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My tables are expandable - normally, it's a smallish table for 4 people, but it can be made longer to accomodate more. These tables easily fit into a standard o

My tables are expandable - normally, it's a smallish table for 4 people, but it can be made longer to accomodate more. These tables easily fit into a standard one-bedroom flat.

EliRivers 9y ago
You'd sure have to be keen to cook for eight in a standard one-bedroom flat kitchen. Given that the typical one bed flat has a single room that isn't bedroom, bathroom or kitchen (although actually, many modern builds seem to be not actually have such a room - it's just a living room with a cooking area up against one wall), do you move everything else out of the room with the table in? I'd probably have to move the sofa out, and a cabinet, so I could drag the table into the middle of the room so people could sit all around it, and I certainly don't have eight chairs to put around the table. It would seem like quite a waste of space to have so many extra chairs in the flat permanently just for the occasional dinner party. Where do they go when the table is contracted into four-spaces mode? Or do you borrow some? I do know people who've borrowed furniture for a particular event.
- taway_1212 9y ago
  It surely depends on the size of the room. In my father's flat (50 m^2, one bedroom), there's enough room to expand the table without taking any major furniture out. The table needs to be moved to a different spot though. I haven't asked him where he gets the extra chairs from - probably some from the bedroom/kitchen, but still you need more. Also, with 8-10 people it gets crowded in the room, but that's not a problem (or - even more fun) if you're dining with people you're close with. TLDR: it's not ideal, but doable.
- arstin 9y ago
  Until just the past month I didn't have room for a dedicated dining table. My trick was to store a hollow door (yes, a closet door I carried back from Home Depot) behind my clothes in my closet. And when I had people over for board games and/or dinner, I'd pull out two saw horses from under my bed and place the door across them. Totally worked, and it even kinda looked trendy! Chairs, of course, were assembled from various other uses around the apt, and I had a few slight, almost space-less lawn chairs if I needed extra. In my smallest apartment, I'd pull the door against the couch, so that three people could sit down. But this was obviously not ideal because they sunk much lower...
  - GuB-42 9y ago
    In one instance we actually unhinged the bedroom door to make a table...
- burkaman 9y ago
  All of your issues would be solved by moving out of the city, or not living alone. I also live in a tiny one-bedroom, but definitely not because it's the most cost effective option. I don't know where you live, but I guarantee you could find a large apartment or duplex or something to rent with a few friends, which would be cheaper than living alone and give you more space than you know what to do with. As an added bonus, you'd have a few reliable guests to seed your dinner parties.
- Symbiote 9y ago
  There is a whole category on Ikea of folding dining chairs: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/chairs-stools-benches/chairs/foldable-chairs/ http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/chairs-stools-benches/cha... Central London rental property is beyond ridiculous [1] (that's partly why I left). If you choose to live there, it's unreasonable to compare it to anywhere else -- except Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. [1] https://www.gumtree.com/p/property-to-rent/nice-single-studio-flat-in-central-london-chelsea-earls-court-/1200382427 https://www.gumtree.com/p/property-to-rent/nice-single-studi...

My tables are expandable - normally, it's a smallish table for 4 people, but it can be made longer to accomodate more. These tables easily fit into a standard one-bedroom flat.

EliRivers 9y ago

You'd sure have to be keen to cook for eight in a standard one-bedroom flat kitchen. Given that the typical one bed flat has a single room that isn't bedroom, bathroom or kitchen (although actually, many modern builds seem to be not actually have such a room - it's just a living room with a cooking area up against one wall), do you move everything else out of the room with the table in? I'd probably have to move the sofa out, and a cabinet, so I could drag the table into the middle of the room so people could sit all around it, and I certainly don't have eight chairs to put around the table. It would seem like quite a waste of space to have so many extra chairs in the flat permanently just for the occasional dinner party. Where do they go when the table is contracted into four-spaces mode? Or do you borrow some? I do know people who've borrowed furniture for a particular event.

taway_1212 9y ago
It surely depends on the size of the room. In my father's flat (50 m^2, one bedroom), there's enough room to expand the table without taking any major furniture out. The table needs to be moved to a different spot though. I haven't asked him where he gets the extra chairs from - probably some from the bedroom/kitchen, but still you need more. Also, with 8-10 people it gets crowded in the room, but that's not a problem (or - even more fun) if you're dining with people you're close with. TLDR: it's not ideal, but doable.
arstin 9y ago
Until just the past month I didn't have room for a dedicated dining table. My trick was to store a hollow door (yes, a closet door I carried back from Home Depot) behind my clothes in my closet. And when I had people over for board games and/or dinner, I'd pull out two saw horses from under my bed and place the door across them. Totally worked, and it even kinda looked trendy! Chairs, of course, were assembled from various other uses around the apt, and I had a few slight, almost space-less lawn chairs if I needed extra. In my smallest apartment, I'd pull the door against the couch, so that three people could sit down. But this was obviously not ideal because they sunk much lower...
- GuB-42 9y ago
  In one instance we actually unhinged the bedroom door to make a table...
burkaman 9y ago
All of your issues would be solved by moving out of the city, or not living alone. I also live in a tiny one-bedroom, but definitely not because it's the most cost effective option. I don't know where you live, but I guarantee you could find a large apartment or duplex or something to rent with a few friends, which would be cheaper than living alone and give you more space than you know what to do with. As an added bonus, you'd have a few reliable guests to seed your dinner parties.
Symbiote 9y ago
There is a whole category on Ikea of folding dining chairs: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/chairs-stools-benches/chairs/foldable-chairs/ http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/chairs-stools-benches/cha... Central London rental property is beyond ridiculous [1] (that's partly why I left). If you choose to live there, it's unreasonable to compare it to anywhere else -- except Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. [1] https://www.gumtree.com/p/property-to-rent/nice-single-studio-flat-in-central-london-chelsea-earls-court-/1200382427 https://www.gumtree.com/p/property-to-rent/nice-single-studi...