Dining Furniture Guide

View our Dining furniture ranges

All around the world, and despite our busy lives, the kitchen is still the heart of the home. As far back as we can go, and across all cultures, the kitchen with its welcoming fire and permanently bubbling cooking pot has always been a powerful magnet. Preparing and sharing food with others is one of the most fundamental and symbolic moments of our day. Whether for the family's daily meal or important festivals, every nation has always had its different traditions and rituals when it comes to dining. In China, for instance, the father must serve himself first before his wife and children; some Korean families still choose to eat at a low dining table; in Japan it is an insult to leave your chopsticks sticking out of a bowl of rice as this is only allowed at funerals; Indonesians will ply guests with food and drink as soon as they have walked through the door.

Today the kitchen has once again become the main area for daily living and our choice of dining furniture will reflect how we choose to socialise, eat, drink and live, be it large dining tables where everything from homework to casual entertaining takes place or chic glass-topped dining tables for smart dinner parties. At The Pier we search the world for dining furniture that is unusual, functional and beautiful offering you a wide range of dining tables and chairs to suit kitchens or dining rooms of every size - from elegant extendable dining tables to informal kitchen tables; warm, glossy carved acacia wood dining tables to classic solid oak tables - everything to suit your individual lifestyle.

As you'd expect from The Pier, when we create our dining furniture we're inspired by unique design traditions all over the world from Italy to India. We love to recreate interesting details, shape or carving and also to put a modern take on traditional dining table styles.

And the wood we choose for our dining furniture? We're looking for sustainable and environmentally-friendly varieties that will give a range of finishes and textures from the rich allure of acacia to exotic rubberwood. Here's the low-down:
<h2>Acacia</h2> Known for its beautiful grain and rich, contrasting colours, Acacia is a durable hardwood from fast growing trees in the Far East and South America. It is strong, hard, naturally resinous and thus waterproof making it ideal for dining furniture. It has a unique quality of appearing to change colour and lustre under different lighting conditions (cool wood fact: this is known as 'chatoyancy'. We use acacia in our Kerala dining furniture.
<h2>Rubberwood</h2> Thanks to its dense grain and limited shrinkage, rubberwood is incredibly durable. Rubberwood trees produce latex for approximately 25 years and until recently they would have been felled and left to rot at the end of their latex-producing life. But with the new emphasis on sustainability the wood is now used extensively in the furniture industry and a new tree planted in the place of each one felled, making it very environmentally friendly. We use rubberwood in our Lantau and Havana dining ranges.
<h2>Oak</h2> Known as the 'king of trees' oak produces a very durable hardwood that has been used for centuries in the construction of famous buildings and also furniture. The beauty of solid oak for dining furniture is due to its natural variations in colour and grain - giving a pleasing, unique finish that can only get better with time. We use solid oak in our Bordeaux, Enise and Veneto dining furniture.
<h2>Pine</h2> Pine is used extensively in the manufacture of dining furniture and it's easy to see why. With its even grain, warm colouring, unique knots and amazing durability, it's the perfect material for creating simple, contemporary style dining tables and chairs. With age and use it just goes on and on mellowing and improving. We use pine in our Cesena and Pesaro dining furniture.
<h2>Care of our wooden dining furniture</h2> All woods will mellow and darken in natural light and this is more noticeable on lighter finishes. Bear this in mind if you have extension leaves in your table and also if you keep any objects on the table surface for extended periods as they will also leave areas of lighter wood.

Keep furniture away from heat sources to prevent warping and splitting.

Clean with a moist soft cloth and dry immediately.

Liquid spills should be removed immediately to avoid staining.

Always use tablemats and coasters when dining.

Do not use wax polishes on dining furniture which has a protective lacquer or varnished finish.

Wax-finished products can be re-waxed occasionally.

Use teak oil on outdoor furniture at the beginning and end of each summer season.

<h2>Important - Have you checked your measurements?</h2> This is stating the obvious, we know, but particularly when ordering larger items (wardrobes etc) it is important that you carefully measure both the ultimate location of the item and ALSO whether it can be manoeuvred through doors and hallways to get to its destination. If you have narrow doorways or a staircase with tight corners, please be sure to check again and get in touch with us if there's a problem.

View our Dining furniture ranges