Dining Table

I recently bought an American Federal-style round dining table, which, though not an antique, is at least 60 years old. The 52-inch-diameter rosewood top is supported by a large center pedestal. The table needs to seat six people in my apartment's L-shaped living/dining space, which is furnished in a combination of Regency pieces and what may be considered classic styles. Can you suggest chairs for the dining table? The Federal-type seating pieces I've seen are all heavier-looking and more formal than would be appropriate for my setting.

I have never figured out why the towel used for drying dishes is called a tea towel. Perhaps a reader who knows the answer will advise me.But I do know why the term "tea table" is used to describe the small but relatively tall table situated in front of a love seat or settee in traditional settings.It's because, in the bustled society of Victorian England, a higher-than-usual surface made the pouring of tea easier and more graceful. The seating level in the formal rooms of that period was also higher than today's, causing people to adopt a straight and well-mannered posture.

Around the house* A thermos-type coffee decanter makes a great gravy server. The container keeps liquid hot and it holds a lot for large family dinners.* Spray furniture polish on runners that hold two halves of dining table together. When you insert leaves for holiday dining, table will pull apart easily.* When closing packing boxes, extend a length of string beneath masking tape, leaving about 2 inches free at one end. Pull end of string through tape when ready to open.* Wear a shower cap when painting a ceiling.

Q: We have just moved into a home that is architecturally a lot more formal than our previous place. Budget constraints require that we make do with a number of furnishings from our former home. We particularly need your advice on how a large dining table with a light maple finish can be made to look more elegant for use in this new setting.A: Camouflage is the simplest solution. Begin the operation by refinishing the dining table in a dark stain. Then focus your attention on the rest of the room, including the other furnishings, the floor and window coverings, and the color of the walls.

Q: We recently purchased an old house that has a very large dining room with a high ceiling, six windows and a fireplace. We have the usual 18th-century-style brown mahogany dining table, chairs and server. How can the room be made more inviting without losing its elegance?A: A basic problem with such spaces is that they were meant to be filled with people as well as with great paintings, decorative objects and colorful rugs. In today's world, that's hard to achieve because banquets are no longer frequent events.

Q: I want to give my dining room the elegant look produced by formal English or American period furniture. The room isn't large, but it does have a 10-foot ceiling. In addition to the table and chairs, should I purchase a sideboard or a breakfront? I'd also like your advice on decorations.A: The best way to start such a project is by looking at examples of period room settings. American and English dining rooms of the 18th and 19th centuries are depicted in many books that cover the history of interior design.

Q: My apartment includes an L-shaped living and dining area that I want to refurnish. How can I give it a look that's both informal yet traditional? Please note that the dining portion of the space has no windows. Also, I'm partial to earth tones.A: It sounds as though you might enjoy a country-inspired style. Depending on just how informal you wish the space to be, the choices for furnishings can range from funky rustic to American scrubbed pine to walnut in a French country motif.In addition, it's always possible to mix a variety of informal pieces.

Q: For the last 20 years my dining room has included a glass-and-chrome table, matching leather chairs and a beige wall-to-wall carpet. I want to soften the look and make it more interesting, but I can't afford to replace everything at once. Where do I start?A: My initial reaction is to urge you to break up the matching dining set, but on reflection, I think you should start with a plan. First decide on the colors and design direction you prefer.Since you have to proceed on a piecemeal basis, the easiest way to create a soft and interesting look is by assembling a mixture of furnishing styles that will form a coherent whole.

Q: Enclosed is a floor plan of our house, which is located on the beach in California. The dining room has a floor-to-ceiling bay window that provides a great view of the ocean. As you can see, however, the dining room has a lot of wasted space. How do you suggest I furnish this room?A: A floor plan of the room and its location in the house certainly helps me make suggestions. But there are other equally important pieces of information that I don't have available. Most significantly, I need to know how this room can best serve the user -- you.No design can be truly successful unless it meets the needs of those who have to live with it. But perhaps I'll be safe in assuming that at least a portion of your leisure time is spent watching the sun set over the Pacific.

Around the house* If you need to seat eight at your small holiday table, try using a 48-by-78-inch piece of plywood on top of dining table. Secure with heavy tape.* Keep holidays safe. Make sure decorative lights are unplugged whenever leaving your house; keep gift wrap out of reach of babies who can chew on colored papers that may contain toxic materials; secure electrical cords against baseboards and away from areas where people walk.* Save energy. Reduce thermostat setting to between 50 degrees and 55 degrees when burning wood in a fireplace.

If something seemed like it was missing at Camden Yards last week, you deserve points for your observational skills. The campy "Orioles Magic" song that hearkens to the days when there was a "thundering roar from [Section] 34" got scratched after Opening Day. In the past four games, the Orioles have darted out of the dugout before the first pitch to "Click Click Boom," a song by the rock band Saliva, which might or might not have been inspired by former Oriole Roberto Alomar. The concept of never-say-die Orioles Magic seemingly expired years ago, and now the song has taken at least a temporary hiatus from pre-game at Camden Yards.

A friend stopped by the house recently and saw an enormous pile of mail on the dining table. Picking up pieces that had fallen to the floor when he brushed them, he instantly was drawn to a cardboard calculator from a mutual fund company, then spotted an informational brochure that his mother could use. "You got this from a mutual fund?" he asked. "Wow, my funds never send me anything like this." Every few years, I look for the best educational freebies the fund world has to offer. With the dining table overflowing with giveaway information, each piece is put to a simple test: "Is it worth one more dirty look from my wife - the most patient and understanding woman in America - to keep this on the dining table one more day?"

Warning: This article contains information about the ending of last night's series finale of "Six Feet Under." Last night, Alan Ball, the dark, sarcastic creator of HBO's Six Feet Under, gave us something in the final episode of this show about death that we fans never expected: Happiness. Love. Peace on Earth. In, of all places, the funeral home of Fisher & Diaz. It was almost disappointing. Brenda's premature baby not only made it; she was fine. For once, the narcissistic Claire forgot herself and offered to give up a chance for a new life in New York to stay with Ruth, her grieving mother.

The mix-and-not-match philosophy of design -- better known as eclectic style -- has been embraced by an increasing number of consumers, and the dining room is overripe for a little punch. So some furniture manufacturers are spicing up a category that's been, well, sedentary. Seats are hot. Benches and cozy banquettes are joining chairs around the dining table. And chairs are looking less like clones of one another. Wicker and rattan are adding a textural note to smooth wood frames. Leather and embroidered silks offer plush and luxe cover-ups.

Good things do come in small packages - especially when the surprise is a seaside condo in Ocean City. John Hale's 703-square-foot beach retreat on 143rd Street has been a design project since he purchased it in October. Acknowledging that the unit was "dull and boring," he immediately began working his magic. Warm-toned walls, almost the color of butternut, are capped with ivory crown molding, his color of choice throughout the one-bedroom, one-bath unit. "I didn't want [the condo] to scream 'beach,' because I'll be here in the winter," notes Hale, a partner at Baltimore's Hale & Rexroad Interior Design and soon to be Maryland chapter president of the American Society of Interior Designers.

I recently bought an American Federal-style round dining table, which, though not an antique, is at least 60 years old. The 52-inch-diameter rosewood top is supported by a large center pedestal. The table needs to seat six people in my apartment's L-shaped living/dining space, which is furnished in a combination of Regency pieces and what may be considered classic styles. Can you suggest chairs for the dining table? The Federal-type seating pieces I've seen are all heavier-looking and more formal than would be appropriate for my setting.

I have never figured out why the towel used for drying dishes is called a tea towel. Perhaps a reader who knows the answer will advise me.But I do know why the term "tea table" is used to describe the small but relatively tall table situated in front of a love seat or settee in traditional settings.It's because, in the bustled society of Victorian England, a higher-than-usual surface made the pouring of tea easier and more graceful. The seating level in the formal rooms of that period was also higher than today's, causing people to adopt a straight and well-mannered posture.

Around the house* A thermos-type coffee decanter makes a great gravy server. The container keeps liquid hot and it holds a lot for large family dinners.* Spray furniture polish on runners that hold two halves of dining table together. When you insert leaves for holiday dining, table will pull apart easily.* When closing packing boxes, extend a length of string beneath masking tape, leaving about 2 inches free at one end. Pull end of string through tape when ready to open.* Wear a shower cap when painting a ceiling.

Q: We recently purchased an old house that has a very large dining room with a high ceiling, six windows and a fireplace. We have the usual 18th-century-style brown mahogany dining table, chairs and server. How can the room be made more inviting without losing its elegance?A: A basic problem with such spaces is that they were meant to be filled with people as well as with great paintings, decorative objects and colorful rugs. In today's world, that's hard to achieve because banquets are no longer frequent events.

Q: We have just moved into a home that is architecturally a lot more formal than our previous place. Budget constraints require that we make do with a number of furnishings from our former home. We particularly need your advice on how a large dining table with a light maple finish can be made to look more elegant for use in this new setting.A: Camouflage is the simplest solution. Begin the operation by refinishing the dining table in a dark stain. Then focus your attention on the rest of the room, including the other furnishings, the floor and window coverings, and the color of the walls.