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how to protect new dining table top
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Anonymous
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We just got a beautiful new dining table. However, I have since read some online reviews saying the top scratches and the finish mars very easily from things like wet glasses, spills, etc. (yes, I know I should have done that before I bought it, but, moving on . . . .)
So I'm really paranoid about damaging the top. We have 3 kids + one on the way. We eat breakfast & lunch at the kitchen counter/bar but our family dinner every night is at this table. Eventually we'll have a messy toddler in a booster seat sitting with us. We have a large kitchen with loads of granite counterspace with barstools, so that is where the kids do homework, crafts & messy projects, etc. The table is really only for dinner. Right now I have 2 tablecloths on in, plus fairly thick quilted placemats, and in the one week we've had the table, no one has spilled anything that soaked through the tablecloths. But it's just a matter of time until that happens. I'm looking for ideas. I bought the table because I loved the look of it, not because I want it to be permanently covered with multiple tablecloths; for now I have left them on b/c that's the easiest thing to do. Would you just throw the tablecloth(s) on at mealtime each night? I plan to get table pads made and will definitely use those for holiday meals when we put the leaves in, but it doesn't seem practical to have to put them on every night for dinner (or does it)? Should I look for a thicker or waterproof tablecloth that I can put on quickly at dinnertime? (if such a thing even exists - I don't want a cheesy plastic picnic tablecloth) Part of me wants to suck it up just let the table develop its own "patina" (for lack of a better word) through use - and maybe in several years if it's really bad I'll have the top refinished. But it's so pristine now, I think I might cry when it gets its first scratch. |
Anonymous
| Get table pads and keep them on, with a table cloth on top. They are expensive but worth it. |
Anonymous
| We keep our table pads on more than off, under a tablecloth too. For outside, we use a pretty French tablecloth that feels like regular cotton but is wipeable - not sure how to locate something like that here, but it's pretty indestructible. I'd think there'd be some good outdoor fabric options for tablecloths. |
Anonymous
| PP here - check out this link for pretty tablecloths that you can get with either an acrylic or teflon coating for tough wear: http://www.colorsofprovence.com/shop/table/standard/printed-French-provence-tablecloths.htm |
Anonymous
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we keep pads and cloth on the table almost all the time. It is my grandparents' table and I'm a bit neurotic about it.
I bought custom pads online: thetablepadstore.com. I'm quite happy with them. |
Anonymous
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my mom used to cover ours - some sort of family treasure - with a tick plastic cover that she cut to fit the top. it was transparent and she cut it to the exact measure of the table top.
later on dad bought a glass to fit the top. it's now almost 100 yrs old and BEAUTIFUL! |
Anonymous
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Cheap, IKEA kitchen table - we eat right on it, and just wipe it off. Sadly, the "cheap" wood is so much more resiliant that our "nice" dining room table.
Nice, expensive dining room table. We now keep the pads on and put a tablecloth on top. While it looks nice, I kind of wish we had just gone to IKEA and gotten a larger cheaper table. |
Anonymous
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My table is trashed from abuse. When I picked it out, I thought it would look like butcher block and the abuse would work with it. But it had a lacquer on it that seems to gave gotten sticky.
We plan on refinishing it at some point. I kind of don't care that will get wrecked again. It's the table we sit at for all our family meals, for homework, etc. For us, it's just going to happen. When the kids leave the house I'll think about getting something nice and take care of it. |
Anonymous
| Table pads all the way. Worth the investment. |
Anonymous
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Thanks everyone!
I'm going to order table pads TODAY! Not sure if I will keep them on all the time, since the table isn't used during the day and I'd like to be able to see it (I guess I can enjoy looking at it for 10 minutes before I leave for work and an hour after I come home before we eat dinner - LOL!). Re the rec. for acrylic or teflon-coated tablecloths - thanks! Are they just stain-resistant, or do they completely block liquids from going through the tablecloth and onto the table? (I am less worried about staining the tablecloth and more worried about liquids damaging the table's finish.) How about oilcloth tablecloths? I know oilcloth is waterproof and wipeable, but is it really plastic-y looking? I want something that looks like real fabric, not like an outdoor vinyl picnic tablecloth. Is it too risky to use a treated/waterproof tablecloth and placemats but no table pad? (I'm thinking that if I leave the table uncovered, it's not a big deal to throw the tablecloth on each night when I'm setting the table - IF a waterproof tablecloth would be enough to protect the table. But it's not practical to take the table pads on and off every day.) |
Anonymous
| OP, you can also consider getting glass cut to fit the top of the table. I once rented a furnished apt in Spain with a gorgeous DR table, and the owner had put glass on the top. It was very sturdy, protected the top, and you could still see the beautiful top. |
Anonymous
I have some of those coated tablecloths, and use them with a pad because of heat - if we put down hot dishes, they protect the table from rings/burns. For water protection, I don't think you need a pad. |
Anonymous
| At Bed Bath and Beyond they have Table Pad Protectors that are like thick white vinyl tablecloths with a felt backing. We use them on our table under our table cloth - the vinyl is waterproof, so it protects the table if something spills and can be wiped clean.We use ours for all three meals, snacks and crafts - with heavy use, mine last about 9 months (they'd last longer, but my kids tend to poke at them with pencil points, which creates holes...). In addition, the extra padding is helpful if you accidently drop something fragile onto the table harder than you intended. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| You definitely will not want to remove the table pads every day. But why do you even care about seeing your table every day? When we ate at our dining room table for meals every day, I just left the table pads and table cloth on (and yes, we used a vinyl tablecloth, as I wanted to be able to wipe up spills easily). If company was coming over and I wanted to showcase the table, I'd either put a nicer tablecloth on or do placemats on the bare wood. |
Anonymous
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One thing about extra leaves--you might want to keep those on because exposure to light and regular use will change the table and leave the leaves a different shade.
I guess I'm not a formal type of gal, but this seems like a lot of worry for a table. We have a Danish teak table that gets a lot of wear, and I oil it occasionally. You might consider waxing your table and using place mats or pimpernels for the kids. If it's a table with beautiful wood, why not show it off? |