Gather 'round the Dining Room Table

When it comes to conjuring up images of good old Americana, it’s hard to beat a family gathered around a dining room table to do the trick!

A stylishly appointed dining room remains a hallmark of the American home, and can be decorated for both utility and beauty. A size and shape can be found to fit any dining space and to create any dining experience.

Typically, modern home design places the dining room immediately adjacent to the kitchen, for ease of access for food service and cleanup. But that wasn’t always so. In medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level of the residence. 

Stability and Strength

Over the years, the dinner table was used to signify stability and strength. During World War II, for example, one of the iconic images to come from that conflict is Norman Rockwell’s painting, “Freedom from Want,” which depicts a happy, smiling family gathered around the dining room table as the patriarch presides as a huge Thanksgiving Turkey is served to a smiling family. The painting adorned the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1943.

Television shows of the 1950s and 1960s also often focused on the dining room table for key scenes, shows like “Father Knows Best,” “Leave It to Beaver,” and “Happy Days” were built around the dining room and its importance to the family unit.

And while the 70s, 80s and 90s saw the trend move away from daily formal dining, family mealtime is still relevant in our culture. Studies have shown that children eat at least 4 to 6 meals with their family, and that those mealtimes go a long way toward facilitating their social, cognitive, emotional, and nutritional development.

They may not be eating home-cooked meals; instead the nightly menu may be fast food or from the freezer, and they may be eating it in front of the television or some other electronic distraction. But the dining room table still is the center of the family universe in American society.

Formal Dining Arrangements

Traditionally, a rather large dining table – called a trestle table – and a number of dining chairs dominates the typical dining room. Most commonly, tables are rectangular to accommodate larger numbers of dinner guest. In most American Homes, the dining table accommodates six diners without an extension and up to 10 with leaves to extend the table’s length.

Chairs from such an arrangement would come in even numbers, with two armed end chairs and an even number of unarmed side chars to round of the seating complement. The dining room also might contain other furniture pieces to match or complement the table. These pieces might include a side table or buffet, for serving, and a buffet or hutch for holding formal pieces of china and silver settings. 

Modern Dining

As 21st Century living has changed to reflect the faster, more disposable times, fewer meals these days are actually taken in the dining room. Increasingly, the dining room has been relegated to use only for formal occasions, such as holiday meals or for celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary. More day-to-day dining is typically reserved for the kitchen, breakfast nook, or even the family room.

In England, the dining room is for many families only to be used on Sundays, with all other meals during the week taken in the kitchen. In Australia, family meals are often eaten at a breakfast counter or in front of the television in the lounge.

This is keeping with a modern trend toward a more comfortable dining experience. The wooden table and chairs in some sort of kitchen area is being replaced by couches and comfortable chair.

Visit the experts at Terra Nova Designs to find the perfect dining table to fit your lifestyle and living space.

Wood You Know Series - Elm

Various woods bring different looks and strengths to fine furniture. One wood that was frequently favored in furniture made up to the mid-20^th century is elm. By nature, the wood has a durable interlocking grain, which helps make it very tough. The spread of Dutch elm disease in North America made the wood less available than in the past.

Historical Uses of Elm Wood

Because of its strong grain, elm got used for coffins, the seats of chairs, and even for wagon wheel hubs. The wood has been valued around the world for its durability and resistance to splitting. In Japan, wood from older, larger elm trees when making Taiko drums. Because the wood resists splitting, it is possible to tightly nail down the skins for the drumheads. During the Middle Ages in Europe, the straight grain made the wood valuable for longbows if yew was not available. Elm is also resistant to decay when it is permanently wet, which is why it was used for the piers of the original London Bridge.

Elm In Furniture

You may be able to find elm in use for veneers for surfaces and paneling. Furniture makers also make use of the rugged durability of elm for hidden parts of the pieces, such as in the frames, legs and backs of chairs and sofas. The beauty of the wood does also make it popular for visible features as well.

Selecting fine furniture should begin with finding a piece that appeals to you. No particular style is a better choice than any other if it doesn’t please you. When you want to find a considered selection of handsome furniture, visit Terra Nova Designs and check out our pieces. Our collection has been carefully chosen piece by piece, so we may have something that will be absolutely right for you.

Terra Nova Asian Furniture's WOOD YOU KNOW Series: Bamboo

Many people prize Asian furniture made of bamboo for its lightweight strength, golden color, and the luminous beauty it brings to a room.  It appears to be lit from within and has a warm, honey colored glow.  However, did you know that bamboo is not a wood? The bamboo is one of the planet’s fastest growing plants, belonging to the grass family. A stand of bamboo can grow to maturity in five years or less. In certain conditions, a stalk of bamboo can grow 36 inches in one day. This quality makes it very appealing to those who are conscious of environmental issues and sustainability. Additionally, it is very versatile and adaptable to many uses.

The nature of the plant causes it to grow in a columnar fashion, rather than tapering from base to top. This creates a consistency of size that is very useful in furniture making, when the bamboo shaft is used for legs and support. The wood also has very high compressive and tensile strength, giving it a great deal of durability, while retaining a lighter weight than comparable materials would have.

The sectioned regularity of bamboo shafts makes it an appealing choice for design purposes. As you can see from the Asian bamboo nightstand, above, it easily invokes the sense of its natural growth, giving an added aesthetic impression to its use in furniture. However, inclusion of bamboo shafts is not the only means by which this wood can be used in furniture. Laminated bamboo has come to be used in many forms, from flooring to panels for cabinets, to complete pieces of furniture such as tables, chairs, and bedframes. A good piece of bamboo furniture can last many years.

If you decide to purchase bamboo furniture, search for pieces that are made from real bamboo, for there are less expensive bamboo look-alikes. If the piece states that it uses sustainable bamboo, that means that it was grown and harvested naturally, allowing for new growth after the harvesting. If you are ecology-minded, make sure that any bamboo veneers use nontoxic glue, and water-based stains. If the furniture was made in small villages, the artisans involved are likely to come from generations of bamboo-workers.

The Asian bamboo console table above, as well as many other unique console tables, can be found on our website, http://www.terranovadesigns.com/bamboo-console-table-if020.html.

Symbolically, in Asian cultures, bamboo can represent several favorable qualities. In Chinese culture, the plant’s long life makes it a symbol of an upright life. In India, it represents friendship. Because if its durability in harsh conditions, the Chinese also consider bamboo one of the “Three Friends of Winter,” along with pine and plumb blossom. Being aware of this background of meaning can give the owner of bamboo furniture an extra level of pleasure.  If you are looking for a beautiful piece of Asian bamboo furniture in Los Angeles, be sure to stop by our store, located at 

2251 S Sepulveda Blvd., 

Los Angeles, CA 90064 or give us a call at (310) 

478-0228.  Feel free to check out our local Yelp website for more information - and to read what our customers are saying about us! http://www.yelp.com/biz/terra-nova-designs-los-angeles-2