July 2026 · 3 min read

The case for one good table

Dining rooms are back, but only if they are used. A few rules for a table that earns its room.

For a decade the dining room was the first thing to go, folded into an open-plan kitchen with a breakfast bar and a view of the washing up. We are putting it back, with conditions.

The table has to be long enough for the biggest night of the year and plain enough for a Tuesday. The chairs have to be comfortable for three hours. The light has to be low, warm and dimmable, and the room should be a little darker than the rest of the house.

Long enough for the biggest night of the year, plain enough for a Tuesday.

Do that, and people stay at the table. Which was always the point of the room.

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