We have a rather small living space in our apartment. So far, we have managed with a 3 1/2 foot diameter round table shoved up against the wall in the kitchen, opposite the stove. You can't open the stove with someone sitting in the chair with his or her back to the stove, and there really are only three convenient spots to have anyone sitting at the table, which means my chair is wedged in between the kids' for meals with my feet propped up on the rungs below one of the chairs. Before my kids learned to eat their own food first (and they still sometimes forget) I usually held my plate above the table balanced on one hand, kept my drink on the counter behind me, and ate with my free hand.
The wall the table is touching is about 4 1/2 or 5 feet, from the bathroom door to the end of the linoleum, so I have been wondering if finding a ratty rectangular table that is no longer than that would be a better idea. My hope (of course) would be that the kids could sit on the long side and the adults could sit on the ends, and, if we had company, instead of me sitting on the kitchen floor, we could make ourselves some plywood leaves for the middle and throw a cloth over the entire disaster.
For people with one table for feeding the family, in the kitchen, what has worked best to maximize the space and accessibility? We have a 3x6 dining table in the garage, which we had in the house briefly, but I hated the overlap with the carpet and we couldn't fully open a closet door. Any ideas? Would a rectangle be better than the round? We got the round table for free, so I'm only going to consider a table that is between free and cheap. What is the smallest size table you've comfortably fed a family of four at? Thanks for any ideas! :)
I knew a family that had a narrow rectangle table with bench seats (kind of like a picnic table). It could be used up close to the wall and sat everyone well and took us less space that one that needs chairs.
in the 70s they mounted the kitchen table to the wall. what about doing that in the kitchen for when there is no company. or maybe an outside table for the summer.
We have a small, slender (about 4 feet long, 5.5 extended by pull-out leaves on the ends and maybe 2.5 ft wide) rectangular table up against a wall. The kids sit on either end, we adults along the long side. The only problem is that they make faces at each other during dinner sometimes, which can escalate. But at least they don't poke each other, ultimately worse.
I've had small apartments before that didnt even have a dining area. We used a fold up card table for meals and put it in the middle of the living room!
Maybe a small, picnic style bench would be the best way for you to go? Or you could get everyone their own TV tray and y'all just sit in a circle with your individual trays. My dining area now has my computer on it and hubby and I just use our couch and tv trays now, sometimes with the tv on sometimes not, depends on how talkative we are feeling. When we have company, I still pull out the card table, throw a table cloth on it and it works just fine. You might use a card table in your kitchen and you can just fold it up and set it agains the wall while not in use, they arent hard to put up or down really. I'm sure if you use your imagination you will figure it out. You could go japanese style and all of you sit on the floor even.... Just use a decent, water proof table cloth to protect the carpet.
For many years, I had a kitchen set like this:
http://www.thefind.com/furniture/browse-linon-set-folding...
It folds when not in use and is on casters.
We currently use one of similar size to this:
http://www.dinettesetshowroom.com/IVG2/N/ProductID-125865...
Ours is pushed against the wall on one long side, we are a family of 3, so we leave one chair in the back. We can get 2 chairs against the open long side when we need it though.
we had what could generously be called a kitchen lol. it was long but only about 9 feet wide. if you put a table you could have a round like yours with 3 spaces. or better 2 comfortably. we got a skinny longer rectangle table. pushed it up tight on the wall and did what your suggesting. put a chair on each end and the kids both on the side. once dinner started no one could move out of their seats as there was no where to walk. our kitchen had counters and fridge all down one wall the stove was on the same wall as the table and there were door ways in 3 of the walls. we ended up later finishing off a space between the garage and the kitchen. it was a screened in porch but we built up a floor and dry walled it. made a family room with dining area at one end. so much nicer. still had breakfast in the kitchen but all other meals at dining table. good luck it is so hard to be stuck in small kitchens
Aside from attaching a table to the wall and flipping it up or down to get out of the way, there are tables that fold down into smaller sizes. I had a table that opened in legth to 5 feet, and by sliding the stand under the table a ceratin way one side could be folded down, even both side could. I had got it at a store named Conrans but I'm sure crate & barrel or even Ikea has that type of table. Look on line and once you see a style then go to craigslist.com and see who is selling one or giving one a way. It's hard living in tight spaces so it's good to look into other options.
Check out the style of this table. Something like this may work. We have a cousin that lived in a very small place and found one like this at a garage sale for $15... She reinforced it and painted it in a bright color.. She then placed hooks on the wall to hang the extra chairs.. It was pretty cute. She did not care that it got beat up and scratched by her kids.. Once they moved into a bigger house she used this in the play area for the kids to use as a craft table, homework table. She throws a cloth over it when she needs an extra table for entertaining..
http://www2.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=PRD&ItemI...
It seems like it's best that at meal times, you move the table away from the wall so you can all sit around it, then move it back against the wall after the meal is over. That way, more people can sit around it as a family. You don't need to open the closet during the meal. This keeps you together as a family, off the floor and keeps the living space to a maximum.
We bought a table and chair set at IKEA for $99. It is 29X46 and we can comfortably seat 4 but can even add 1-2 more. It is great to have a table that does not take up a lot of space while still making it comfortable for us to eat together.
You might consider, getting a kiddie size table... for the kids to eat on...
Generally a round table is harder to work with and takes up more room.
I would use a rectangular table... with an adjustable section in it.... also called an expander... so that you can make the table longer or shorter in length, for various purposes.
If/when you have company... well, I don't know that you can all fit in there.
My friends, have a separate kiddie sized table, for the kids to eat on... elsewhere... or in the family room.
I also know MANY families, due to lack of room, just eat in the living room....
We had a big table now have little round one for the three of us. i just
bought it for a change and now miss old one its toosmall cant put and family style dishes out. Get as big as table as possibel maybe drop down side try IKEA dinner should be nice not crowded
