If your home is a typical household your dining room is one of the most utilized rooms in the house. Whether your family uses it daily or only for special occasions, you want beauty, durability and functionality all rolled into your dining room furniture. Here are some ideas on how to select your dining room furniture.

Individual furniture pieces:

Room size, family size and personal decorating styles can influence what dining room furniture you will select, and the choices are as varied as there are households. If you are looking for one of the top three shapes of tables most people prefer oval, square or rectangular tables. These shapes can accommodate additional table spacers that are inserted into the middle of the table and provide extra room for seating. However, not all tables are made to be extended.

Dining room chairs are usually offered as matching options to the table you purchase. Most people buy no more than two chairs with arms (captain chairs) that are usually placed on opposite ends of the table. Side seating is usually provided by either a bench or individual straight back chairs without arms, which allow for extra placement space when crowded.

Dark or light furniture:

Almost all dining room tables are made of wood. Some are molded from pressed wood, but sturdier-and more expensive tables are from solid wood pieces screwed or bolted together. What wood color or grain you use is a personal choice. Whether you buy matched chairs or use coordinated pieces for contrast is recommended. There are no hard-and-fast rules to what dining room furniture must be comprised of.

Most formal dining rooms tend to present darker woods with a high gloss shine. Many formal dining rooms have additional furniture other than table and chairs, such as a sideboard or hutch. They are used to display the family silver or your best china, knickknacks or special serving dishes or dish collections.

In contrast, rooms with a more relaxed atmosphere usually present medium or lighter shades of wood with wide grain patterns. Sideboards and hutches also appear quite often in the informal dining room, but they are also of a lighter shade than the mahoganies and dark pines of their formal dining rooms.

Protecting your dining room floor:

Regardless of the color selection, design or style of dining room furniture, you might consider padding or carpets to protect your flooring. The weight of the table, benches, chairs, sideboards and hutches can scratch hardwood floors or dent laminated flooring. You have invested a lot of money in your dining room furniture as well as the floors. Carpets will protect your flooring as well as your furniture.

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