It's a great way to go if you want your dining area to look like a catering kitchen...

We recently got a stainless table for our kitchen and it already shows tons of wear and tear, which is fine for a kitchen, but for dining it might drive you crazy. It shows everything little crumb and water spot.

What does the rest of the dining area look like? That'll drive your other decisions. I'm guessing your concern is you think your dining room will feel ... antiseptic, like a doctor's office?

For instance, if you had white high-gloss paint and lots of light, a stainless steel table works well, you just need to add some color. Some chairs with polished legs (typically nickel-plated iron) and bent bleached oak plywood... keep two natural, and paint the other two a nice dark red (a dark coppery red) and then add a matching rug.

Trust me, I had a similar issue with my blinding white light kitchen. I just toned it down with some black stools, some light grey napkins (no more buying paper) and then found some affordable new dishes at IKEA and Crate and Barrel.

We love our stainless table in our kitchen. Easy to clean comfortable, and we can seat three comfortably.

the utby is a great value for the price -- we have one and use emeco counter-height stools with it. we've had a totally stainless steel table before which cost about 10X more ($150/ikea vs. $1500/custom). most off the shelf stainless tables have a bottom shelf or bar that prevents chairs from scooting up to it. as for wear, the utby is wearing fine... the solid stainless table did get scratches on the top, but we kept a runner and were careful. the utby comes in 2 heights. counter and bar -- make sure to get stools that match. i find bar-height stools hard to sit in...

We have a stainless steal work table in our kitchen and no matter what you use to clean it there's always streaks. We use the Method stainless spray, still has streaks. And it definitely shows a lot of wear and tear reeeeaal quick. Otherwise it's totally functional and it does look nice.

Our main dining table has a stainless top (wood legs)- I've had it almost 9 years now. I hated it at first - it showed tons of light scratches, and it has to be wiped down constantly or it always looks smudgy. (wiping with windex or vinegar water makes it look cleaner than just wiping with H2O). Now that it is so old, I like the "patina" of scratches the top has acquired (and you can really only see them if you get down at the right angle). I also like how the table is next to some big windows, and the light comes in the room and the reflective tabletop really throws the light around and makes the room brighter.
My favorite thing is how well it has worn- it takes a LOT of punishment, and can be cleaned/scrubbed constantly (great for small messy kids) without worrying about wearing out the surface or the finish (like wood).

You can put a hot pot on it and not worry about damage, paint from craft projects will come right off,you can butcher meat on it and sanitize easily,but the finish will never be show room perfect.
I worked at a pizza place that had a huge 6'x8' worktable that was great. It did have tons of nicks from knives from chopping slabs of mozzarella, but those were tempered with the arcs from the scouring pads.

we've had a stainless steel dining table for years and have enjoyed it. it does scratch, but it never bothered us. it can be loud when placing plates and silverware down on it, but if you use a placemat regularly, it's no big deal. it's a great and durable look.

Depending on how else the space is decorated, why would it be wrong? Other than the apparent "scratching issues" others have had.

When you want to "warm it up" add a table runner. When you want to make it more formal, add a long table cloth.

If it looks good in the space, go for it.

I would think that the stainless steel would look so neutral that it would almost disappear. Great choice for a small area. You can warm it up with cloth accessories and change the mood depending on the pattern and color of the cloth. You may have to accept, however, that it will show wear and tear, but pristine is rarely engaging.

Seems like it would be loud and cold. I much prefer wood for dining. No biggie if it doesn't match. Get a contrasting or painted finish. But, up to your personal preference.

If you do go with stainless, don't bother buying stainless polishing spray. They never work. Use olive oil and lots of elbow grease. Works every time.

I like the table pictured above in the post, but I don't think I would like a stainless steel top dining table. I don't even think I've ever seen one of those. It seems like it would be cold visually and physically (of course, I have bad manners and lean against tables and put my elbows on them). And the smudging would bug me. My cousin has a stainless steel fridge and it always has smudges while our white fridge looks much cleaner.

I'd go with the Ikea table. It's modern, but still warm. Like someone said, you just need to add some color to keep it from looking sterile.

I have had a Qouvis worktable (standard height) for almost 6 years. It has developed a great patina of scratches (and a couple minor dings from cross-country moves) serving as dining table, work desk, art station, prep space, etc. Currently paired with Eames DCM chairs, it blends well with my industrial-but-sensual design approach (table rests in open living-dining space). I appreciate how unfussy but stylish stainless steel tables can look. Dress it up in myriad ways or leave it more austere. Really a blank canvas.

I agree that moisture spots, smudges, and scratches are part and parcel with this material. But I would rather those than marred glass or water-damaged wood tabletops.

As for cleaning, I am no fan of most stainless-steel cleaning products. Leave streaks and it's smudged five seconds later. I have found that a little Craftics 20/20 Plasti-Cleaner (which I use for a lucite table...clearly I am not too precious about live-in furniture) buffed in with a microfiber cloth does wonders both in removing gunk AND providing some barrier against new smudges/ condensation marks.

Thanks for trudging thru this and good luck in your choices.

I didn't read all the comments so this may have been said but...

You have to be willing to accept the scratches and blemishes as part of the character of the table. My wife and I bought a bar height table with a SS top and I think it looks great with the blemishes. My only regret was the Bar Height. That got old. Especially with kids. It was difficult scooting in and out.

The stainless I loved though.

Sound bounces off stainless steel (and tile) something awful. If you go this route, think of counteracting the noise with rugs, upholstered chairs, drapes. Sound absorbers.

I love this table! i am trying to find a place to put one in my home (maybe as a desk?). I am a great lover of contrast so i think you need to put something warm, like timber with this table so that it balances out. Maybe a couple of bentwood style ones or with a fantastic moulded ply seat. You could also style it up with handmade ceramics and cutlery. Very eclectic

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and support.

We did get a stainless steel table from Ikea over the weekend - a bigger size stainless steel table top with just 4 legs supporting it.

Even though the smaller size would have looked better, it would have been too uncomfortable to get in and out of the bar chairs (at least that was our logic in getting the bigger size). The bigger size did not come with an underframe, and we got 4 legs to support it.

But alas, the table does not feel steady or sturdy.

We must obviously have flouted some law of physics which causes this imbalance in the table that almost renders it useless. My husband absolutely refuses to have it as our dining table.

We are quite pleased with the chairs we bought from Overstock, and are now looking at the parsons bar table at west elm and hope it will pull it all together.

So what are we going to do with this huge table top we are now stuck with? We're thinking of leaning it against the wall and displaying artwork on it. I don't know how it will actually look, but right now we have no other bright ideas.

We have the Utby as a dining table in our house. It has worked out just fine. It looks great with a variety of textiles (the industrial/colorful contrast is very appealing). For entertaining in particular, the bar height works very well.

The biggest problem with the stainless-top Utby is that it was not easy to assemble, so do have an experienced Ikea-builder on hand when you tackle that.