sample: Wood joined directly with wood is very strong, whereas too many attachments and hooks can weaken the construction. In general, the simpler, the better—and the more moving parts (whether they’re intersections joined with screws or expansion mechanisms for leaves), the more opportunities for the table to malfunction.

“Look at the connection points where the legs meet the tabletops and at the corners—if the pieces are starting to separate, you see gaps at the corners, or it’s wobbly when you move it, it’s not well constructed,” cautioned Harris. Beware, too, of tables held together with just staples and glue, which, of course, aren’t sturdy.

As for the tabletop, look for a smooth surface; deep grooves (say, in between boards or within a distressed finish) can catch crumbs.