Just came back from looking at the table. It was nice with pegs etc. , and, yes, solid oak. However, it was kind of wobbly where the corners connect to the legs. If you look closely, you see an angled corner where the legs connect (with a flowery decoration). They had just hammered small nails in there, which stuck out. i don't know how big a deal it would be to fix that. The angled wood piece was certainly not attached properly anymore, but I don't know what function it had with holding the legs in place. On the inside corner, there were big screws for the legs, too. Any idea how big a deal it is to fix the corner and the legs?

Great ideas! And, thanks so much for the pic! We have indoor pets and it's so much easier to keep things clean without a table cloth for every day, but I can always just use it when we have guests. Did that during the holidays. Love the idea to use 4 runners - that would look really nice and serve as place mats, all in one. And, round place mats do help a lot - rectangular ones overlap a bit at the corner place settings. I used round during the holidays. I'll check out Target! I've never seen or heard of luncheon place mats - that's a neat option - will check out that site and also do a Google search. Thanks! Our table is finished - probably is a polyurethaned wood surface. I try to be really careful with it - use trivets, place mats for most meals (it's just DH and I at home now) - I'm just afraid of scratching the surface. I know I'm being more cautious than I need to be, but it's the first set we've bought new and I know it has to last. LOL! How clever to use a bedspread as a table cloth - so creative! This was my holiday table. Just seemed cramped to me. I put the silverware on the plates/napkins to save space. BTW, those are gold charges - they're reflecting the red plates and look red. Fortunately, I was able to set up food buffet style, so most of the serveware didn't have to be on the table. I was just out of ideas and have been bored with the way I've been setting our table - want to do a little something nicer for every day, even though it's just DH and me! I so appreciate your replies! :)

nhb22 heehee. It's funny, because now I think of all the doubters and esp. those who seem outright opposed and/or hostile to the idea. I don't live in a super cold climate, but it's December and it's chilly here. This morning I made pancakes for myself. I got a plate out of the cabinet and it felt decidedly south of room temperature, hardly worthy of a nice hotcake. I stuck it briefly under hot running water, like for 10 seconds. Dried it off just in time to flip my flapjack onto the plate. Without a warm plate, it would have quickly become a cold, sad, rubbery thing.

You can get all kinds of seat cushions in all kinds of materials or have some custom made. That was quite common for those kinds of chairs back in the day when they were made. My grandma had cushions on all her cane and rush seated chairs. I have a rush-seat chair set in my kitchen dining area, and I have to say that cushions are not a bad idea for those chairs anyway, in the comfort department! And if you ever feel like mixing it up, you can always get chair covers for the chairs. They are pricey, makes me want to learn to sew just to make them. They always have awesome home sewn chair covers on display in the sewing store in my town, to lure you in! You can also mix it up on that table with tablecloths or runners and/or placemats! If I ever do learn to sew, my first project will be placemats!