Traditionally, a dining room consists of the central dining table either rectangular or round, dining chairs with or without arms and a sideboard or credenza for functional serving and storage. In many contemporary homes, the dining room is predominantly used for special occasions with more casual dining spaces allocated in a kitchen or open-plan living area. These key gathering spaces for your household need to be functional and pleasant to inspire people to gather together frequently. A good rule for a contemporary dining area is to allow plenty of room for movement around the space. Don’t clutter your room, instead style it with essential pieces of Danish furniture available at The Modern.

A lacquered dining surface is water resistant. Any spills can be cleaned with a damp cloth, dried and polished with a good quality furniture polish to maintain the look and integrity of the timber.An oiled dining table should be regularly dusted with a soft cloth and a slightly damp cloth after meals. Avoid using abrasive cleaning products and re-oil your table annually to build up a natural resistance against spills in the timber. Oiled tables provide a superior timber grain and create a surface that is very beautiful and tactile.  

For comfort allow 60cm for each chair. Traditionally the setting for a rectangular dining table is to have chairs with arms (known as carver chairs) at the ends of the table and chairs without arms (or side chairs) along the length of the table. Contemporary settings will often have an eclectic mix of chairs which is why we do not sell sets at The Modern but single chairs so you can mix them to suit your needs and individual style.