Wood table tops

A wood top is the surface guests touch all evening, and it tells them what kind of room they are in before the first plate lands. These 15 tops come in solid wood, wood and veneer, in squares, rectangles, rounds and drop-leaf shapes. Pick the size for the party first, then the stain, then the base underneath.

Solid wood, wood, and veneer

Seven tops here are listed as solid wood and seven more as wood; one is veneer. Solid timber swells a little in humid months and shrinks back when the heating comes on, and that natural movement is a property of the material rather than a defect, so the warranty treats it that way. Solid wood tops carry a warranty of 6 months. Keep them out of the draft from a terrace door that opens all summer, and away from a radiator that runs all winter.

A club dining room or a steakhouse tends to choose the deeper grain of solid wood. A brunch room with heavy turnover may lean toward a sealed surface that shrugs off a damp cloth, and the laminate table tops page sits beside this one for that reason.

Shapes for the parties you seat

Rectangles and squares lead, with 12 listings each. Rounds come to seven, and four tops can be had in a drop-leaf shape, which lets a two-top open into a four-top when a larger party arrives. A couple is comfortable at 24 by 30 inches, and a party of four sits well at 36 inches square or around a 42-inch circle.

The solid wood plank tabletop, listed at $141, suits a farmhouse or taproom room. A natural edge wood table surface, at $223, keeps the live edge of the board for a bar top or a statement table near the window.

Stain, samples and the second room

Stains and finishes change over time. Stain and finish samples cost nothing and go out by UPS Ground, a trip of two or three business days in most cases, so request one before the order and another before any addition to a room you furnished earlier. Hold the sample against the chairs and the floor in the room's own light, at the hour you serve.

A pair carry a patio listing. Keep the other thirteen indoors. For a top built to your own size and edge, see configurable table tops, and for the cutting-board look in solid wood, butcher block table tops. Write each room's tops, sizes and stain into venue plans, so the second dining room orders the same board as the first.