apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have a glass gazing ball on a short metal pedestal on my table. It's meant for the garden, but I noticed that the colors (primarily dark blue with streaks of red, yellow, and green) looked nice in my dining room. When the light hits it just right, it appears to glow from within.

A brass penguin is always in the center of my coffee table. Things rotate on my dining table: candle, vase of flowers, cute salt-and-pepper shakers, etc.

Jonathan Adler model bottles and some candles under a Nelson criss-cross bubble lamp. A couple of classics that always look fantastic!

A bowl of fruit usually, once in awhile a candle if I run out of fruit. I have a 2 person table -- not much fits.

I have a peace lily on the table. Nothing amazing, but it looks pretty.

A gorgeous green ceramic bowl hand thrown for me by my sister. It usually holds either fruit or cloth napkins for use at the table.

A huge antique Italian bottle and two Indian candelabra, atop an ever-changing vintage tablecloth.

I've recently decided that my table looks too cluttered and is too annoying to clean if it has anything on it. Instead, I just put up a shelf/ledge on the wall above the table to hold decorative objects. I also have a small, 2-person table, and it serves as a work surface much of the time.

A huge pile of books, papers, a netbook.

I obviously don't eat much at my dining table.

Our table acts as an extension countertop so it holds the toaster oven, blender and is usually occupied by cutting boards, bowls and other prep ware.

On a side note - LOVE the table pictured - any suggestions on where to find a similar one?

Four brown placemats and a candle holder consists of angels holding hands all the way around.

Hmmm, it's ever changing. When we moved in here recently I put a pink McCoy vase at the center of the table flanked by bronze vintage ducks and a vintage bronze strawberry trivet. But just yesterday I switched to a wire bowl filled with my Dunnys (vinyl toys) just for the fun of it. Oh, also a vintage table runner.

I have a retro style purple tray and on it are a basil plant, a mint plant and a parsley plant, each in a slightly different looking white pot. They give a really nice leafy centrepoint but because they're on a tray they're easy to move out of the way if I want to.

unfortunately our dinning table has become the landing strip and is often occupied by my hat for of everything from my pockets, messenger bags and purses in the chairs, and several sets of shoes sitting underneath. It's my great household shame.

It pretty much gets cleared off only when company comes over. We try to keep it clean, but it ends up drowning in stuff by the end of the week.

My cat. She is a pretty cat. She spends most of her time on the table as it is near the doors to the patio and she can watch the world go by and sleep in the sun. I gave up trying to change her habits and put a cat bed there for her. I keep it clean and take it off when people are over for dinner.

I keep a red-leather tray on my table. Inside the tray are my favorite Brooklyn salt-and-pepper shaker and attractive olive oil and balsamic vinegar jars.

I have an eat-in kitchen. Typically there are four placemats (right now they are round, brown cloth mats). I used to have a lot of plants on it because it is under the window, but none are there now. I have a large, dark red bowl in the center of the table. I used to have a lovely large, swazi basket instead of teh bowl, but I moved it out of the direct sunlight. There is also usually a package of dog treats near the edge of the table (but not too close to the edge).

Aside from the mail...currently I have a glass vase filled with pussy willow cut from my parents' house.

btw, love the table in the photos!

The pepper grinder and salt bowl. And flowers currently. I like to keep it functional.

Emily

A pair of vintage Bitossi/Rosenthal Netter candlesticks w/ chunky candles, a pair of vintage japanese lacquer candlesticks w/ tapers, and a vintage japanese lacquer tray w/ matching lacquer salt & pepper...
...and my iBook.

we have the white Melltorp dining table from IKEA. set to the side on top is a large piece of sculptural drift wood and a gathering of three large candle sticks. i guess we like to have a bit of bare space and a little something pretty.

A fishbowl with my betta, Albert, which is sitting on a ceramic tile decorated with Dead of the Dead skeletons.

LOL, cats, mostly, like some other posters. I know that bothers some people, but honestly we wipe the table before we use it, and it's not as if we eat off the table itself anyway! Our dining room also doubles as an office so there's often office-y stuff accumulating, but the things that are *supposed* to go on it are two round yellow steel Mexican beer serving trays that function as catch-alls for my fiance (they are divided up by some little baskets and dishes and such for small items) since he is incapable of remembering to use the actual landing strip and his junk just ends up strewn all over the apartment otherwise. And of course a plain clear glass vase of whatever the current dining room flowers are. It's simple, bright, useful, goes with the yellow/blue/gray/white colors of our dining room, doesn't clutter the table too much, and the cats can't do too much harm (except that they steal pens out of the trays and hide them under the oven). Most of the more "decorative" objects and bowls of fruit, etc., live on our credenza/sideboard.

This was so nice to read!....large white bowl of HUGE white clamshells from the beach...in autumn: pussywillows/winter:fill the large white bowl with tiny vintage, and very colorful Christmas bulbs...plus: keys/cat/crumpled receipts/crumbs/library books/bra/......

A cat that begs for a head rub every time I walk by.