Good Questions: To Dine or Not to Dine in the Entry?

Hi AT,

My rented apartment has its dining area (with a "over the table" hanging lamp) as soon as you enter the apartment. I don't know what kind of dining table/chairs I should buy so as not to clutter the entry. I have been thinking if I should keep the dining table someplace else.

Your suggestions would be a great help!

Thanks,
mn

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Hi mn,

We have two ideas, and both involve recasting the placement of that light fixture as entry lighting rather than "over the table." Once you take that leap of faith many more possibilities open up.

Option 1 is to create a small dining area to the left of the door, in front of (but not too close to) the closet. We'd suggest a drop table, either the wall-mounted kind or a slim drop-leaf. A round top is ideal because when not in use it won't jut corners out into your precious open space. Stow extra chairs in the closet or artfully hang them on the wall. Here are a few table options:
• Ikea's Laurila Round Gateleg Drop-Leaf Table
• Gothic Cabinet's Round Drop-Leaf Table
• eBay

Option 2 is to forego an exclusive-use dining area entirely and look for a coffee table that turns into a dining room table when you need one. AT:NY has lots of info on this topic here, here, and here, and we've dealt with the expandable coffee table concept here and here on AT:SF as well.

Other ideas for mn?

Comments (6)

This dining set option from IKEA has a relatively smaller footprint when the chairs are tucked under the table. I've seen it in person; and think it's very cute, but on the small-ish side.

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15564&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=75724&langId=-1&news=1&categoryId=15564&chosenPartNumber=70092553

Another option would be to place a 45"-48" round table under the light, dress it as an entryway table. And keep either stacking or folding chairs in the closet when not using it for dining. Crate & Barrel has 2 options under $400 as part of their new ready-to-assemble line.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1206&f=281&viewall=1

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1206&f=6852&viewall=1

Xiaoping Design used to have something called a "Moon" table. It was really two half-tables. Would be perfect for this space.

a few months ago, Domino Magazine had a really good answer to this exact question.

Get 2 demilune (spelling?) tables that, when pushed together, create a round table and use them as side board, landing strips for the 97% of the time that your entry room is an entry room and then for the rare times that one needs a formal dining room now adays, push them together.

They had a lovely red chinese style set, but i am pretty sure that even Ikea sells something like this.

my first thought was to do a dramatic round table that could be used as an entry table and you could have simple chairs along the wall to bring around the table when you were ready to dine. when the chairs are along the wall, the table would be a great place for a floral arrangement or a sculpture to really make an impact for guests coming in the door.

We live in a complex of townhouses that all have exactly the same layout with a dining area in the entrance/hallway. In two of the places I've seen, people have put glass-top dining tables in their hallway. Usually I am not a fan of glass tables AT ALL but have to say that they work extremely well in this situation. Because they're not 'solid' they don't bulk up the entrance area. So you can get away with having a relatively big table that still doesn't clutter up the place.

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions. After a lot of deliberatioon, I decided to get the Ikea Laurila Gateleg table that Lisa had suggested. It can fold up to look just like one of the demilune tables and I have kept it against the wall to the left of the entry door. Even when it's open, it does n't look very big in that space.

I also bought the wooden folding chairs from Ikea which can easily be stowed away when not in use. I think it works, but I will see how it looks when I furnish the entire apartment! :)