'Quality' counter height tables- Is it possible?

17 years ago

Does anyone know of a furniture brand that makes a true quality counter height dining table?

DH and I have been looking for weeks now for an all wood counter height dining table. One that seats 8 people (60" x60" x36"H) though a 6 person would work. We want one for our dining-nook area for two reason...

1... it is right next to my island that will have 4 or 5 counter height chairs and I want people to be able to look eye to eye and talk while seated in both locations.

2... we have an amazing view and I'd like the nook chairs to be up just a bit for the maximal view.

Problem is....We cannot find any brands that are real wood (without veneer) or sturdy (even heavy). All that we've looked at could easily be shaken with just one hand. They all were put together with screws or glue and most were made in China.

Yesterday I spent the entire day searching and came across two brands, Bernhardt and Schnadig. Each made a table that might work (but not really our style) if we cannot find anything else.

Does anyone have a clue where we might find something like the table pictured below? It would be the perfect table if it was done in counter height (I have emailed them to see if it can be special ordered)....

{{gwi:1525429}}

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Comments (9)

mactruck
17 years ago
Bermex Has a table that fits your bill.
It's solid Birch and comes in a variation of colors.

They have it in counterheight and comes with many leg and skirt options as well.
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kats
Original Author
17 years ago
mactruck,

Thanks for the link. It looks like they special order. So, if I find something I like they might custom it with longer legs and that might work for us.
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Choice made then. It's always nice to see people check their options and then go for what they really want. As someone suggested, you could always detach and/or cut it down if you ever wished to. Probably not, but saving extra tile and trim would make the usual good sense should you ever decide to rearrange, whatever the height. Others, it's been rather eye-opening to see how many people don't find this very comfortable, even tall ones. At 5'2" I didn't weigh in with how much I dislike perching over relaxing into a chair because these days it seems most people top me by at least a head, if not shoulders too, and I thought this might have become mostly a "personal" problem. Like the typical new dining chair AMAF. :)
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I think this has been a fruitful discussion. I hope it continues. The more I think about this, the more I believe people should be encouraged by KDs, the kitchen sellers at the big box stores, cabinet makers, etc., to consider counter heights when planning a kitchen. And I think a big shout-out to many of the great contributors here at GW is called for because until I spent hours...well, really weeks of hours...reading through reveals, advice to folks planning their kitchens, and such, I never would have thought of all these types of details being important for a good, functional, pleasant space. GWE’s (GardenWeb Experts) are the bomb!! Last night I made a big salad and started a pot of “clean out the refrigerator” soup. I really liked chopping and that kind of prep on the higher counter. My DH helped a bit a really liked it as well. I also made scratch biscuits. I hand-mixed the dough at four different heights: on the higher counter with the triple breadboards on top (didn’t like), regular counter height (didn’t like), on the breadboard when it was slid into its slot, just below counter-height (liked it much better but still a bit high), and then put the breadboard across two counter-height stools (a bit too low). I think a small stretch of counter somewhere in-between the latter two would be nice for that type of work and other baking, machine-mixing, yada yada type tasks. I’ll continue the experiments. My chiropractor...who I seldom need anymore due to the excellent exercises he’s given me to strengthen my back and keep myself in alignment...does a weekly radio show on our local station. I called in this morning and mentioned this issue and asked him about it. He was very enthusiastic and gave some examples of people he has worked with who have had back issues directly related to long-term repetitive movements where things are not at the right height for them. So, really, for someone who cooks a lot, this isn’t a trivial issue. I really want to learn more about this. Oh, gosh...my friends already think I’m the anti-high-heel and heavy-purse nazi, now I'll be the counter-height nazi, too. But I had a back injury for which I was told I would never fully recover, only have limited mobility, and will always have pain. Well, I proved them wrong on all counts due to proper exercises (mostly from chiropractor) and body movements. I can go hiking with a 30+-pound pack and other activities, like 50-mile bike rides, that they said I'd never be able to do again. And I haven't taken a pain pill since 2008. It's because I've become the healthy-back nazi, LOL. This stuff is important for quality of life issues, imho. Off my soap box. @westsider 40 - Good points about not kneading long. I really don’t bake often where I need to knead. When I do, I move my large breadboard to my table and do it there. So it might be best to just continue doing it that way. @Oaktown - 14” difference! Wow. You would almost need two separate kitchens to work best for the two of you. Yeah, I think you should have a stool under each appliance and in each toekick. Just pull the whole thing out when you’re cooking. DH can push it all in when he’s cooking. @tracie.erin - Interesting on the stove height. I can see why that would be good to have it lower since your arm motion is different when stirring and such at a stove vs. chopping/slicing/dicing in a prep area. I do think my stove is the right height. If we do raise the counters on the wall, we’ll have to make adjustments for a lower stove top. Thanks for the tip. @laughable - Yes, I’m trying to put a lot of thought into this kitchen. And you are one of the people who have really inspired me to put in the extra time and effort to get it right. It will be my last so it better be good! I usually transfer from stock/crock pots in the sink because I’m unbelievably clumsy, lol. The pictures aren’t showing, darn it. I just am getting the Photobucket “This person has moved or deleted” message. It could be my computer. I had to take it back to factory settings last night and am still loading updated drivers and such. I’ll come back later and check it again. I can visualize your explanation of what he did in his own kitchen and why. Still need to get to my library to see if they have any of his books.
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mikegeorge
17 years ago
Almost any of the Amish furniture makers have them, or will make one for you at a very reaTsonable price.
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furnone
17 years ago
Simply Amish has several.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simply Amish
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western_pa_luann
17 years ago
This is one option:
http://www.amishoutletstore.com/page.cfm?p=895

and I have seen them here:
http://amishfurniture.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
in person, but I don't see any on their site....
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kats
Original Author
17 years ago
mikegeorge,
Thank you for responding. I think you're right that the Amish is most likely the way to go. The furniture in the picture I posted is from an Amish store. I heard back from them and it can be custom made. Being on the other side of America from me (SoCal) the shipping is about 1/2 of the table itself. Ouch!
It's hard to know the workmanship from a picture but I think it's evident it's better than the glue and screw products we've been seeing.

furone and western_pa_luann
Thanks also to both of you for the Amish links. The links actually brought to my attention a store in a tourist type town about an hour from my home. They supposedly carries Amish furniture and knick knacks. This is SoCal so I expect more knick knacks but I've emailed them to see if they have tables or can special order. If they can then DH and I will be taking a drive come this weekend.
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mogator88
17 years ago
www.Saloom.com

Look at Hampshire Farm collection. That style of table top finish is right up your alley. Then look at the rest of what they do. Much of what they make is available in counter height.

Its all solid maple. I've sold Bermex. Its nice but not in the same league. For table tops birch is a substitute wood, maple is much better.

Special orders take 3 weeks to make up and shipping will not be so bad since they have a well developed dealer network. Check them out, they're the real deal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Saloom Furniture
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laura1202
17 years ago
We're having a solid wood counter height kitchen table custom made and custom stained (they are matching my maple cabinets) for the exact same reasons you listed. I had ordered one from Broyhill that looked about 5 years old in less than three months (multiple scratches and scrapes) plus the highly lacquered fakey finish was peeling off. No, it wasn't expensive but it wasn't even worth what I paid. (The local company I bought it from did take it back and gave me a full refund.)

I found this company online and then read a post on the Furniture forum from a satisfied customer and she gave me more information through email. Luckily the shop is only a couple of hours drive from me through beautiful VA horse country. We ordered in mid April and they called yesterday to set up delivery for June 1. My delivery charge is $125.00 via their truck but I am relatively close. I do know they deliver to non East Coast locations by "common carrier", not sure aboout the fees though.

Good Luck, it is really hard to find a nice table but so worth it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Antique Tables Made Daily
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kats
Original Author
17 years ago
laura1202 and mogator88

Thanks for both the links. I'm still checking them out. Both Saloom and the Antique Table Made Daily seem to have very nice, high quality tables. I'm impressed and excited to learn that Saloom has a dealer about an hour from my home! Their Hampshire Farm table is "VERY" nice. I wish ATMD had a dealer close too so I could see their work in person.

The ATMD has pricing on their website and it doesn't seem out of line with the Amish companies I have received quotes from now. Other than Saloom and Simply Amish, all companies seem to be back east and will charge at least $500+ for delivery to SoCal. Saloom doesn't have pricing but I will find that out when I visit their dealer. Do you have any idea mogator88 if they are comparable to some of the other's linked from this thread? The Simply Amish quote from the store near us was almost $1700 higher for the same table than their online partners and that was without shipping! I don't mind spending what it takes to get a quality table but I also don't want to get taken....

Laura, I bet you cannot wait to get your table. I especially liked the Country French table. And, I know exactly what you mean about your Broyhill table that was less than acceptable. We bought an expensive couch just two years ago and the thing broke down almost immediately. It replaced a quality couch we'd had for 20 years that my sister now has...and DH wishes he had back! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: French Table
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'Quality' counter height tables- Is it possible?

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mactruck

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'Quality' counter height tables- Is it possible?

Comments (9)

mactruck

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furnone

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katsOriginal Author

mogator88

laura1202

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kats
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