Whatever you get, make sure it is not expensive and also not something you hope you have in the years to come...because you won't.

Kids...and their friends,and life- pretty much ruin furniture, but that's the point. It should be used.
The other reason is that you will not really like what you buy today in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and so on. So many of my friends bought really good stuff when they got married- a piece at a time with the idea that quality was worth having an empty house for a time being, and having nice stuff come a little at a time was the better option.So they had empty houses with the occasional item showing up a little at at a time, and by the time their house was furnished,the kids were about 12,and they already hated what they originally got-BUT, they had to keep on buying matching pieces and now they hate the whole look- the kids are gone, and they dream of furnishing their retirement condo.

Go with the moment- have a happy functional house with low priced furniture and other fun things such as art and the colors that you like- and replace when you need to...or when you move...or when you hate it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a nice sturdy piece off craigslist for the Ikea price.

This is what we did.

+1...we actually bought a lot of furniture from the sellers of our house for dirt cheap prices. We will upgrade once we are out of the toddler/young child stage.

I'd go with the wood now, and call it "distressed" a few years from now. The dings add character.

We went the ikea route.

My kids have destroyed my dining room table, even in ways that were unforeseeable. But my kids use it unsupervised. If they were always supervised, as 09:25 mentioned, the damage would probably have been less. In their defense, the table is cheap and I think easily damaged. My parents have a solid oak table that is indestructible.

World Market has good prices and some hardwood tables. I have heard of putting a layer of lacquer on the table after you buy it. Depending on the style of the table, that would probably make a big difference.

We got a nice custom solid wood table for our dining room with a baby and a 2 year old DS. Three years later and it is in great shape. We eat dinner at it every night and use it occassionally for things like painting and playdoh, though we also have a kitchen island that gets used for other meals and messy activities. I think the main reasons it survived as well as it has is that it's high quality hardwood and the kids are usually supervised while using it (i.e. family dinners or a big activity that a parent is involved in). They don't hang out in the dining room alone much.

I inherited a large oak table. We use it for everything. Yes, the art projects have made their marks, but it speaks to a vibrant family life and can easily be refinished.

My children are generally surrounded by nice things. Hardy things - wool rugs, leather sofas, high-end artwork, solid wood furniture pieces. I take extra care to teach them how to function in that environment ("We don't touch paintings, sweetie." "Use two hands on the tea cup."). But, I also have come to terms with the idea that accidents may happen.

^^ I meant, re-varnish / re-finish later, using dewaxed shellac as intermediate sealer (so original coat type is irrelevant) followed by the coat of your choice -- very easy diy

Do not get a veneered table. Get one with real wood, which you can easily sand and varnish later.

OP--we got a rustic wood table from Random Harvest about 3.5 years ago for our dining room. The cost was around $1,500. It has two leaves which store inside and we have used it every single day for both dining (we have 4 kids) and for homework, games, etc.

I do not use it for kids' craft projects---for that we use the playroom or attic but the table has taken a tremendous amount of wear and still looks decent.

I wish there was something other than the 2 pottery barn tables that didn't scream grandma.

$2k is a cheap table.

Try World Market.

Thanks for the all the responses. We went to IKEA today and the tables are just so boring! I like the Stockholm table alright but hate the veneer top http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60225723/. I've been scouring Craigslist and haven't seen anything yet but will try to be patient. Any other furniture stores out there that would have solid wood and a little more interesting than IKEA's tables?

Get something like this http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/champagne-dining-table?ID=560224&pla_country=US&CAGPSPN=pla&CAWELAID=120156340000013018&catargetid=120156340000911097&cadevice=c&cm_mmc=Google_Furniture_PLA_PLA-_-Furniture_Dining+Room+Furniture+-+GS_Dining+Tables-_-51551659465_-_-_mkwid_VLQoaKkv%7Cdc_51551659465%7C-%7CVLQoaKkv

or this http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Signature-Design-by-Ashley-Mestler-Bisque-Honey-Pine-Rectangular-Dining-Room-Table/8915002/product.html

It will still look cool after your kids beat on it, and worse case scenario you sand out the marker and nail polish and it doesn't matter.