It's hip to be square: Gathering tables on the rise
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2005
High Point — As the style line between casual and formal dining has blurred in recent years, so has the distinction in terms of pieces and overall dining room configurations.
The introduction of square tables by traditional dining room sources — often with an option to take them up to counter height to achieve the "gathering table" effect that's permeated casual dining of late — is a case in point.
Those formal dining sources that have added square tables to their lines say there are three factors contributing to the development: One, the increasing popularity of round tables; two, a desire to bring a more casual feel to formal dining settings; and, three, trends in new home designs, which often feature large, square dining rooms, or dining areas that are part of so-called great room living areas.
Egalitarian approach
Bernhardt's American Anthology collection in pin-knotty cherry features the company's first counter-height gathering table.
William Collett, vice president of residential case goods and merchandising, cited the continuing emphasis among traditional manufacturers on less formal dining configurations as the reasoning behind the new table.
"At that height, you can get people seated or standing around the table and have them still feel they're on the same plane," he said. "It's also the same thing that drove the popularity of round dining tables — it's egalitarian, without a head seat at the table."
Hickory White has featured square tables in its last two dining introductions: first, in the American Home introduction last April, offered in an assortment of finishes on cherry; and then in October, when it brought out a table with a clipped corner and chamfered, octagonal legs for Metropolitan Classics.
"Any time we can do something that's a little less traditional, we're going to go after that," said Jim Adams, president of the case goods divisions for Hickory White's parent company, Sherrill. "Dining rooms themselves are a little wider, and with fewer people buying chinas they have the room to purchase a square table. It seems the table is taking up more space these days."
Hickory White has eschewed the tall gathering table height to date.
"We haven't done that yet because generally speaking that's a price point below us," Adams said. "We're more likely to go into a dining room than a kitchen, but we do find we're going into more and more great room configurations."
Leda introduced its first square table in October, an addition to the Avant Garde collection, and it probably will bring another one out this April at High Point, said Richard Graves, vice president of sales and marketing.
Leda's move came through observing trends in the design community, including the creation of some new sharp looks from casual manufacturers.
Changing lifestyles
"I've seen a lot of square tables in the casual end that would translate into traditional formal furniture," Graves said. "I spend a lot of time in design centers, and you're seeing a lot of designers looking for square tables seating eight, sometimes even using two together if the room is large enough — 90% of the time, you're using your dining room for six to eight people."
Dining rooms in new homes are fairly spacious and often part of a larger living area, he noted. Square tables also perform the same function as round dining tables that are a must-have option these days among formal dining suppliers.
"It allows everyone to talk comfortably and casually," Graves said. "You don't have that person at one end of a long rectangle calling, 'Pass the gravy.'"
Hickory White's Adams agrees that square tables have an atmospheric impact.
"They give you that conversational aspect a round table does, but with a different shape," he said. "Alternative seating like an armless settee double seat also is a less traditional form that adapts well to the square table."
Century has shown strong interest in dining table function with self-storing leaves and unique pieces like the expandable radial table in its Oscar de la Renta line. Another example is the square dining table in the 17th-century Italian collection — Madera — from last April's High Point show. That table goes from 60 inches to 84 inches square with two sets of leaves.
Square tables are a good fit for space trends in new homes, said Ed Tashjian, vice president of marketing at Century.
"A square table works better in a large square dining room, and if you put two square tables together, you can make a big rectangle, and still retain the function of having the squares (available)," he said. "Rectangles are here to stay, but square tables are a little more intimate. They allow for the use of banquette seating, which makes it even more intimate since people can sit side by side."
Space-friendly shapes
Schnadig also took a function-savvy approach to the square table it introduced as part of its Pacifica collection in October. The piece converts from 64 by 64 inches to 64 by 32, and also adjusts for height.
"We continue to see the rise in popularity of these types of tables," said Guy Walters, vice president of marketing. "I think it is because of the casual nature of dining today — everyone wants to face each other so nobody is left out of the conversation. It's the same thing you get with round tables since there's no 'head' of the table. It's much more informal."
Walters also noted that square tables take up less floor space than the round ones and work well in kitchen areas and corners.
"The high-low option also benefits the retailer, who can sell a 30-inch high table or a gathering height at 36 inches with just one SKU."
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