Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: common house furniture

[Joani Blank (jeblank]

Hi there Tierra Nueva,

1. It is more important to get folding chairs, IMHO, than folding tables.
Stacking chairs are actually much better--usually sturdier and more
attractive. (If kids or others stand on folding chairs they have a tendency
to collapse) Folding tables--where the top itself folds--are almost always
flimsy. The ones with non bending tops and folding legs, are usually
pressboard and are very heavy, but I guess if you get smaller ones......

2.  I recommend starting with the odds and ends of everyone who moves in
for both chairs and tables.You'll probably have plenty. Live with it for a
while to see what size tables work best in what arrangements for your
group. After six months or a year living there, you will have a really good
idea of what you want.  Then you can buy attractive matching stuff. 

3. Tables which seat 6 cozily and can be expanded to 8 seem to be the very
best size. 

4.  If your tables have leaves, be sure that the legs are placed so that
you have maximum flexibility in chair placement. Our tables here at Doyle
Street have enough table top to seat 10 easily, but because the leaves are
small and the legs are at the corners, the only numbers that really work
are 4, six and eight. and no one can sit at the ends unless the leaves are
out and then those on the ends are far from the people on the sides.
Pedestal tables are the best IMHO, but they tend to be expensive unless you
get them at a restaurant supply house, then they are sometimes quite ugly.
Restaurant supply places do often have quite attractive  stuff as well, and
sometimes you can even find a whole bunch of matching attractive used
tables--maybe even chairs--from a restaurant that is going out of business.
 The dealers often know about these even if they are visible on the
showroom floor.

5. You didn't ask, but since it pertains to the dining room, do whatever
you can to quiet-en your dining room. You may fantasize that your common
dining area will be like a pleasant restaurant, but it is really different
when a) there are proportionately more kids around, and b) everyone knows
everyone else quite well. 

Joani Blank
Doyle Street and Old Oakland CoHousing, SF Bay Area 
Only four places left in OO Group!