Frequently Asked Questions
Details to help plan your dining tables quote
Do designer tables save money on linens?+
They remove the linen line entirely, which is the part people miss when they compare the two prices side by side. A folding table is only half the cost of putting a table in the room: it needs a floor-length cloth on top, and for a 150 guest wedding that is nineteen linens. A designer table goes out bare. Price the table and the linen together before you decide which is cheaper.
Can I mix designer tables and folding tables in the same room?+
Yes, and most large events do. The usual split is designer tables where guests and cameras are close — head table, sweetheart, the front two rows of guest tables, any table in the photographer's main sightline — and folding tables under linen for the rest. Keep the heights consistent so the room reads level from across the floor.
How far ahead should designer tables be reserved?+
Earlier than you think. Designer tables are stocked in far smaller numbers than folding tables, because each one is an individual piece rather than a stack on a cart. A wedding wanting twelve matching Sawyer tables in ash is competing with everyone else who wants them that Saturday. Send us your date and the model and we will tell you the count we can hold.
Can designer tables be pushed together into a long communal run?+
The rectangular models do, and that is how most long feasting tables get built. Two or three pushed end to end give you a continuous surface without the seam a folding table shows. Ask about the leg position before you plan the seating, because a leg at the join is where a guest ends up with a table leg in their knees.
What goes on a bare designer table if there is no linen?+
Runners, placemats or nothing at all. A wood top with chargers, a low arrangement and candle work is the whole look, and it is why people pay for the table in the first place. If you want a little coverage without hiding the wood, a runner down the center is the standard move. Chargers and napkin rings are in our tableware collection.
What is a bistro table and where does it go?+
A small dining table, usually seating two to four, built for close quarters. Bistro tables do the work at intimate seated dinners, cafe-style corners inside a larger reception, welcome areas and anywhere a full round would swallow the space. We stock them in blonde and ash wood, gold and silver frames, and the Madrid, Jess, Lippa, Dexter, Beringer and Kai models.
What is the glowing cube bistro table?+
A bistro table whose base lights from within and changes color, so the table is its own light source. It belongs at evening receptions, after-parties and outdoor events once ambient light drops. It also pairs with the glow bars and glowing furniture if you are running that look across a whole space rather than as a one-off.
Should the head table or sweetheart table be a designer table?+
If you are going to spend on one table, spend on that one. It is in more photographs than any other table in the room, guests look at it all night, and it is the table people walk past on the way to their seats. A Kings table or a rectangular designer model in ash or black under a runner is the most common choice.
Which wood finishes do you stock?+
Ash across the Leo, Oakley, Paige, Sawyer, Hugo and Serpentine models, brown in the Rowen, Raven and Sawyer, black in the Graham, Leo, Rowen, Sawyer, Raven and Serpentine, white in the Graham and Raven, natural and white wash tops on the Edison, plus gold and silver frames on the Avalon, Metropolitan and Virtu. Ash photographs warm and black photographs sharp.
Can dining tables be used outdoors in Phoenix?+
Yes, with two cautions. Wood tops left in direct summer sun for hours will get hot enough to be unpleasant under a bare forearm, so plan shade for a daytime outdoor dinner. And a bare table with no linen has nothing holding it down, so in the evening wind that comes up after sunset, keep lightweight place settings and menu cards weighted. Tell us the event is outdoors when you order.