Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Commonhouse dining room tables

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

I recently spent a week at a boarding school, with dining for about  70, 
and I was struck that their tables were perfect for common house. They 
were 3 ft x 5 ft, which allows 6 seated comfortably, and just room for 
serving dishes etc in the center, and everyone can talk with anyone else 
at the table easily. Furthermore, this is a dimension which can be bought 
in the conventional folding-table type. They used an attractive oilcloth 
covering that looked cheerful and washed up easily. 

My observation is that round tables-- for all the aesthetics of 
roundness-- create a wasted space in the center, and quickly become too 
big to talk with any but one's immediate neighbors. 

Drop leaves sound cool, until you start scraping food out of the cracks. 

The rectangular tables at the school I visited were set diagonally to the 
room, which made them look less institutional. 

Of course it would be pleasant to have some tables for two or four, as 
well, for variety. 

We figure to have some tables that don't fold, but just get moved aside 
when the center is needed, plus some folding tables that slide into a 
storage area, for occasions when we have more diners. Similarly, with 
chairs. 

Lynn at RoseWind