American Made: Sources for Dining Tables
Buy a new dining table from a major retailer and you’re likely getting a product that was manufactured out of the country, not to mention a carbon copy of the same table that sits in thousands of other people’s dining rooms. Even the furniture that falls into the category of “high design” is often made in Italy or somewhere equally as exotic. Did you know that there are plenty of unique, handmade designs right here in America? We take a look at five stand-out dining table designers.
Saloom
Peter Saloom began by making furniture in his father’s basement as a kid, and eventually he and wife Linda started their own furniture company. Based out of Winchendon, Massachusetts, Saloom creates a wide range of dining table styles, but we especially like the Criss Cross and the Bridge designs. Both tables are modern, but simple enough to fit with just about any decor. Glass topped tables are a great choice for smaller dining areas or shared dining and living spaces because they seem to disappear, making the space feel larger.
This Criss Cross features a 44″ X 72″ rectangular glass top on an angular, maple wood base with the “java” finish.
The Bridge also has a 44″ X 72″ rectangular glass top and a maple wood base, and in this case a clear finish. Other finish options are available for all of Saloom’s dining tables.
Wonk
Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based furniture company Wonk designs tables that are anything but wonky. In fact, their designs are as clean as they come. For example, the Nevins table has a simple black metal frame and a wood top with a rift white oak cross grain pattern. No fussy details here. It’s also adjustable and available with other wood tops and lacquer finishes. Did we mention it’s pretty affordable, at only $1195.00?
Wonk works with homeowners as well as architects and other design professionals. They focus on functionality and space-efficient solutions, appropriate for an NYC-based company. Visit Wonk’s showroom in person if you’re in the area, or you can order online throughout the US.
PD White
While many furniture makers are located on the East coast, the center of the country has its share of talented designers, too. Cleveland, Ohio-based PD White specializes in unique, custom wood furniture. Paul White has 20 years of experience under his belt, and his designs are not only conversation pieces, but also the result of in-depth conversations with his clients. He uses local, sustainable materials, typically trees removed by the city or a homeowner. You can’t get more custom than that.
The Cement Table is just as it sounds: a 3′ by 5′ chunk of cement sits atop a red oak frame, bound by exposed nuts and bolts. The table doesn’t look nearly as heavy as it probably is, and the rustic materials look fresh and modern in this clean and functional design. Can you believe the client only paid $850.00??
Not your conventional dining table, the Sushi Table was custom made for a photographer who wanted to sit “Japanese style.” At only one foot tall, the table provides a unique and low-to-the-ground dining experience, and the walnut wood top with an exposed, uneven natural edge provides plenty of character. White will adapt the table to fit customers needs for only $750.00.
Cherner Chair
Brothers Benjamin and Thomas brought their father Norman Cherner’s classic chair designs back into production. But Cherner doesn’t just make chairs; Benjamin also designs elegant dining tables in round, rectangular and oval shapes that are both strong and lightweight. They are comprised of cross-ply plywood and some have exposed edges while others are finished with edge bands. Wood finishes include classic walnut and clear beech as well as other custom options, all of which are water-based and low VOC. Products are available through dealers worldwide or directly through the website. 
Hudson Furniture
Of all the American dining table designers, we were most impressed with NYC-based Hudson Furniture. By coincidence, Joe Armenia also profiled them in his post on American furniture sources. Take a look at these two tables and you can see why were were so excited:
The Knight Base table features a handmade, cast bronze base with a Claro walnut top. It is available in custom sizes and finishes, like all Hudson pieces, and pricing is available by request.
This solid Claro walnut table bridges the gap between rustic and refined and can probably accommodate most of your friends.
Hudson’s designs exploit the natural characteristics of the wood and its grain, and the best word to sum them up is “organic.” On top of being incredibly chic, Hudson’s designs are made from sustainable word products, including 300 year-old trees salvaged from wind storms. Some designs even include petrified wood. Visit the NYC showroom in the hip Meatpacking District.
Jessica’s Vintage House – A Real Find For Sale
Picture Wisconsin: long drives through pastoral beauty, friendly people, and eclectic cities full of music and good food. Oh, and then there’s the polka—spend an idyllic Wisconsin summer evening under the stars dancing polka with your loved one and you’ll never want to leave. [Schmaltz noted.]
That’s the setting for Jessica Dennis’ beautiful home. Jessica is not only our PR executive, but she is also our customer. She was kind enough to send on pictures of her dining room light recently. She also mentioned that her home was for sale, but she was keeping the light for her new home. A serious compliment.
I had a chance to browse the pictures of her lovely home, and fell in love with her darling vintage Appleton Bungalow. I love the mix of old and new, and it is in beautiful shape. Built in the 1930s, renovated, and in a tree-lined Appleton neighborhood, this is, for me, an ideal home.
If you’re close to Appleton and are in the market for a home—or know of someone who is—take a look at Jessica’s full set of pictures here and here. If you’re lucky enough to buy it, go dance a polka under the stars to celebrate. [Again with the Schmaltz?]
Now, on to my favorite pictures of Jessica’s house:
Love the orange shutters and gray trim
Beautiful sitting area as well
Gorgeous Master Suite
A sweet and comfortable kitchen - the Green really works well! LOVE it!
Large Dining Room with phone nook (Our Pendant Light over Table)
Jessica designed her pendant light in Dinner Damask from Jules Davis. Jules is so talented, and the pendant light is just perfect. The mix of the modern shape, the nod to classic Damask, the inventiveness of Jules’ forks-and-spoons motif—everything works just perfectly in Jessica’s vintage-yet-contemporary home.
The details on Jessica’s Appleton, Wisconsin vintage home:
How High to Hang a Pendant Over A Dining Table
A pendant lamp (or a cluster of them, or even a chandelier, if you are so inclined), centered above a dining table, is a multifunctional piece that serves many purposes. The light is as important as the guests and the food, so don’t leave anything to chance!
Besides providing a necessary focal point, the lamp can really set the tone of the room: is it formal? casual? transitional? Of course, its primary function of adding light will ultimately make or break the dinner party you are hosting for the new neighbors. It will certainly provide illumination, but it will also create a mood with it’s lighting: warm and inviting, dim and romantic, bright and friendly. All of these are things to consider when selecting a pendant or fixture.
2 Light Large Cylinder Pendant in Zebrano
All of this is for naught, of course, if it is not hung in the proper position. While design rules almost always function better when they are broken, there is a certain reasoning for a loose translation of the general rule of where to hang a pendant light. Oh – that “rule”, give or take, is approximately 30 inches (+ or – a couple) from the surface of the table.
Why the formality? A few reasons. If your pendant is hung too high, you will need to turn up the light significantly to light the table. By doing so, you have made a decidedly less intimate and cozy dining space. Light will be dispersed less directly on the table and more on the faces of those relatives you see only once at Thanksgiving. If your pendant is just too low, the space will feel crowded, and Aunt Myrna will be quite dim.
Here are a few things to think about when planning to hang your pendant.
- First and foremost, make sure it can be controlled with a dimmer switch. The switch can be bought at any hardware store and can be installed by almost anyone. This seemingly small step will ensure that your desired lighting mood can easily be set.
- The width and length of your table will help determine how high to hang it as well: a larger table can support a pendant being a bit higher, whereas a smaller table looks best with a lower-hung pendant.
- Do a test run. Set your table. Put out the candlesticks, maybe your favorite flowers in a vase as a centerpiece, etc. From there, measure the height. Make sure you have a few inches of clearance; the visual is as important as the function.
- If you do decide to hang your pendant on the higher side, please consider adding a diffuser to your order; otherwise, the lightbulb itself may become visible.
If the general guideline of approximately 30 inches is throwing you off, consider your home and it’s décor. I believe that contemporary spaces look great with a lower-hung pendant light. It creates a sense of intimacy looks great with contemporary, modern spaces. But if your room is large or has rather grand furnishings, slightly higher placement will ensure a visual impact from all sides.
Pendant With Drum Shade
As you will see in the photo above, the pendant hangs just a few inches above the centerpiece. This 24″ drum shade is a great scale for a medium/large table, and it’s placement is ideal for creating an intimate dining space.
As for what type of pendant to choose for your space, there are much more relaxed rules. Above all, keep scale and shape in mind. I prefer almost any shape pendant over a rectangular table…but I draw the line at any sharp lines over a rounded or oval table (i.e. no rectangular or square). The size of your table is also to be considered. By using Alluminare’s Design-Your-Own size guide, you can be on your way to determing the right shape and size for your room. After all, you already know where to hang it!
Design Inspiration: More Sex and the Single Girl (This Time She Cooks)
Are we obsessed?
We’re still having so much fun thinking about Sex and the Single Girl – especially since we got our hands on a copy of Helen Gurley Brown’s follow up cookbook, Single Girl’s Cookbook. It includes some real gems, like Rhett Butler’s Casserole You Can Feed Any Man, which involves pork chops, canned sweet potatoes, and thinly sliced oranges (and yes, given that recipe, it does seem like Ms. Brown, like Rhett, just doesn’t give a damn, doesn’t it?). We love the prose, of course, but we’re really more taken with some of the great illustrations, like these:
Love that jumpsuit. Not to wear, maybe, but perfect for pillows. And check out the busy working woman, moving seamlessly from boardroom to kitchen:
Pretty fab, isn’t she? The cookbook was published in 1969, five years after the movie came out, which explains some of the aesthetic differences. It’s not hard, though, to imagine those women working in this office (we can’t resist posting this picture again):
The cooking girls, though, might be just a little more modern. Chances are they’d be stuck with a tiny apartment kitchen (and chances are it would not be as amazing as Mario Batali’s tiny apartment kitchen). But when a single girl is hosting guests, a big kitchen isn’t necessary – it’s really all about the dining space.
We think Brown’s movie character would simply die for this Miami Beach dining room:
We love the black and white and dark would palette and the sharp lines of the furniture. Plus, who can resist an enormous mirror? The room is sophisticated and sexy and modern, all at once.
Or maybe she’d serve fondue neuchateloise (page 90) around a coffee table in the living room (very late ’60s of her, right?):
We love how this space combines the clean lines and angles of the movie’s furniture with the brighter colors of the cookbook’s cover (without getting too bright). We’d add a big, low coffee table in a dark stain (you need someplace for the fondue!) and some additional pattern – a little of that jumpsuit flair – in the form of throw pillows that could go on the sofa or the floor:
We think the Alluminare pillow in Moroccan Medallion in Rust, Chocolate Milk, and Chocolate would do just the trick – adding some excitment and exotic mystery for our Single Girl without overpowering the rest of the room.
We’re still not sold on Brown’s recipes, but we certainly do like her look!
[Photo credits: Office from Sweet Sunday Mornings. Dining room and family room from Houzz.com. Pillow from Alluminare.]
Design Inspiration: Dining Rooms that Get Us Ready for Spring
We can’t hide our excitement anymore – a few warmer-than-average days on the East Coast and we’re ready to break out the bikinis – or at least breakout the boat drinks.
While we might be jumping the gun a little with our sunscreen purchases, it’s actually the perfect time to give the house a spring-is-here refresher. We’re starting in the dining room. Open the windows, add some flowers, and trade out the wintry brocade for some lighter-than-air linens in pristine white and bright colors and you’ll transform your eating area from a cozy wintertime space to one that’s ready to bring on spring and summer.
Flowers are an easy switch – and we love those banana leaves in the room at the left. They’re dramatic and definitely scream “tropical.” Without them, the room would be a little bland, but they add some fantastic strong color.
We’re big fans of the modern, Scandinavian look, but often think it looks more appropriate during the winter than the spring. Not so, though, with this bright dining room. We especially love those windows and the way the huge window magnifies the natural light.
Hydrangeas, bright green grasses, and windows open to the sea – what more could you ask for to get you in the warm weather mood?
Monet’s dining room at Giverny is a study in springtime festivity. Just like his riotous paintings of the flowers at the estate, this room is full of color and energy.
We’re cheating a bit with this next room – it’s more of a porch than a dining room – but we just can’t wait to start eating outside! Plus, we love the way the simple table has been dressed up by the paper poms. We’ve got a few of those poms (we bought them from Etsy seller pomlove) and we can attest that they turn every room into a party space.
This room is a great example of a space that could easily transition from season to season. We can imagine it around the holidays, dressed up in red and green and silver and gold. Switch out the Christmas colors for the blue accessories and you’ve got a space that’s ready for a summertime meal.
Slipcovers are a wonderful way to give a dining room personality – and a wonderful way to easily change that personality. We love these candy-colored stripes for the way they mix a traditional pattern with a super fun color.
As far as we’re concerned, Rebecca Thuss is a table-setting genius – and this table is why. With colors that range from lemon yellow to lime green, she’s created a table that’s summertime all the way, without sacrificing formality.
We love lemon and lime – but we’re also a bit obsessed with turquoise right now. We love the way these accessories pop off the table. And that view – who wouldn’t love that view?
Finally, we think it’s easy, sometimes, to create a fun, casual dining room that’s perfect for spring and summer. Creating a formal dining room for the laid-back seasons is a little more of a challenge – but the room below handles it with aplomb. We love the white chairs, which combine an airy color with a formal shape, the fabulous blue of the wall, and the crisp white of the ceiling and details. The overall effect is formal, but not stuffy.
What are you doing to spruce up your diningn room for the summer? Please share in the comments.
[Photo credits: banana leaves room, hydrangeas room, and first all white with turquoise room from Coastal Living; Monet at Giverny from Apartment Therapy; poms over outdoor space from Making It Lovely; white modern room from sfgirlbybay; white room with a few blue accents from Martha Stewart; yellow table from Rebecca Thuss; striped chairs and traditional blue and white room from House Beautiful.]
Before & After: Cabinet Makeover
Recently, Libby Unwin wrote about a cabinet makeover project she did with some of our wallpaper. I wanted to share it with you on our blog, because it turned out to be such a lovely way to makeover a cabinet. Libby is not only a smashing artist, she’s also very talented with 3 dimensions.
Here’s Libby’s post:
I had some leftover wallpaper, so I decided to use it in this china cabinet spruce-up.
Before
After
Even put crushed velvet on the doors. Now, all those heirlooms have a proper place!
[Thanks to Libby for this! She can be found at http://www.lugraphics.com/ and her prints are available on lighting, lamp shades, pillows, fabric & wallpaper, which can be found here: http://www.alluminare.com/world-class-designers.asp?designer=6]
8 Dining Room Tables that Make Us Hungry
Sitting down to a wonderful dinner with great friends is one of our favorite things to do. So it’s no surprise that we’re always on the lookout for fabulous dining room tables. We like them in all shapes and sizes – from big and rectangular to tiny and round.
When you’re buying a dining room table, it’s important to think about how you’re planning to use it. Fancy dinners or casual nights of dinner and homework? It’s also important to think about how many people you’ll want to seat at the table. Twenty-four inches per person is a good rule of thumb – though most guests won’t mind if you squeeze them just a little, as long as the party’s fun enough.
Plus, what’s a little closeness between friends, especially when the table itself is absolutely gorgeous. It’s tough to narrow down, but here are ten of our favorites:
1. The Tulip
We love round dining room tables – it’s the best way to see everyone’s face. This table, designed by Eero Saarinen, is a classic – as it should be. The shape is simple and perfectly elegant. We love it with a marble top: 
2. Th Spanna Extension Table
Finding the right dining table for small homes and apartments is notoriously difficult, especially if you don’t host dinner parties every other night. For spaces like that, we love extending tables, like the Spanna extension table, which looks cool whether it’s open or folded up tight:
3. The Portman
In some homes, a traditional, conservative solid wood table is the obvious – and best – choice. For that look, we love Restoration Hardware, which creates tables with gravitas that are built to last generations:
The tables created by Turning House Furniture are gorgeous and they’ve also got a great story, as they’re all made with reclaimed wood. We love anything with a history – and the sustainability of the tables is extra icing. It’s difficult to choose a favorite, though we admit that we’re partial to simple lines of the Bruges Tailor Table:
5. The Strut
Blu Dot is famous for very simple, straightforward, modern design, and their Strut table is not exception. We love it in red – it’s a bold statement and definitely declares that its owner is a lot of fun:
6. The Norfolk
We’re a sucker for any tables that look right at home outside – dining al fresco happens to be one of our favorite pastimes. We’re smitten, then, with the Norfolk table from Pottery Barn. It’s pretty and could easily be dressed up for a fancy dinner party, but is also just perfect for Tuesday night dinner with the fam:
The Amish are (deservedly) famous for their high quality Mission-style furniture, which is very much at home in casual and modern environments. We love this table, especially, with its trademark Mission bars:
We absolutely love the double-table look for small spaces and areas that need flexibility. If you’ve got a big crowd, you can always move one of the tables to a different part of the home for double-duty as a bar or side table:
This look doesn’t have to break the bank, either. A pair of Parsons style tables from IKEA can do the trick, too, on a seriously attractive budget.
Do you have a dream dining room table? Please share your favorites in the comments.
[Photo credit: Dining room from Houzz.com]
