Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: dining room tables

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

At RoseWind Cohousing, in Port Townsend WA, we mostly use lightweight wooden 
tables that came from IKEA 17 years ago.  They are about 47'x31". Single, they 
seat 6. Paired, they seat 8. Two per long side is a bit tight with our wider 
chairs. We could ideally have used 5 ft long; width could be even more narrow, 
as long as one can sit at each end. 

Anyway they serve us well, even though the veneer is defective in a few places 
and some of the edge banding has come loose. The blonde wood looks nice even 
without a tablecloth. They have straight cylindrical legs at the 4 corners, 
which don't bother. With 8 of them, they can be configured many different ways. 
So lightweight that if the floor space needs to be maximized for a dance, one 
can easily be inverted on another off to the side.

We've also discovered that if one is placed atop another, with the top one on 
edge, it makes a fine easel for meetings, with space to tape papers. 

In addition to the IKEA tables we have an old oak round table that takes 2 
leaves (some people's most-favorite spot, others' least-favorite!). When we 
want maximum seating we also have 2 wooden "card" tables, and a narrow plastic 
folding table that can be a serving table instead of our usual counter serving 
area.

Our patio has folding round plastic tables. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
www.rosewind.org