another pic as i can't figure out how to post more than one at a time:(

Maybe take out the half wall, and put a banquette over far enough so the front edge of the seat is where the half wall is now. Then a rectangular table, oriented perpendicular to the wall. I think you could gain 2 or 3 feet, without losing any seating.

The only question is whether you're willing to steal a couple of feet from the living room. The back of the banquette would still serve as a separation.

The round table isn't terrible, but it is dark. Looks like it doesn't block the open side of the slider (at least without people sitting there), so my first thought was to paint it a color -- maybe more than one color (top and/or base, chairs in different colors -- maybe a blue one, a green one, a yellow/gold one and a barn red one). You could use some color in that brown room -- but that may not be what you were after. Sorry.

If folks sitting there are a traffic problem at the same time the slider is being used, I'd look at a square or rectangular table with a bench on the pony wall side and chairs on the kitchen side. You could do two benches -- or do a pub table with stools that will allow sight through to the tv and even more view to the outside.

annkh- i thought of taking out the half wall but it has an plug so electrical would need to be relocated. it is more than i want to spend.
lascatx - you are dead on about the color. we bought it before we redid the kitchen and it was fine with the honey oak but not now. i thought about the rectangular table with bench as well. i am having a hard time envisioning how much space that would take up. pub table might be a good option as well!

Is it your only dining space? How many people use it at once?

If not your only dining space and if it would work for your family, I might do a wall hung table/counter/bar on the pony wall, kind of like this:

{{!gwi}}

or:

Removing the pony wall might also cause flooring problems. Do you know if there is finished flooring under there or would you have to try to patch it? Do you have material to patch it?

As far as looking at how a different configuration would fill the space, the best thing to do when you get stumped is mock it up. Get our your measuring tape, a roll of blue painters tape and find other furniture, boxes or whatever. Mock it up the best you can. It isn't necessary to duplicate your table -- just get the sense of size and proportion so you can see how it fits in the room.

I have seen some narrower pub tables that might allow you to combine olychick's idea with a freestanding table -- put the table up against the wall like a bar and use stools, one on either end and two on the side. You might only have two stools there for everyday if that fits your needs and be able to pull out the table and add the additional stools when you need them. In winter, if you don't use the deck much, you could even turn the table and just enjoy the view.

Overall, with just one partial wall there, I like freestanding furniture better than doing a banquette. You can create the same feel and function, but you have a lot more options and can move as your needs or whim change.

Got some boxes or poster board?

olychick- it is not the only eating space although we use it daily. i love the pics you linked! actually that is an awesome idea. the middle pic looks like it is braced on a half wall. are the others being supported by brackets do you think?

lascatx- i will grab something to mock the space but i do agree that a freestanding table to mimic olychicks pics would be better partially because we are not very diy skilled and i am not sure how to brace a counter.
the pony wall is original to the house so no flooring underneath. i had thought of the flooring problem too. overall if this was my forever home, i would rip it out and redo all but the cost is not one we will recoup when we do sell which i hope is in the next 5 years. plus can i am so tired of hiring people and crossing my fingers that it turns out ok! i haven't had fantastic luck with picking good ones!

I have very much the same situation in my kitchen, I still need access to the back yard thru the operational opening of the slider. With that said, I would have no problem with blocking the stationary part of the slider with a section of a "L" shaped banquette. (to me its dead space anyway, why not put part of the banquette there too in order to use all the space you can out of the area)

So, you would have a banquette on the pony wall joined by the matching side next to the stationairy part of the slider.

You can still slide the door on its tracks to open and you are still left with the walkway you need to get outside, but you end up with lots of comfy seating.
You can buy a custom sized banquette from Ballards (I think) online, or have your hubby (or you if you are handy) to make a very nice banquette with storage out of kitchen cabs, sized to your specific needs. Your round table would work nicely with the "L" shape banquette as well as a rectangle table.
Hope that makes sense...

I would assume braced/bracketed although the first one has a leg which would make it more stable. I'm not a good engineer for that sort of stuff, but anyone you hire to make/install something like that would know.

I know you don't want to remove the pony wall, but you cut it down and basically build the banquette over and around it? That would save you having to move electrical and avoid the flooring problem