Wood Oval Dining Table

Yes, while benches aren’t the most obvious choice for wood oval dining tables, you can certainly make them work if that’s what you’ve envisioned for your dining room.

Keep in mind that the long benches that you’d naturally pair up with a traditional rectangular table will mean missing out on legroom and, potentially, seating numbers.

Therefore, we recommend opting for one of these solutions:

• A curved corner bench against the wall, complementing it with chairs on the other side
• One (or two) shorter bench(es) on the longest side and chairs everywhere else: if you want to save even more space, choose backless benches that you can push underneath your wood oval dining table whenever you’re not using them

There is no one type of wood that is best for all dining tables. That said, good dining table wood is one that can withstand the wear and tear of years of dining, informal meetings and celebrating special occasions. Hardwoods are therefore your best option. These include oak, maple, walnut, cherry, elm, mahogany and teak.

For example, oak is dense, heavy and hard-wearing. It has a deep natural grain with a texture you can readily see and feel. Oak can withstand the dents and dings of everyday use which makes it ideal for families with young children. It is often cut in a way that makes it less susceptible to warping. Oak has beautiful open-grain markings.

Maple has a tighter grain than oak and is smooth to touch. It has a silky look.

Walnut has large flowing grains that make a strong style statement. It shows light to dark patterns that exude class and sophistication.