Thanks for the kind words and sharing in the joy. Details of course! It's the Pranzo from Crate and Barrel (It's also available in a really cool grey base almost a driftwood color--would be terrific in beachy/cottage space) It was one of the only tables I could find that met my criteria--I wanted something pretty narrow and also something that could go from quite small to quite big, all while self-storing the leaves. (we don't have a lot of extra storage space, it's just the four of us during the week but not unusual to have 8-10 around the table many weekends) It's only 35" wide and can go from 63" to 119" long in 18" increments. I have had the chairs for years, but repainted them black to match the rest. I grabbed the bench for $70.00 at homedecorators.com a few months back because at that price I knew it would be good to line a bunch of kids up on it without worries.

I hate the high price of place mats, so I made some a few years ago (I wanted 12 that matched). They are made of denim with an interfaced back and a jeans looking pocket on the front. I put a folded up bandana for a napkin and the silverware in the pocket. I also used double thread and stitched twice so they had more or a jeans feel to them. I wash them frequently and haven't had any problems with them. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I get a lot of compliments from them.

I'm delurking to possibly add some information about your table. I've been contemplating refinishing our Ethan Allen American Impressions Shaker-style dining table, which I believe has a similar if not identical top to yours. The finish is lacquer. Restoring it could be as simple as re-amalgamating by brushing on lacquer thinner to allow the current finish to sort of melt, reflow, and dry. I will probably give it a try if I can determine how to maintain a dust-free environment in this household. Our top is cherry veneer over some other hardwood (common and not a sign of poor quality). I've read that commercial veneers can be extremely thin, like 1/32 inch. You would have to be very, very careful if you didn't want to sand it off. Good luck! Let us know what you do.

I purchased a black table at Ikea. I didn't want to spend a lot on a table because it's not something that is used often. I wanted something inexpensive that I could mix with other pieces from other places. The table has no leaves in it in the photo below and I have 6 chairs. The black chairs are very wide. If you had smaller chairs you might get away with 3 on each side with no leaves but eating might be tight. When both leaves are open you can fit 10. I sat 12 adults for Christmas Eve using those chairs and then smaller black folding chairs (also from Ikea) and it was fine. For the money I think it was a great buy. http://src=