How to buy a Dining Room Set: Ask yourself these questions first

     Buying a new dining room for your home is not an easy task like grocery shopping or buying tickets on-line for the next big Billy Joel concert. A perfect dining room purchase requires imagination, careful planning and follow-through. Too many times a loving couple, man or woman will venture into a furniture store to buy what they think will be an awesome dining room set  that they will cherish and enjoy, only to choose a set that they dislike two days into their five year relationship. They should have done their due diligence at home.

     Being at the store without knowing exactly what they want and what they will need for their family will lead to a house full of anxiety if the furniture store delivers their chosen set, and the set is completely wrong for their household. Save yourself the hassles, arguments and intense anger by planning first.

Ask yourself these questions before you arrive at any store:

1)  Is the dining room set for everyday use, for formal occasions or do you need a dining room set for formal occasions and everyday use?

2)  How many people will be sitting at your table enjoying two or three meals a day? Comfort and convenience are a major factor.

3)  How much room do you have in your eating area ? Measure accurately, in feet and inches, the entire room available. If necessary, lay some newspapers down on the floor to give you an example of available space. Don’t forget about the chairs. They take up space; however, they are not always “pushed in” under the table. Measure your available space with the chairs situated as if a person is seated in a comfortable position.

4)  This is an easy question; what color set do you like?

5)  Do you want a regular, standard 30” height table or do you want the newest style, a  36” counter height table with the  24” dinette chairs acting as bar stools.  24” stools have become the latest fad; however, they are sometimes not the most comfortable. The foot supports, known as stretcher bars, must be placed in the correct position for optimum comfort and some people’s legs tend to tire when they are not comfortably resting on the floor. Double check and try to imagine sitting on a counter height set, before you make the purchase, for at least 20 minutes.

6)  What kind of table top do you want:  tile, marble, solid wood, melamine / painted paper finish or Formica? The most durable scratch resistant table tops are Formica and marble. The other finishes need  place mats for table top protection if you want to keep your table looking fresh and elegant.   

     If you answer these questions before you visit a variety of furniture stores, your chance of a buying the right dining room set increases.  Careful planning is the key to a great purchase that you will be happy about for the years to come. Your dining area is normally next to the kitchen and is sometimes the busiest spot in the house. Why not make it the most enjoyable room and the most comfortable place to be!