Thank you for the good review goldengirl. It makes me feel much more secure in my decision to order the table with this company. It was actually Dave that I spoke with on the phone, and he was extremely helpful and informative. ttodd - I love barley twist legs. Actually, I just found a great tiger oak table with barley twist legs yesterday at the antique flea market. I don't know where I'm going to put it yet, but couldn't pass it up!

Thanks outsideplaying...I had mentioned a bench to DH before, but he was not for it. We already have the chairs...leftover from the new house...and we are mostly adults who prefer the flexibility of the separate chairs and the back support. Bassett makes nice furniture...we just ordered the sofa for the library from there. denali, thank you for asking! I just did a google search on trestle tables and came across the image. Never occurred to me to look further than that until you asked. Turns out these guys are custom furniture makers in VT and designed the tables themselves. They do great work and I will definitely follow up with them....I'm already imagining a nice vacation trip to VT to bring up the wood and hike around the mountains! Will have to see if DH will go for it! Here is a link that might be useful: Dorset custom furniture

I'm so sorry I haven't been able to log on. I spent the last 2 days at the ortho dentist office w/ my DS1. OMG I couldn't believe how much his teeth is going to cost me !! *sigh* This is only phase 1 (expander/partial brace) and it's like 3K.. :-( Back to the trouble room -- I wasn't sure whether to go w/ straight legs or turn legs, and the consensus seems to be w/ the straight legs. Not a single vote for the farm table (!) I went to see no. 1 in person and it's a bit more overscaled than I would want. No 3 has that planked top which won't be practical. Plus it's more rustic (too rustic?) I found couple other tables -- maybe too refined for the motley crew? :-D Maybe this style but in a different finish? I have to go to some local shop as well. My friend tells me we can get custom made locally for a lot less than furniture store price. So that's another option. I just need to figure out what I want :-D Umnn: no 3 is from jayson home & garden in chicago. no. 4 is from beachdwelling. http://www.beachdwelling.com/productdetails.php?intID=799&title=Teak+Dining+Table http://www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com/home.php?cat=1 juddgirl2: the paint color is Fawn by F&B. I still haven't decided on the fabric for the chairs yet. You chairs would be so beautiful! I'm jealous! les & parma: thanks for the suggestion. that site has a lot to look at. artlover: having large family can be a pita -- Lots of cooking & washing, sometimes I feel like I'm running a restaurant (or B&B) :-D walkin: thank you.

Anita, I think the set you like is beautiful. However, consider this, legs like that table has will not allow for extra chairs. If the same table was a pedestal table you could get 2 chairs down each side. I had a Wicker table with a 48" glass top before this table and I had six chairs. I now have a 46" octagon table with 4 big chairs and two smaller chairs with low backs. Don't let those small chairs deceive you, they are full size chairs the seats are as high as the ladder back chairs, just the back is smaller. I can get chairs 6 around this table and have squeezed 8 around it in a pinch. I think 4 x 3 would work well, but like I suggested watch the table legs, they can hinder the amount of chairs you can use. I also had a bench at one time (inside the bay window) we were a family of 5 when our kids were growing up, so we had 3 chairs and a bench. This nook measures 9 foot 1" wide from the counter (with the bananas on it) to the end of the wall. . .The bay window is 8Ft wide. I took this tonight after I measured... from the center of the bay window to the end of the first glass pane on the french door the measurement is 8 ft. Also notice that the chairs are not huge and they fit under the table well. ( they can go in even further than the photo shows) This allows more walking around room when the table is not in use. I am a very visual person and use a lot of visual aids when doing or building furniture. I suggest you take your current table and add a faux top with wood, or cardboard or anything that would mock up the size table you want in the room, add the chairs and see what it looks like. Also consider a 42" round table (pedestal) with a leaf. It would give you a lot more room for everyday use for 4 people and when the grandparents come put in the leaf. We made this table 48" and when it was all done and we put the chairs around it I saw that if it was a tad smaller the chairs would fit under neath better so we cut it down to 46". Every little bit helps in a small area. Hope this helps. joann