So I was approached this week by a woman who is looking to have a dining table made. We talked at length about how her family spends lots and lots of time all seated around the family dining table. Of course we had conversations about the type of wood and the style of the table. We talked about removable leaves and hidden leaves so the table could be expanded when guests are visiting, all the design things that are important to a functional table.
But the thing that is even now still rolling around in my head is just how important the kitchen or dining room table is to family life. As I listened to this woman talk about her family and how so much of her family’s daily interaction occurs around the family dining table, I began to realize that the family dining table is hugely important to families. Think about it a moment and see if you don’t agree.
Growing up in a little 3 bedroom 1950’s tract home our family dining table was where everything happened. My mom folded laundry there, and my dad did family office work there. I still remember the occasional fist pounding that went hand in hand with his efforts to balance the family check book. That was usually the signal that it was time for us kids to be as quiet as mice!
We colored in coloring books and built model airplanes; we completed school projects and wrote term papers (this was a time before there was a keyboard on every flat surface in the house). My mom sewed clothes at that table too. There were the family meetings and the birthday parties held there. I remember the day my dad announced at dinner that the family was moving to Switzerland. I also remember the meetings over the next two days that he and I had because I had told him I was not going! I was 18 or 19 and could not imagine myself moving to Switzerland, so he and I had several heated discussions about how I planned to support myself!
So I’ve decided that the family dining table is probably the single most important piece of furniture in a household. It needs to be durable, comfortable to the touch, should have softly finished edges to keep elbows and forearms comfortable, and of course should also have no problem accepting the occasional blow from a fist. Boy oh boy if dining tables could talk…
What’s the most important piece of furniture in your house?