More than just a place to eat
Move over, islands: Kitchen tables are making a comeback
Growing up, there was one place to be after every holiday meal: my grandma’s kitchen table. It was a hub of activity and chatter that went far beyond divvying up leftovers and discussing who should get the last slice of pie. Stories were swapped, highballs were drunk, and cards were played. If a piece of furniture could evoke a sense of family and community, the table was it.
Helen Parker, creative director of deVOL kitchens, has similar warm memories of this once-essential piece of furniture: “My dad would sit at the kitchen table and get out books, or look at stamps and use it as a place to continue hanging out; it was so much more than just a place to eat,” she says.
Lately, a handful of designers and tastemakers are embracing the old-fashioned table as a homier alternative to the ubiquitous island. Cabinetry companies such as deVOL and Plain English have launched U.S. showrooms to an overwhelmingly positive response in the past year, and their advertising often features images of kitchens with tables front and center. The spaces present a cozy and inviting antidote to overly sleek kitchens with tricked-out islands. There’s a reason that “gathered around the island” doesn’t have the same nostalgic ring as “gathered around the table.”
“A table has a domestic warmth to it that an island doesn’t,” says New York interior designer Steven Gambrel. “When an island is builtin and matches the cabinets, it has a stiff, immobile presence. It doesn’t have the same sense of ease as a wooden table that’s got some age.”
For Parker, adding a vintage table is a way to create a more authentic, eclectic vibe. “All of those matching parts don’t feel as soulful as when