Look at local thrift stores and antique depots. Also research local online estate auctions and sales. I always see tons of Duncan Phyfe sets.

I got my table years ago for less than 45 dollars at a thrift store. It was covered in layers of paint but after stripping it I now have a stunning walnut dining table. If you find a style and shape you like do not be aftaid to refinish it to your specific tastes.

That is gorgeous, roarah! Love the grain. How could anyone paint that beautiful wood?!

Very often estate sales have them.

@roarah I think I'm going to have to do just what you recommended. Love your Delft jars btw. Beautiful table. How did you get it to gleam like that?

@Jilly I appreciate the manufacturer names and suggestions. It helps me to categorize some of the tables I'm seeing when I look at used tables. I like the Kincaid table especially. Is there an anatomy chart for dining tables? What do you call the rim underneath of it that supports the tabletop? I like that feature being present on tables. (It's present on the one I included pictures of.)

One thing I will say is I like the painted base look. Sometimes I think it can remove some of the business of older tables. But I don't like painted tabletops. No way.

I used to also not like veneer inlay, thought they looked too old and fussy. Now I like them. I guess I'm the old and fussy one now, lol

Catherine, that part of the table is known as a skirt or apron.

I agree, I like painted bases ok, but not tops. I like seeing the woodgrain.

After stripping I start sanding with 60grit paper then worked towards 400 grit for final sanding. I than used the steps for doing a french polish. That was years ago and after years of eating all meals at this table with kids and messy adults I now periodically wet sand the table and then apply a coat of antique oil by minwax. It is very over due for a coat right now.

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/french-polishing/

https://canadel.com/products/tables/

My husband built our table to the exact size and configuration we wanted. Our BIL cut down a cherry tree on his property (walnut or cherry, he asked). That was twenty years ago. Our niece, during a divorce, asked her uncle to build her table and benches, very rustic, sawbuck, stained ebony. She sent pictures, he built and stained it, and we drove the set 1250 miles to her new house!. Last year our daughter asked for a tiger maple table in a specific size. She and I drove it 1700 miles last August from our house to her house. Call a custom cabinet maker and be prepared with pictures of the elements you want. If he can’t help, maybe he knows someone who can. Visit Woodworker’s Supply and ask them for furniture makers. Be ready to spend time deciding on size, shape, finishes-phone calls and in person visits.

You can buy table pedestal bases separately. If you buy a pair, you could probably have a tabletop made relatively inexpensively (unless you want an extension table) or buy a second-hand table where you like the top and not the base.

Seconding the recommendation by @antmaril to check tables by Canadel.

@remodeling1840 Wow, I would love if such a family story was attached to my table! Having a table from a tree on family property is where it's at, but probably won't be what we end up doing this time. Do you have any pictures of the tables? Would be cool to see the cut-down-tree-to-table (like farm to table) final products.

A couple of places I had good luck with. Craig's List, Facebook Marketplace, and an Unfinished Furniture store near me. What they didn't have on the floor they could order from an extensive catalog. They also had some pre-finished pieces. Gives you a lot of flexibility. Also, they have a lot of styles in the traditional old-school high-end furniture stores, although they are dying out. If you could find one though . . . but that is very expensive route. Also, around where I live, there are a lot of Amish furniture outlets that sell a whole variety of styles, usually in oak.

Around here you used to be able to find good buys and auctions or antique shops, but not so much anymore for furniture. Every once and a while I see something good in a used shop, but most folks use some type of online sellers market now days to unload unwanted furniture.

I actually also have found good stuff from restaurant supply outlets, some sell tables and chairs. Of course what I have seen is online. Hubs got great new chairs for his dining table that way, years ago. Solid construction and just what he wanted.

@roarah Do you think this table could be cleaned up without compromising the surface/having to re-sand? I like the color the way it is but it's kinda beaten up. What would you do?

My table has a lot of flaws after being used as our primary eating spot since the start of my family. The scratches are there and so are a few heat bubbles in the veneer but after I lightly sand it with wet fine sand paper ( or even with a wet blue sponge) and apply the antique oil they diminish in appearance and mostly just the lusturious shine is noticed by guests. I use the antique oil every year or too or before parties if i am motivated. My investment was nominal and I have had this table for years so I have nothing to lose with each touch up. try wetting the surface and see if the flaws diminish a bit. The clear antique oil gives a wettish appearance of sorts with its soft luster.

It looks like a beautiful table!