We get to build tables for hundreds of wonderful clients every year and often get asked about how to select the right dining table for homes with light wood floors. Here are some ideas to help you settle on what finish color your new dining table should be to look amazing against your light wood floors!

Don't be afraid to mix and match wood colors in your dining room. Light wood floors tend to bounce light around a space which allows light wood floors to work with almost any other wood finish color! If everything is the exact same color and wood species, your room might look a bit flat and boring and the show stopper of your dining room, the dining table, may not pack much of a punch! When you mix wood finishes, you're adding more depth and visual interest to your room. 

When you're working with wood floors, the finish of your floor is most likely the most dominate color / finish in your space. Unless you're planning to change your flooring out, look for a...

As a leader in the solid wood, handcrafted furniture industry, James+James builds a lot of square tables every year! We're often asked by customers "when to use a square dining table" or "does my room have enough space for a square dining table?"

The short answer is that square tables work best in square spaces! Square tables bring a sense of balance and symmetry to square dining rooms or breakfast nooks. They also put everyone on "equal footing" so to speak - everyone gathered around the table is equally close to one another. This makes conversation easy and is also perfect for playing games or cards!

Square tables can also work well in kitchen nooks or small spaces. Smaller square tables can accmodate four people comfortably and can also be tucked neatly into a corner when not in use. 

Pro Tip:

To soften the hard angles of a square table, try pairing your square table with chairs that feature some curves or are upholstered. 

A Lazy...

Although we'd love to build and sell you all of the furniture in your house ;) not many people want a wooden couch or mattress. For the many furniture categories we can't custom build for you in solid wood, we've compiled this list of our favorite locally owned furniture stores in the Fayetteville, Springdale, and Bentonville areas.

Brashears 

4900 S. Thompson
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
479-751-7222

Hours 
Mon-Sat: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm 
Sunday: Closed 
 

Sam's Furniture

Springdale Location:
4326 Hidden Creek Lane, Springdale, AR 72762
479-756-8191

Rogers Location:
2700 W. Walnut Street, Rogers, AR 72756
479-899-6020

Hours
Mon-Sat: 9:00am - 7:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Abide Furniture & Interiors

4176 South Thompson St., Springdale, AR 72764
479-750-5225 

Hours 
Mon-Sat: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm 
Sunday: Closed 

Lighting Emporium 

5610 North Thompson
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
479-751-8184

Mon-Fri: 8am - 5pm
...

Shiplap brings so much character to a home! We've seen some spaces with full shiplap walls, some with a single shiplap accent wall, and some that use shiplap in the place of traditional wainscotting, and we love them all! This week, we've rounded up some of our favorite pictures of dining rooms with shiplap walls from our customers and other beautiful homes across the country.

Livin' The Life of Riley

@katienisbett  

@building.spring.creek

@threesonsfarmhouse

@magnoliamaycottage

@kitchstudios

@aboundingtreasuresus

If you have shiplap walls in your dining room, we'd love to see pictures! Feel free to email them to us design@carpenterjames.com, text them to us at 479-633-7557 or leave us a comment below!

Ready to start customzing your new James+James Furniture? Let's get started!

At James+James, we’ve been handcrafting and hand finishing beautiful dining furniture for years! We are often asked, “how much space do I need for chairs around a table” and “how do I know how many chairs I need” and we’re here to help.

The number of chairs you need around your table can be figured out in multiple ways. Two tables that are the exact same length and width may be able to accommodate different numbers of people based on the design of the table. For example, a table with four legs may be able to accommodate a different number of chairs than a table with a trestle or pedestal base.

Rule of Thumb
The general rule of thumb is to allow 24 inches of space for every person gathered around your table.

Most side chairs range between 16” wide and 24” wide, with arm chairs being as wide as 30”. If your chairs are 24” wide or wider, add an additional 6” to the total width of your chair for the comfort of your...

We build a lot of solid wood dining tables each year and chair sizing and height is a very common question. Chair height is important for guest comfort and usability. So, what is the standard seat height for a dining chair?

The short answer is that standard dining chairs have a floor to seat height of 17-20 inches. This seat height allows you to sit comfortably at a standard height dining table (which is 30" from floor to table top). The total height of the chair back ranges dramatically from 28" to 48" in most chairs.

These black Windsor Dining Chairs have a back height of approx. 41.5".

Quick tips:

• Looks for chairs with a floor to seat height of 17-20 inches
• Make sure you have about a foot between the top of the seat and the underside of the table
• Try to leave about 6" between the seat arm and the bottom of the apron of the table.

 

Here are some other important things to consider when selecting a chair size:

1. If your table has an apron and your...

We build hundreds of custom solid wood tables each year and we often get asked "How skinny can my table be?" Lots of people have rooms or spaces that call for long and narrow kitchen tables and that's OK. We can customize most of our designs to the width that's perfect for your space.

First, it's important to know how wide a standard table is - for reference. Typically, we find customers who order a table from 4ft to 8ft long typically go with 37" to 42" wide tables. Tables from 8ft to 12' long typically go with 42" to 45" wide tables. 

If you're like us, you're pretty visual. So here's a scale rendering of a 24", 30" and 36" wide table with stadard size plates (10.5" diameter).

 

Whether you're looking for a 6' long table or a 14' long table, we'd love to build it to the perfect width for you.

Still have questions? Our team would love to help. Just shoot your questions...

What height is counter height? What height is bar/pub height? Are they the same? We build a lot of tables each year at both bar/pub and counter height and these are common questions we run into from customers.

Short answer: No, they are not the same. Counter height is typically 36" from floor to top and bar height, also called pub height, is typically 42" from floor to top. 

So what about seating? Counter height stools should have a seat height of 24" and bar/pub height stools should have a seat height of 30". 

Ba/pub height set we built and finished for a customer.

Counter height set we built and finished for a customer.

Still have questions? Our team would love to help. Just shoot your questions to designteam@carpenterjames.com and one of our design consultants will get back to you quickily. Give us a call at 479-633-7557 or leave us a comment below!

Ready to customize your new table? Let's get started! 

At James+James, we build a lot of solid wood dining and kitchen tables each year in all shapes and sizes. Yet nothing beats the popularity of a 6 person table, especially for a kitchen table area, smaller dining rooms, and breakfast nooks. "What length table for 6 people?" "How long does a table need to be to fit 6?" are very common questions for our team.

6' L x 37" W Turnbuckle Table in Dark Walnut stain with a jointed top.

For Rectangular Tables: Most people find that a 6 foot long (72 inch) dining table is perfect for seating 6 comfortably.

For Square Tables: You'd be surprised how often we get asked for a square table that seats 6, but 6 isn't really divisible by 4 sides...We typically reccomend a 46" x 46" table for seating 4 and a 55" x 55" square or 66" x 66" for seating 8 (which I suppose could seat 6, if you symmetry isn't your thing ;).

For Round Tables: Most of our customers find that 54" to...

Every spring, we look forward to getting photos back from our customers! We love how our families have customized and styled their James+James Furniture and hope you enjoy looking through these beautiful photos as much as we do. Don't forget to check out the Customer Gallery for hundreds more customer submitted photos!

Have a picture of your space that you'd like to share with your carpenter? Text it to 479-633-7557 or email it to james@carpenterjames.com

Ready to customize your new table? Let's get started!