Decades ago, having a large dining room table was an essential household staple for big family meals and entertaining guests. But in recent years, dining rooms have been getting smaller because of minimalism trends and homeowners looking to make the most efficient use of their spaces. However, you can still host a great meal in your small space with versatile dining room tables from The Brick.

Here are some small space solutions for hosting extra guests and serving big meals without having to make room for a long dining room table.

Benefits of Having a Dining Table Set

A beautiful dining table set instantly makes your home more inviting to guests and enables you to host parties for holidays, birthdays and family events. Large dining room tables are especially useful during the holiday season because that extra table top room allows space for numerous serving dishes, cutlery and festive decorations. With plenty of chairs provided around the table, you’ll be able to invite over more friends and family members to surround yourself with people you love, have great conversations, and strengthen the relationships you care about most.

Choose an Expandable Dining Table

If you’re working with a small dining room, one of the best ways to accommodate guests is to buy a dining table that is expandable with a leaf. Some our smaller-sized tables have the option to extend them to make them larger for big gatherings. Then during times when you aren’t entertaining guests, you can enjoy the reduced-size version of the table that doesn’t take up as much space in your home.

Try a Bench Instead of Chairs

Remember that it’s not just the dining room table that takes up space – chairs can make a small room look crowded too. As an alternative, choose a dining table bench on one or both sides of your table to allow easier passage through the room. Benches can be slid underneath the table when they’re not being used, which is great if your dining room is narrow.

Store Items on Buffets, Servers, and Cabinets

Another alternative to having a long dining room table is to choose a shorter table and then place a buffet, server or cabinet along one wall. These dining room furniture pieces can hold dishes of food once they’ve been passed around the table, as well as extra plates, bowls and silverware for guests. For especially small spaces, a bar cart may work well to hold dishes that won’t fit on a smaller dining room table, as well as bottles of wine and cocktail-making supplies.

Dining Table with Storage

People who live in tiny homes understand how helpful hidden storage spaces can be when they’re tucked away in dual-purpose furniture. Check out our dining tables with built-in storage to help you make the most of your small space. Under-table storage is useful for stashing away extra plates, bowls, silverware and napkins. 

Find the Right Dining Table for Your Small Space

The Brick has so many styles of dining room tables in various sizes, so you’re sure to find one you love while shopping online or in one of our stores. Take measurements of your dining room so that you know how much space you have to work with, and then stop by The Brick location nearest you to see tables in person and get a sense of how they will look in your home. Now is an ideal time to shop for a perfectly sized dining room table before the holidays, so don’t forget to look at our furniture on sale!