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Quick summary6 picks
- Entry PickGiantex 5 Pieces Dining Table Set about$200
- Artiss Dining Table and Chairs Set of 5… about$210
- Giantex 5-Piece Dining Furniture Set about$240
- OAKORY OAKORY Rustic Dining Table Set with… about$310
- Oikiture 110cm Round Marble Table about$456
- Most PremiumOikiture 90cm Round Dining Table about$462
What a dining set has to survive
A dining table gets more use than almost any other piece of furniture in the house. It's where meals happen three times a day, where homework gets done, where the laptop lives on work-from-home days and where everything gets dumped when you walk in the door. That's a lot of leaning, dragging and wiping, and the sets that give up early usually do it in the same places: the leg joints, the edge of the tabletop and the chair frames.
Flat-pack dining sets have made this harder to judge, because the photos all look good and the real differences are in how the pieces bolt together. A table is basically a top on four legs, and everything depends on how those legs are fixed. A wobbly table nearly always comes down to a joint that wasn't designed to be done up tight, or one that's worked loose because the bolt bites into soft board rather than steel.
I've kept this guide to sets for four: a table with four chairs, or a table with two benches. That's where most of the Australian-stocked supply on Amazon AU sits. I looked for six-seater sets in the $310 to $850 band I started with, and the larger sets were either from sellers I couldn't verify or were outdoor dining settings, which are a different buy. The five picks run from $210 to $462 at time of writing.
If you need seats for six or more, the honest advice is to buy the table and the chairs separately from a local furniture shop, so you can sit on the chairs and push on the table before you pay. For a small apartment, a first place or a kitchen nook, one of these sets is a sensible way to get everything in one box at a fair price.
Leg joints and what makes a table wobble
Most flat-pack tables join the legs to the top in one of three ways. The best is a steel frame with the legs bolted into steel brackets, so the bolts bite into metal rather than board. Next is a timber or board apron with corner brackets, which is fine if the brackets are steel and the bolts are long. The weakest is a leg screwed straight into the underside of an MDF top, which tends to work loose within a year.
Four of the five picks use a metal frame or metal legs. The Artiss listing says it has a powder-coated metal tube frame with steel fixings and reinforced hardware, the Giantex says sturdy metal legs with a reinforced cross bar on the chairs, and the OAKORY has matte black steel legs and a lock-bolt system with labelled parts. The two Oikiture listings don't say how their tables are built, which is something to check in the listing photos before you buy.
A cross bar or a stretcher between the legs makes a big difference to wobble, because it stops the legs racking sideways when someone leans on the table. If a table has neither, the joints at the top carry all of that load. That's fine on a heavy pedestal base and much less fine on four thin legs, so look at the underside photos rather than the styled ones.
Whatever the design, go round and check every bolt about a month after you build it, and again every few months after that. Timber and board settle, and a bolt that was tight on day one is often a quarter turn loose by week four. Doing them up before the wobble starts is the difference between a table that lasts and one with a cracked bracket.
Tabletops: MDF, timber look and stone
The tabletop is the part you touch every day, so it's worth knowing what it really is. The Artiss listing says its top is MDF with a smooth, stain-resistant surface. The Giantex says its top has a wood-grain texture without naming the board, and the OAKORY calls its top a walnut-style surface with a durable finish, even though the title says timber table. In practice, most tabletops at these prices are MDF or particleboard with a printed or laminated face.
There's nothing wrong with MDF as long as you look after the edges. The face is sealed, but if water gets into a cut edge, a chip or a screw hole, the board swells and the surface lifts in a bubble that never goes back down. Wipe up spills quickly, don't leave a wet cloth or a vase sitting on the table, and touch up any chip on an edge with a bit of matching paint or edge tape before water finds it.
The Oikiture 110cm set is described as a marble table, though the listing doesn't say whether that's solid stone, a stone veneer or a marble-look finish. Real stone is heavy, resists heat well and stains easily with oil, wine and lemon juice unless it's sealed. A marble-look laminate is lighter and easier to care for but scratches more readily. Ask the seller before you order if it matters to you.
Heat is the other thing that marks a tabletop. A hot pot or a dish straight from the oven will leave a ring on most laminate and printed finishes, so use trivets and placemats. The same goes for the laptop charger, which runs warm and can mark a soft finish if it's left under papers all day.
Chairs and load ratings
The chairs usually fail before the table does, because they get rocked back on two legs, dragged across tiles and stood on to reach a top cupboard. The joints at the back legs take the most stress, and a chair that creaks or sways when you lean back has a joint working loose. Tightening it early stops the bolt hole wearing oval, which is what makes it impossible to fix later.
Load ratings are one of the few hard numbers listings give, and only one pick states one. The Giantex says each chair can take up to 150kg, helped by its metal legs and a reinforced cross bar. The Artiss, OAKORY and Oikiture listings don't give a chair or bench rating, so if you've got a heavy household, ask the seller before you buy. A chair rated for sitting isn't rated for standing on, whatever the number is.
Upholstered seats are comfortable, but fabric marks easily at a dining table. The Giantex has upholstered chairs, the Oikiture 110cm set has grey fabric chairs and the 90cm set has white sherpa chairs, which will need regular cleaning in a house with kids or pets. Benches like the OAKORY's are hard-wearing and wipe clean, and they slide right under the table, but they're less comfortable for a long meal and have no backrest.
Put felt pads under every chair and table leg as soon as you build the set. They stop the legs scratching timber floors and tiles, make the chairs quieter to drag, and stop a leg sitting in a puddle on a mopped floor. If you run a robot vacuum, check its clearance against the chair rails too, because chair legs are where most robots get stuck.
Drop leaves, round tables and small spaces
Two of the picks have drop-leaf tables, which fold down on hinges when you're not using the full top. The Artiss stretches from 60cm to 120cm, so it can sit as a narrow table against a wall during the week and open up for dinner guests. The Giantex is a round drop-leaf table, 110cm across when fully open, and the listing says it can fold down against a wall as a side table.
Drop-leaf hinges are a wear part. Every time a leaf is lifted and lowered, the screws holding the hinges into the top get a bit of a twist, and in MDF that slowly loosens them. Lift the leaf from the middle rather than one corner, don't lean on a raised leaf, and check the hinge screws every few months. If one does pull out, a slightly longer screw or a wooden plug glued into the old hole usually sorts it.
Round tables suit small rooms and a square of four chairs. There are no corners to bump into, everyone can see each other, and they fit neatly into a nook. The two Oikiture sets are both round, at 110cm and 90cm. A 90cm round is tight for four people with full plates, so I'd only pick it for a small kitchen or for two people who have guests now and then.
When the dining table is also the desk
In a lot of homes the dining table is the desk too, at least a few days a week. That's fine for a laptop, but a dining chair isn't built for eight hours of sitting, and a table at dining height puts most screens too low. If you're doing more than an hour or two, a standing desk converter on one end of the table and a proper office chair pulled up to it make a big difference to how you feel by dinner time.
The bigger risk is spills. The dining table is where coffee, juice and dinner sit right next to the laptop, and a laptop keyboard is the worst place for a drink to land. It's worth reading what a spilt drink does to a laptop before it happens. If it does, switch the laptop off straight away, unplug it, tip it upside down and don't turn it back on to check. Then get it to someone who'll open it up, like our laptop repairs on the Central Coast.
Keep the chargers and the power board off the table where you can, and run cables so nobody hooks a foot in them and pulls the laptop off the edge. A small tray or a basket for the work gear also makes it quick to clear the table for dinner, which stops the laptop getting pushed into the middle of the meal.
Flat-pack honesty and assembly
All of these arrive flat-packed. Open the boxes somewhere you can lay out every piece, and check the panels and the fixings against the parts list before you start, because a missing bolt or a cracked panel is much easier to chase up before the packaging goes out. The Artiss listing says the tools are included, and the OAKORY says its parts are labelled with a lock-bolt system for quick setup.
Do the bolts up in stages. Get every bolt on a leg started by hand first, then go round and tighten them evenly, so the frame pulls square rather than twisting. Don't overtighten into board, because a stripped thread in MDF is very hard to fix. If a cam lock or bolt hole has stripped, a wooden dowel glued into the hole and redrilled gives the bolt something fresh to bite into.
The listings here are mostly upfront about what's in the box, but some are long on mood and short on facts. The two Oikiture listings describe comfort and style without stating the table materials, frame or chair ratings, while the Giantex gives full table and chair dimensions. I've weighted the picks toward listings that tell you what you're buying, and said plainly on each card what's missing.
How I picked these five
The Artiss set is sold by Artiss Furnishings and the two Oikiture sets by Oikos 1943, both on our approved list of Australian sellers. The Giantex is sold by Giantex AU and the OAKORY by Oakory AU, both Australian storefronts. I left out sets from sellers I couldn't verify, a larger Oikiture 7-piece from one of those sellers, outdoor dining settings, bar-height sets, tables sold without chairs and anything renewed.
Ranks are Amazon AU's own sales ranks in its Dining Room Furniture Sets category, checked today. The Artiss has the best rank of the five at #5 in that category and #51,156 overall, and the Giantex is next at #11. Prices are at time of writing, and furniture moves a lot around the Black Friday sales, so check the price on the day.
If you're setting up a dining area, coffee tables for the lounge are the natural next buy, and the same rules on joints and board edges apply. And if the laptop that lives on the dining table has taken a drink or stopped charging, bring it into our Erina workshop. We'll tell you what's wrong and whether it's worth fixing before you spend anything.
The 5 picks, $210 to $462
Prices are Amazon AU at time of writing (2026-11-10) and move week to week. Ranks are Amazon AU sales ranks in the Dining Room Furniture Sets category, checked the same day.
Artiss 5-Piece Extendable Drop Leaf Dining Set, Natural and White (DSET-D-BH07-OA-AB)
ASIN B0G1YMD4QB • $209.95 • Sold by Artiss Furnishings on Amazon AU
The Artiss 5-piece drop-leaf set is the lowest-priced pick at $209.95 at time of writing, sold by Artiss Furnishings, an Australian seller on our approved list. It has the best rank of the five, #5 in Amazon AU's Dining Room Furniture Sets category and #51,156 overall. The model code is DSET-D-BH07-OA-AB. It's a drop-leaf table that stretches from 60cm to 120cm, with four chairs with arched seats, on a powder-coated metal tube frame. I'd pick it for a small apartment or a kitchen where the table needs to sit against a wall most of the week. It's the best-ranked set of the five and the most flexible on space, which suits a first place where the room has to do several jobs.
The listing says the frame is powder-coated metal tube with steel fixings and reinforced hardware, which is the clearest statement of how a table is built among the picks, and it says the tools for assembly are included. The top is MDF with a smooth, stain-resistant surface that wipes clean. It comes in a light oak and white finish or a brown finish. At 60cm folded, it takes up very little room, and opening it out to 120cm gives four people space to eat. A steel frame under an MDF top is the combination I'd choose at this price, because the bolts bite into metal. The arched chair seats and backrests are a comfortable shape for a meal.
The MDF top needs its edges kept dry, because water in a chip or a screw hole makes board swell. The listing doesn't state a chair load rating, the top's thickness or a warranty. The drop-leaf hinges will need their screws checked every few months. For a small space on a tight spend, it's the pick. Put felt pads on every leg as soon as it's built. Lift the leaves from the middle, and check the frame bolts after the first month. Keep a trivet handy for hot dishes, because a printed MDF face marks with heat.
Honest caveats: Honest caveats: the top is MDF, so chipped edges need sealing before water gets in. The listing doesn't state a chair load rating, top thickness or warranty. Drop-leaf hinge screws loosen over time in board and need checking. It's sold by Artiss Furnishings rather than Amazon AU.
Best for: A small apartment or kitchen where the table folds to 60cm against a wall most days.
Price: $209.95 (Artiss Furnishings) • Model: DSET-D-BH07-OA-AB • Pieces: Drop-leaf table, 4 chairs • Table: 60 to 120cm extendable • Top: MDF, stain-resistant surface • Frame: Powder-coated metal tube, steel fixings • Assembly: Tools included • Rank: #5 in Dining Room Furniture Sets (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AU
Giantex 5-Piece Round Drop Leaf Dining Set, 4 Upholstered Chairs, Brown (KW23543COAU)
ASIN B0FCRSCN45 • $239.95 • Sold by Giantex AU on Amazon AU
The Giantex 5-piece round dining set is $239.95 at time of writing, sold by Giantex AU, an Australian storefront. It ranks #11 in Dining Room Furniture Sets and #76,150 overall. The model code is KW23543COAU, and the AU ending matches the Australian storefront. It's a round drop-leaf table with four upholstered chairs on metal legs, and the listing gives full dimensions: the table is 110 by 110 by 75.5cm open, and each chair is 45 by 42 by 80cm. I'd pick it for a household that wants a round table that can fold against a wall. It's also the one pick that states a chair load rating, which is a useful thing to know in a busy house.
The listing says each chair can take up to 150kg, helped by sturdy metal legs and a reinforced cross bar, which is the most useful number in the whole category and a good sign the chairs were designed with real use in mind. The chairs tuck under the table when they're not in use. The drop leaves fold down so the table can sit against a wall as a side table, and open out into a full 110cm round. The top has a wood-grain texture that wipes clean with a damp cloth. Full dimensions on the listing mean you can plan the space properly before you order. The brown finish hides scuffs and crumbs well in a busy house.
The listing doesn't name the tabletop material, so treat it as board and keep the edges dry. Upholstered seats mark easily at a dining table, especially with kids. Drop-leaf hinges need their screws checked now and then. For a round table with rated chairs, it's the pick. Put felt pads under the chair legs to protect the floor. Vacuum the seats every week, and check the chair bolts after the first month. Keep the drop leaves down when the table's pushed against a wall, so nobody leans on a raised leaf. If a hinge screw starts to pull out, fix it straight away before the hole wears wider. Wipe the top dry after cleaning so no water sits along the edges.
Honest caveats: Honest caveats: the listing doesn't name the tabletop material or a warranty period. Upholstered chair seats mark easily and need regular cleaning. The drop-leaf hinges will need their screws checked over time. It's sold by Giantex AU rather than Amazon AU.
Best for: A round table for four that folds against a wall, with chairs rated to 150kg.
Price: $239.95 (Giantex AU) • Model: KW23543COAU • Pieces: Round drop-leaf table, 4 chairs • Table: 110 x 110 x 75.5cm open • Chairs: Upholstered, 45 x 42 x 80cm • Load: 150kg per chair • Frame: Metal legs, chair cross bar • Rank: #11 in Dining Room Furniture Sets (Amazon AU)
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OAKORY 140cm Rustic Dining Table Set with Two Benches, Black Steel Frame
ASIN B0GFN7YVPH • $309.99 • Sold by Oakory AU on Amazon AU
The OAKORY 140cm dining set with benches is $309.99 at time of writing, sold by Oakory AU, an Australian storefront. It ranks #26 in Dining Room Furniture Sets and #118,111 overall. It's a 140cm table with two benches, a walnut-style top and matte black steel legs, and the listing says it seats four. I'd pick it for a busy kitchen or a family with young kids, where benches that wipe clean beat fabric chairs, and where you want a longer table than the round sets. At 140cm, it's the longest table of the five. It's also the one that looks most at home in a modern Australian kitchen with a lot of black fittings.
The listing says the benches slide right under the table, which clears the floor and makes a small room feel bigger when you're not eating. The black steel legs give it the industrial look, and a steel frame is a good base for a table at this price. Assembly uses labelled parts and a lock-bolt system, which the listing says makes setup quick. The top has a durable finish that wipes clean after daily use. Benches also seat small kids side by side more easily than chairs, and nothing gets rocked back on two legs at the dinner table. The black legs also hide scuffs from shoes and school bags.
The title says timber table, but the listing describes a walnut-style surface, so check whether the top is solid timber or a printed board before you order. The listing doesn't state a bench load rating, the model code or a warranty. Benches have no backrest, which some people find tiring over a long meal. For a busy family kitchen, it's the pick. Put felt pads under the benches and legs. Wipe the top dry after cleaning, and check the lock bolts after the first month. Tuck the benches right under when you mop, so the legs stay dry.
Honest caveats: Honest caveats: the title says timber but the features say walnut-style surface, so the top material isn't confirmed. The listing doesn't state a bench load rating, a model code or a warranty. Benches have no backrest. It's sold by Oakory AU rather than Amazon AU.
Best for: A busy family kitchen that wants a 140cm table and benches that wipe clean.
Price: $309.99 (Oakory AU) • Pieces: 140cm table, 2 benches • Seats: 4 stated • Top: Walnut-style finish, material not confirmed • Frame: Matte black steel legs • Assembly: Labelled parts, lock-bolt system • Load: Not stated • Rank: #26 in Dining Room Furniture Sets (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AU
Oikiture 110cm Round Marble Dining Table with 4 Grey Fabric Chairs
ASIN B0CWP15SMD • $455.90 • Sold by Oikos 1943 on Amazon AU
The Oikiture 110cm round set is $455.90 at time of writing, sold by Oikos 1943, a seller on our approved list. It ranks #15 in Dining Room Furniture Sets and #84,009 overall. The part number listed is 9358412033545, a barcode number starting with 93, the prefix GS1 Australia issues to Australian companies. It's a 110cm round table described as marble, with four grey fabric chairs. I'd pick it for someone who wants the look of a stone-topped round table in a modern dining area, where style matters as much as wipe-clean practicality. It carries a stated 1-year warranty against manufacturer defects, which is more than most of the picks state, and the seller is on our approved list of Australian sellers.
The listing describes plush fabric chairs and a sturdy, durable build, but it's mostly about the look and gives very few hard facts. A 110cm round table seats four comfortably, with room for serving dishes in the middle, and a round top suits a square room or an open-plan corner where corners would get in the way. The grey fabric chairs hide marks a bit better than the white sherpa chairs on the smaller Oikiture set. If the top turns out to be real stone, it'll handle heat well, and if it's a marble-look finish, it'll be lighter and easier to keep clean. Either way, the round shape is easy to walk around in a tight room.
The listing doesn't say whether the top is solid marble, a veneer or a marble-look finish, and it doesn't describe the base, the chair frames or a load rating. Ask the seller before you order. Fabric chairs need regular cleaning at a dining table. For a stone-look round table for four, it's the pick. Use coasters and placemats, because real marble stains from wine and citrus. Put felt pads on the base and chairs, and check every bolt after the first month. Vacuum the fabric seats each week so crumbs don't grind into the weave.
Honest caveats: Honest caveats: the listing doesn't say whether the top is real marble or a marble-look finish, and doesn't describe the base, chair frames or load rating. It's mostly style copy with few facts. Fabric chairs need regular cleaning. It's sold by Oikos 1943 rather than Amazon AU.
Best for: A stone-look 110cm round table for four in a modern dining area.
Price: $455.90 (Oikos 1943) • Barcode: 9358412033545 • Pieces: 110cm round table, 4 chairs • Top: Marble per title, type not stated • Chairs: Grey fabric • Load: Not stated • Warranty: 1 year stated • Rank: #15 in Dining Room Furniture Sets (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AU
Oikiture 90cm Round Dining Table with 4 White Sherpa Chairs
ASIN B0DT8QM7SB • $461.90 • Sold by Oikos 1943 on Amazon AU
The Oikiture 90cm round set is $461.90 at time of writing, sold by Oikos 1943, a seller on our approved list. It ranks #31 in Dining Room Furniture Sets and #142,863 overall. The part number listed is 9358412066055, another barcode number with GS1 Australia's 93 prefix. It's a compact 90cm round table with four white sherpa chairs. I'd pick it for a small kitchen, an apartment nook or a couple who sit at the table most days and have guests now and then. It's the smallest table of the five, and it's built for a tight corner rather than a family dinner, and it suits a small room that needs a bit of softness.
The listing describes plush sherpa chairs and a sturdy build, but like the larger Oikiture set it's mostly style copy. Sherpa is a soft, fleecy fabric that's very comfortable to sit on and gives the set a warm, modern look. A 90cm round top fits into a corner that a rectangular table for four wouldn't, and there are no table corners to bump into in a narrow room. It carries a stated 1-year warranty against manufacturer defects. If you've got the floor space for it, a white set like this makes a small room feel brighter. That 93 barcode prefix points to an Australian business behind the listing, which helps if you ever need a warranty claim.
A 90cm round is tight for four people with full plates, and white sherpa marks quickly with food and kids. The listing doesn't state the tabletop material, the base or a load rating. It costs about the same as the 110cm set, so pick it on size, not price. For a small corner, it's the pick. Brush the sherpa seats each week, and spot-clean spills straight away. Put felt pads under the chairs, and check the bolts after the first month. Keep a lint roller handy, because fleecy fabric picks up pet hair.
Honest caveats: Honest caveats: a 90cm round top is tight for four with full plates. White sherpa chairs show marks quickly. The listing doesn't state the tabletop material, the base or a load rating, and it costs about the same as the larger Oikiture set. It's sold by Oikos 1943 rather than Amazon AU.
Best for: A small kitchen or apartment nook that needs a compact round table.
Price: $461.90 (Oikos 1943) • Barcode: 9358412066055 • Pieces: 90cm round table, 4 chairs • Top: Material not stated • Chairs: White sherpa fabric • Load: Not stated • Warranty: 1 year stated • Rank: #31 in Dining Room Furniture Sets (Amazon AU)
View on Amazon AUSide-by-side comparison
What we see fail in the workshop: dining sets
We don't repair furniture, but the dining table is where most of the laptops and phones we see had their accident, and the furniture itself fails in a handful of predictable places. Here's what tends to go wrong with a flat-pack dining set, how to spot it early, and what's worth fixing before you replace it. Most of it costs very little to catch early.
The table that won't stop wobbling
A wobble nearly always starts at one leg joint. The bolt works a little loose, the joint moves, and every movement wears the hole a bit bigger, until tightening the bolt doesn't fix it any more. Catch it early by checking every bolt a month after building the set and every few months after that. If a hole in board has already stripped, glue a hardwood dowel into it, let it set and redrill, so the bolt has fresh material to bite into. A steel bracket from the hardware store can rescue a cracked corner.
Swollen edges and lifting tabletops
MDF and particleboard tops are sealed on the face, but water that gets into a chipped edge or a screw hole makes the board swell. You'll see a raised bubble along the edge or a corner, and it won't go back down once it's dry. The fix is prevention: wipe spills straight away, never leave a wet cloth on the table, and seal any chip with paint or edge tape as soon as you see it. Once a top has swollen badly, replacing it is usually the real fix.
Laptops and phones that met a drink
This is the part we do fix. A glass of water, a coffee or a bowl of soup tipped across a laptop on the dining table is one of the most common faults that comes in. Switch the laptop off, unplug it, turn it upside down and don't power it on to check, because running it wet is what turns a cleanable spill into a dead board. The same goes for a phone that's been knocked into a sink of dishwater. Bring it in quickly and we can usually do much more with it.
Decision tree: which one should you actually buy?
- A small apartment where the table sits against a wall most days? → The Artiss 5-piece drop-leaf set at $209.95, folding from 120cm to 60cm on a powder-coated metal frame.
- A round table, with chairs that have a stated load rating? → The Giantex 5-piece round drop-leaf set at $239.95, with chairs rated to 150kg.
- A busy family kitchen with young kids? → The OAKORY 140cm table with two benches at $309.99, on black steel legs, with benches that slide under the table.
- A stone-look round table for a modern dining area? → The Oikiture 110cm round set at $455.90 with four grey fabric chairs, after you've confirmed the top material with the seller.
- A compact round table for a small corner? → The Oikiture 90cm round set at $461.90 with four white sherpa chairs.
- Laptop or phone took a drink at the dinner table? → Switch it off, unplug it and don't turn it on to check. Bring it into the Erina shop and we'll tell you what the liquid has reached and whether it's worth fixing before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop a flat-pack dining table wobbling?
Check and tighten every leg bolt about a month after you build the table, then every few months. Tighten them evenly so the frame pulls square, and don't overtighten bolts that go into board, because a stripped thread in MDF is hard to fix. If a hole has already stripped, glue a hardwood dowel into it and redrill. Tables with a steel frame or a stretcher between the legs wobble far less than legs screwed straight into the top.
Is an MDF dining table any good?
It can be, as long as you keep water away from the edges. MDF tops are smooth, stable and easy to wipe clean, and most tables at these prices use them. The weakness is that water getting into a chipped edge or a screw hole makes the board swell and lift, and it won't go back down. Wipe spills quickly, use placemats and trivets for heat, and seal any chip on an edge as soon as you see it.
What size dining table do I need for four people?
A rectangular table of around 120 to 140cm, or a round table of around 110cm, seats four comfortably with room for serving dishes. A 90cm round table works for four in a pinch, but it's tight with full plates and better suited to two people with occasional guests. Leave about 90cm between the table edge and a wall or kitchen counter so people can pull their chairs out and walk behind them.
Are dining benches better than chairs?
For a family with young kids, often yes. Benches wipe clean, seat small kids side by side, slide right under the table to clear the floor, and can't be rocked back on two legs. The trade-off is comfort: there's no backrest, which some people find tiring over a long meal, and getting in and out from the middle of a bench is awkward. Chairs suit adults and longer meals better.
Do drop-leaf dining tables last?
They do if you treat the hinges with a bit of care. Every lift and drop gives the hinge screws a small twist, and in an MDF top that slowly loosens them. Lift the leaf from the middle rather than a corner, don't lean on a raised leaf, and check the hinge screws every few months. If a screw pulls out, a slightly longer screw or a glued wooden plug in the old hole usually fixes it.
What should I do if I spill a drink on my laptop at the table?
Switch it off straight away by holding the power button, unplug the charger, and turn it upside down in a tent shape so the liquid drains away from the board. Don't turn it back on to check whether it works, and don't use a hair dryer. Liquid on a running board is what causes the real damage. Get it to a repair shop that'll open it and clean the board as soon as you can.
Related buying guides
Laptop took a drink at the dinner table?
A spilt coffee or a glass of water across a laptop keyboard is one of the most common faults that comes into the shop. Switch it off, unplug it and don't turn it on to check. Bring it into our Erina workshop, and we'll open it up, see what the liquid has reached and tell you whether it's worth fixing before you spend anything.
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