I just got this table- absolutely stunning. The pictures on the website don't do it justice. I got the natural color and it does seem to have protection- it's smooth with a shine- probably a wax. It's not as rustic as I thought it would be (which is awesome). I do have a kitchen table which was finished with a powder coat from a different company. It didn't have any finish on it. I did put a carnuba wax on that which has lasted over a year with twice a day wet wipe down. I have to say that the kitchen table looks better than when I got it. The patina is beautiful. it's the look that I was after. I think if you go for the rustic look then go with the rustic look. Don't fret. I know I was getting wrapped up in staining etc initially but it didn't happen and any little mark/blemish on it is from my family and from having loving memories around the table. Who wants to live a pristine sterile life? Not me. Enjoy your furniture don't keep it so precious. Be well everyone.

I know this is an old thread, but I am thinking of getting a table extender. If you have one, how do you like it? Is it really solid? Does it come in pieces or fold? Where did you get it? Some of them come with folding legs for more support, but I am not interested in that kind. I just want to add some inches all around. I don't have a really big dining space (which is why I got a small table when I moved here), but for occasional entertaining, the area is open enough that I can seat more people. I do like the price of the 4x8 plywood idea! but that would be too big for my room and I think too heavy and awkward to move around. And I don't have resources to get it cut down to size and finish the corners. DId you put felt or something on the bottom?

I wanted to be supportive here of kaismoms opin. I feel like sitting down for dinner requires a transition in space. I like the walk across the space that means I'm away from the prep area. It makes me feel like now we are ready to relax and enjoy dinner! Eating at an island has always made me feel rushed and uncomfortable. With a table, someone can get up and go clean/etc in the kitchen area if they want or need to without disturbing the people at the table. With only an island you are sitting there watching someone clean while trying to enjoy your meal. My grandmother (I'm early 30's)always stood at the bar counter to eat her food when I was growing up. She never would QUITE make the transition to actually sitting down and enjoying the meal. It was always, go ahead without me I just want to clean up this last thing... and then getting things for those seated and then beginning the cleaning up. I've always thought that if we could have gotten the kitchen table just another few feet away from that bar how much different her life might have been. Looking at each other is important to me for a meal to really allow us to talk about our days and what's happening with us. If we go to a restaurant I never sit at the bar style areas. I always want to be on one side of a booth with the DH on the other so we can hold hands and do dorky stuff like that. I like to arue with him as he reads my paper upside down and steal his clean fork when I've dropped mine. I don't feel like these things would happen if we were sitting shoulder to shoulder instead of face to face. I don't like island seating as a general rule but I can't stand it as the only dining space.

In my attempts to decipher man-language regarding upholstered furniture, I have discerned that in all settings, no arms equals BAD. The terrible state of furniture without arms can be conveyed through a number of terms, including: casual, dumpy, skimpy, and "not solid." Along with les917, I think that a coordinated armchair or two would ease your husband's mind. Especially since your DR is on display as you enter, he may be concerned that without a throne, your home no longer looks like His Castle.