When you insert the leaves, is the table still round? or oval? My old round table became an oval when I put leaves in.

I prefer a cotton (or at least a blend) tablecloth over 100% polyester. I like the feel of cotton and don't care for the shininess of poly. Of course I have to iron my tablecloths which is a PITA.

I'm not great at styling so hopefully someone else will chime in. I like the idea of flowers for some color. Make it a low arrangement in a pretty vase. Watch the scent on the candle. Overpowering scents are not good when you are eating. Look around your house... you might find some pretty decorative items to put with the flowers.

It remains 70" round. I am terrible at ironing :/

A 90" round tablecloth on a 70" table allows for a 10" drop on all sides which is just about perfect. Any longer and the drop will be in the way of people's knees. Ten people around a 70" table will be tight. Have you tried it out with your chairs to see if they will fit?

If you will not have any serving pieces on the table, then a wreath with a short unscented pillar candle makes a nice, low centerpiece. You could also do a low, flat arrangement in a shallow bowl or platter. You don't have to use flowers; you can use fruit, vegetables, nuts, rocks, shells...

You'll never comfortably fit 10 people around a 70" table. It will be VERY crowded and uncomfortable. You really do have to use a cloth to get it to fit - placemats would end up overlapping. Why don't you rent both a 90" and a 120" inch round cloth at a party rental place and see what works best for you before making a purchase. I would avoid polyester as it's very slippery.

As for your cabinets; they look like display cases in the china/glassware dept in a store. It's exactly why I only like glass front cabinets in the kitchen (a closed kitchen) or in a butler's pantry. Turning off the cabinet lights will help a LOT. Yes, a nice, oval low flower arrangement in front of the mirror.

I am just curious about the table! I am terrible with spatial relations.....but how do the leaves keep it round? Are they in the shape of a cross....in the center?? If so, I want one like that!!

We have a 60 in. round table and I use 90 " round tablecloths. I love to put a 70 in" round on top of it for layering.

I chime in on the 90 inch round tablecloth. I am not much for poly either. For solid prefer damask but that needs ironing. At that cost I would consider it a "temporary fill in because you need one asap" tablecloth. No smelly candles in the dining room (I burn those in our small bath and upstairs) and I am confused as to flower arrangement -- on the table or on the china cabinet? Either way, keep it low.

For the centerpiece, I would google 70 inch round table settings to get ideas. Also set the table with all of your pieces to see what additional detail you might need in the middle. I have been decorating my 48" round table and I like to fill up the middle with a cake stand or large-ish centerpiece. The height of the glasses affects what looks good in the middle. You'll have room to build up a nice display in the middle. I like the idea of a runner or two layered across the middle to add interest, then you can decorate the length of the runner as you would a rectangular table. You can do anything for the centerpieces, but you do have to experiment to get it right. A lot of the tables I googled looked like wedding tables, which I think is a little cliche. You could create a scene in the middle of the table with decor you have around the house, mixed with foliage. Do you have a theme or color scheme you are going for? Right now my table is decorated with a green and white "snow and greenery" theme. If you are not serving food in the middle of the table, I would get creative and have several pieces that go together, even if it's a bread basket, a pitcher of water, and a few other things. It's going to be easier if you have a picture of a finished table to start with.

"As for your cabinets; they look like display cases in the china/glassware dept in a store."

YES! Yes they do! I really want to switch it up. I love my china and want to display a few place settings.

My Waterford Millennium Flutes are so precious to me and I want them displayed as well. My crystal is pretty....

But I'd really like to jazz up this display. Any suggestions? faux flowers? Picture frames? I am clueless when it comes to this and would love some inspiration. My family room is full of color and warmth and my kitchen and dining are very monotonous.

The one thing that I would change, if possible, are the solid doors in the upper middle of the cabinet. Is there any way you could have them changed to glass? I think they distract from the display of your lovely pieces, as the doors are the dominant things, to my eye. It would then give you more room to create a pleasing arrangement, with more variety, while still showing some of your place settings and stemware. It may be fairly inexpensive to have glass added to the existing door frames.

If that's not possible, then I think you can display some of your glasses, some of your china, but remove most of them and add other things with more color/texture/interest. You might think about adding mirror to the back of the cabinet (or wallpaper, or other paper for color) for sparkle and brightness.

This is pretty busy and too full for my taste, but I like the way they interspersed the china and glassware instead of just lining it up, and have added other accessories for interest:

If you keep your dining table set all the time, it will jazz things up. Then you can have room to put selective color in the china cabinet. If you pass by your dining table several times a day, the eye candy will be worth the extra dusting.

You can at least try it for a few days and see how it makes you feel. You can set four place settings to get the effect. You don't have to set everything out. (I assume you don't eat every meal at the dining table.)

Google "tablescapes for round tables" and view images. That gets a ton of results for ideas. Lots of color in those images.

A colorful cloth napkin by or over the plate makes everything pop. I am collecting solid color napkins so that I can change up color when I feel like it. When I build my china cabinets, they will be mostly neutral like yours, but the table will be full of color.

Jane, hmmm, keeping the dining table set all the time? Even if I didn't have cats, I still wouldn't want to do that.

I agree with Oly -- I'd mix in some non-matchy things in the glass cabinets. Maybe some colored glassware or if you want to stay more monochromatic, some silver items? Maybe a pitcher, vase, bowl, etc.. The glassware in particular is almost invisible. You need to add a little personality, I think.

Another option is to line the back wall with a decorative paper.

What about pretty placemats and no tablecloth? That is what I would do. How formal is your dinner? I find that more and more people like to dine more casually. The room is really pretty! Also, I like to stagger my glasses so it looks fuller. Maybe you should add an accent color for placemats or tablecloth and try to get a few pieces of that color in the cabinet. Or, I love the pic of the wallpaper at the back of the cabinet. Also, I love orchids. Some orchids with moss at the base in a big pretty bowl would be great. How about bringing in some green?