I'm looking for a dining room table that doesn't require a lot of maintenance to keep it looking nice and doesn't stain or scratch easily. I want it to be used not just when we're eating, but also for my kids to do crafts or play games on. I really like the farmhouse style of dining room tables from Pottery Barn. They have a distressed look to them, and I like the ones in the lighter wood color. DH thinks they look like something that would stain easily, especially in the lighter wood color. Does anyone have experience with Pottery Barn tables? If not, can you recommend a table that would fit my needs?
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I can say our mid century modern style table from West Elm would NOT be recommended. It has scratched so much (superficial surface scratches), and we've had issues with heat making the finish look cloudy. Not sure if all of their tables are so easily damaged, but for the $$$$, I would never recommend them.
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following, I want a farmhouse table too.
@littlejoy: when I'm buying new, I search on craigslist for a used version of what I'm considering ordering. It gives you a realistic peek into the future
we have a few things from West Elm, quality is not great. My pieces from CB2 surprisingly have worn much more gracefully.
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I have the dark wood farmhouse table from Pottery Barn. So far it's holding up great! The biggest issue is it can be difficult to clean where each plank meets.
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Can you check Craigslist? There are so many high quality options on there in my area. Including farm table style. I ended up with my dream- a pedestal table- stainless steel with mahogany top from 1960s. I use placemats and it is holding up amazingly. My idea was a completely stainless steel top as well, but those are a bit of an investment.
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@Mrs. Pickle: you know the cans of if air they sell to clean keyboards.....my mom used to use that on our wooden table growing up!
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@FaithFertility: genius! We have a homemade farmhouse table and get crumbs in between the planks too. Thanks!
I'm no help to the original question though...
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We specifically looked for smooth top. We got something similar to this. I like that the cast-iron Base is industrial looking but hopefully It won't look dated too quickly.
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@FaithFertility: omg genius!! I never would have thought of that. Thank you!
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@LCTBQE: Our IKEA coffee table has held up better than the West Elm table!
The Craigslist tip is great!
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This might not be the style you want, but I bought this one a few months ago and love it. It's heavy and looks way more expensive than it was. So far it's held up well, although lately I've been putting a pad and tablecloth on it just because I like the look.
https://www.wayfair.com/Three-Posts-Lanesboro-Extendable-Dining-Table-THRE1187-THRE1187.html
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If you want to extend the life of any dining table while the kids are little, you can get a piece of glass or acrylic cut to fit on top--it may ruin the look a little, but then you won't care if your kids paint or color or have sharp scissors near your wood table. Then you can toss the overlay when they kids are older.
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I have a farmhouse dining table, there is zero chance I would let my son near with his crafts unless it's covered with a sheet of paper at the very least. We did a project a few weeks ago and he worked on a big piece of art paper.
Otherwise, he works at the kitchen table, which is formica and from 1950. Wipes up nicely and stubborn stains come off with a magic eraser.
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Like @Anagram suggested, we had a piece of glass cut to fit our wood dining room table. I don't mind the look of it too much, although it's not my favorite thing in the world, but it's a neccesary barrier between the wood and my kids. My sisters wooden table got destroyed by her kids just being kids when they were small, so I learned from the error of her ways.
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@aprild: We bought one of these and it had been the best thing we've ever invested in, we don't have to worry about anything. https://www.sentrytablepad.com/?gclid=CLyEwKaqs9ECFUpNfgodiWEBCQ
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We just bought this one about a month ago and it has a pottery barn vibe without the crevices or cost (http://m.homedecorators.com/h5/pdp?path=%2Fp%2Faldridge-dining-table%2F00%2F270%2F).
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@littlejoy: I have West Elm furniture in my living room, and I've been disappointed with how it's holding up. Not the quality I thought I was buying!
@LCTBQE: That's a good idea! I checked Craigslist, but I didn't see a table similar to the one I want to buy. I'll keep looking.
@Mrs. Pickle: That's good to hear! Do you think it would have made a difference if it were light wood? DH thinks light wood shows more stains and scratches.
@Greentea: I have been checking, but I haven't found anything I like yet
@Dahlia: Thanks for the link! That table isn't exactly what I'm looking for, but I like Wayfair, so I'll browse and see what else they have.
@Anagram: That's a good tip!
@looch: That's what I'm worried about. I might need to pass on my dream of a farmhouse table for now, because I really want something that doesn't need any protection.
@Madison43: That's what I'm worried about. Not sure I like the look of glass, but I also don't like the look of a ruined table!
@Boogs: Thanks for the tip!
@Shantuck: That looks like a nice table!
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When I was a kid, we had a polished wood table. Don't know what kind of wood, but it has this beautiful lacquer finish. You'd think it would get scratched, but no - it held up very well to dinners and homework and crafts and us kids climbing on it once in a while.
Now I have a ceramic top table that's also holding up very well and is really easy to clean. But it doesn't look as pretty, and it's ridiculously heavy, I guess because of all the tiles on top.
we have a few things from West Elm, quality is not great. My pieces from CB2 surprisingly have worn much more gracefully.
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