When we purchased our dining room table, there were some features we wanted because of our large family and the expectation that we would be seating even more in the future:
- Wide enough to seat two people at each end.
- Pedestal style so people could sit near each of the four corners. Previously our table’s legs were on the corners, making sitting close to them uncomfortable.
- Rectangular so we could put high chairs on each corner. (Right now we need five high chairs!)
- Expand with leaves to the largest size our dining room would accommodate.
We purchased the table from an Amish furniture store a couple of hours from our home. At this store, they had several table styles on the showroom floor. They were willing to customize the table width if we were willing to wait for it to be built.
The expanded table is 12 feet by 54 inches and comfortably seats 14 with the maximum seating being 18. It is 8 feet long without leaves and comfortably seats 8 with 12 being the maximum. We have four 12 inch leaves.
To handle the table’s weight with the length of the added leaves on a pedestal base, there are drop down legs on each end that we draw up when the leaves are not in use. Because of those drop down legs and the number of leaves, the leaves don’t store in the table itself so they need to be fetched from a closet each time we open up the table.
“The meek shall eat and be satisfied:
they shall praise the LORD that seek him:
your heart shall live for ever.”
Psalms 22:26