Hi Amy!!! Good feedback on the table. But too late. Deadline for returning the table was yesterday. :-) Basically, I decided I really loved the table, and loved it enough to forgive it for not letting the chairs go all the way under. The thing about tall people's feet didn't occur to me (tall people have feet?? who knew!). I'm just going to hope it works out. If someone really needs to stretch out their feet with a glass of brandy, they'd be much more comfortable doing it on the sofa or armchair anyway - which are only a few steps away! I did go back to Room & Board this week to take another look at the black steel table - it's nice, and it would have gone in the room okay, but it did seem kind of cold and hard-edged. I just don't get the same feeling looking at it that I do with the wood table. Maybe if I'd realized this thing about the wood table's legs before I actually bought it and put it in my house, I would have gone for the steel table - but maybe it's just as well. (I can always CL the wood table later if I decide it really doesn't work, and chalk it up to an expensive lesson learned - or a "table rental fee". ;-)) As for chairs - they *are* really difficult! I sat in the wood chair at R&B. Not so comfortable. The leather chair was much more comfortable. Go figure. Finding a relatively small chair that is still comfortable and attractive is crazy. So here's a form vs. function thing: I found these chairs on the West Elm web site: The size is good, the style works, the color is fun and might work in the room. BUT (lots of but's here) - the store only had them in dark gray, and I'm nervous buying them without seeing the actual "persimmon" color first. (Colors on web sites can be deceiving!) The fabric was a somewhat loose nubby weave that might prove irresistible to a cat's claws (assuming I ever get a cat again). And finally, there's the issue of West Elm furniture quality - I got my coffee table from them, and though I like the style of the table, not so happy with the quality. On the plus side, the chairs were pretty comfortable. (For now. The padding felt kind of, uh, hollow, like it might not hold up over time.) Still intrigued by the style & color though - if anyone has seen chairs like this elsewhere, please let me know! One more thing about the table... Dd50, I did go back to C&B also and look at the 48" version of the wood table. They had it up on a pedestal though, so I couldn't see how it looked with chairs under it. Anyway, it did look kind of big, and I'm not sure it would have made that much difference with the chairs, so I decided to stick with the 42" top. Finally, Amy, some extra pix showing the little orange table: Opposite the sofa: Mocked up with the picture that still needs to be hung over the sofa, the curtains that still need to be purchased, and a smushed make-believe vase munged from my green lamp base standing in for a centerpiece on the dining table:

Hi Tina, no, I wish I was leaning towards the cottage style but our house is saying no. With it's oak kitchen cabinets (that DH won't let me touch grrr) and colonial style, it's screaming more traditional, rustic or even a little bit country (hopefully french). The problem I'm having is I fully intended to go with the off white look cause that's what we've always had and are used to. However when I started looking for new chairs, the majority of what I like is in black or wood only. I prefer to avoid going with wood because between the floors and cabinets I'm afraid it will just be too much. And I don't want to try to match any paint treatment the off white chairs may have on the table. Black is basically the easiest way to go or have a white farm table with wood chairs with the hopes it will be enough white to tone down all the wood? I'm in a quandary with it, can you tell? LOL Your chairs and table idea sounds lovely. With as long as you've been wanting them, I'm sure they will make your heart sing after you have them in place. You are so lucky that you KNEW what you wanted and what your space needed!!! In addition to the table and chairs we too need a second piece in our little dining area. I've been looking for a hutch I can spruce up for months now. Sometimes the process can be so dragged out, it seems like it will never come together huh? I think the black will actually work better in our space than the off white because we have dark counters and black trim on our SSL appliances. I just can't seem to visualize this room as finished the way I could other rooms in our house. :c(

Thanks all for your support! It occurs to me now that black chairs could even be an easier choice than trying to pair different wood finishes. Our current set is my mother's old Ethan Allen suite that I believe was purchased in 1984. I'm not a huge fan of the chairs, but now that I look at the table again, maybe it could work for us after all--at least for a while. Somehow it seems like it might fight with the chairs a bit, or that may be my matchy-matchy bias showing. Errant, I'd love to see your in-progress pic!

Hi Wanda- Please, please do not buy chairs from the Internet. Chairs have to be comfortable and sturdy and made to last and support even big people. You are much better off going to charity stores craigslist and tag sales looking for sets of chairs made of solid wood and recovering the seat cushions and painting the wood. These stores have so many of these sets now! It is so easy to cover a chair seat and not difficult to learn how to paint the wood or you can leave the wood the way it is or just sand and varnish it.