5 Best Dining Table Types for Tiny Spaces

The dining room is an important area of your home. This is where people gather together for a nice meal. It’s where people entertain guests. It’s also where little kids do their homework, adults have a cup of coffee before heading off to work, and the family hangs out on weekends. 

Dining space should be carefully planned. This is particularly true when it comes to small spaces. Small spaces need to be well thought out in order to be as functional as possible. Dining tables come in various shapes and sizes. The options below are an excellent way to preserve space, while still considering multiple guests.

Bar Style

A bar is the perfect place for a drink. It’s also the ideal table style to bring home. Bar tables come in varied materials, including metal and wood. This makes it easy to find the one that matches your overall decor plan. The typical bar height table has the advantage of being from about forty to about forty-two inches in height. 

This makes it about six inches taller than the standard dining room table. As such, it is an ideal table for a room that might not have much floor space. The standard bar table is an elongated rectangle. This long, narrow shape, is right for many room shapes. A bar-sized table fits well in a room that is narrower (like a breakfast nook) because the height makes the space look less crowded.

Cafe Tables

Cafe tables are a classic that were often used to seat many separate parties in the same space. Modern designers have brought them from the commercial sphere to the residential one with great success. These are perfect for the homeowner who only needs a small space to dine. The table base comes in many different styles. Metal is probably most seen, but wood is also common. 

Often they have a metal base and a wood top. Like bar height tables, cafe style tables typically run about forty-one inches. That makes it possible for 2-4 people to sit at the table with ease. It also makes it easy for people to fit the chairs underneath when they are not in use. Extra chairs can be stowed away in a closet or garage. This makes it easy to accommodate guests as needed.

Counter Height

Modern living means that, often, people are living in closer quarters. Sometimes, the crafting of small homes means that some may only have a kitchen, rather than a formal dining room. The use of a counter-height table enables them to combine many functions in a single table. These tables often have a top that can be used as part of a meal prep service. This makes them a good choice for those who are looking for additional storage space in their kitchen. 

Many such tables have racks where people can keep items like wine bottles. A counter height table is usually round or square, and differs from bar height tables in this regard. These are also a good choice for those on a budget because they’re sometimes made from plastic and are inexpensive. This table style often comes with chairs or benches that can fit underneath the table when not in use, and tucks perfectly into a corner.

Drop Leaf

Drop leaf tables come in many different heights, sizes, and shapes. They all have one thing in common: an extension that can be folded over when not in use. You’ll see them in sizes ranging from the standard twenty-eight inches to bar height. These are ideal for those who do a lot of entertaining but want to keep it smaller when there are fewer people dining. Many come in wood like bamboo that is both durable and easy to clean.

Nesting Table

The nesting table concept features chairs that tuck perfectly under the table in question when not in use. This is the ideal option for studio apartments, where a dining area is virtually non-existent. Nesting tables are usually either rectangular with sharp edges and backless chairs that fit fully under the surface, or they’re rectangular with rounded corners, where the rounded backs of the chairs align perfectly with the edges of the table. 

This is a contemporary, space-efficient design that can easily usually seat about four people. It usually features a criss-crossed table base that does not interfere with the chairs’ ability to fit underneath.