Eating in — how to make small spaces work

Mid-Century
magic

With time and space at a premium, sitting down at the dining
table for a meal is becoming a thing of the past. It’s increasingly rare for
households to have a dedicated dining room with a large table – and all too common
for us to eat whilst perched on the edge of a sofa.

Maybe you’re lucky enough to have a big kitchen that can
double up as a dining room, or perhaps your living space has to work hard to
incorporate a table at which to eat. With a bit of careful shopping, it’s
possible to make your kitchen and dining room furniture work in whatever space you
have to play with.

Mid-Century Modern pieces were designed to fit in the
smaller living spaces that were becoming common in the 1950s and ‘60s, so look
out for sleek dining furniture inspired by this era when shopping for your
kitchen table. Traditional British brand Ercol has a selection of simple dining
tables that won’t overpower a living room, if you need your space to be
multitasking. If you’re going to be using your hard-working table for working
as well as eating, you can justify investing in a stunning designer piece.

If you’re struggling to squeeze an angular dining table into
your kitchen, consider circular kitchen
tables in modern glass or a more rustic wood, which were also popular in
the Mid-Century era. These can often fit snugly into the corner of a kitchen,
where rectangular tables may intrude on vital space.

Transforming tables

Clever transforming tables start off small and extend to
accommodate more diners. These make for perfect dining tables in small spaces.
A drop-flap or folding
table in a living room or pushed into a corner of a kitchen can be a great
way to get more dining capabilities into a smaller room. When you need the
extra table space, just extend the table or lift up one of the flaps – then
when your dinner is done, just fold everything away tidily. Some table units
even accommodate folding chairs and offer storage solutions for extra space
saving.

Storage secrets

If you’re in a studio flat with no distinct dining area, a
coffee table with hidden storage could work wonders for your living space. Look
for tables with drawers or lift-top storage too, which can be particularly
handy if you need to hide away stationery to transform your table from desk to
dining space on a regular basis. Choosing stackable or fold-away chairs for a
dining area that serves other purposes is also a smart shopping idea to make
the most of your space.