A Perfect Modern Family Dining Table

When it comes to designing for families, my brain automatically switches to practical parent mode. As a mother of three kids and married to a grown up version of one, it’s become a natural built-in reflex. Usually the first question that pops into my mind is “Will it survive the kids?!!”, especially when sourcing furniture. No matter how good-looking or swoon worthy a piece is, if it’s not practical and not going to stand the test of time, there’s no point in splashing the cash.

A Perfect Modern Family Dining Table

When the Como Fenix dining table by Adventures in Furniture caught my eye at Clerkenwell Design Week, I have to say I was a little apprehensive at first. It certainly ticked the good looks box in its minimal elegant form, which I loved. I was even impressed with the ease of its extendability.

 

Then came the ultimate game changer when I was given a demonstration of the Sharpie test!! Yep, if you’re a parent, you’ll immediately understand. Children and Sharpies have to be THE test because as families we use the dining table for a lot more activities than just eating at, namely the dreaded arts, crafts and homework scenarios. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to get that magic sponge out and scrubbed my poor table, and there are still faded remnants of the damn Sharpie there!

 

My eyes lit up as the Sharpie was scribbled on to the Como Table, left to dry and then wiped off leaving no trace. In short, I was screaming inside I WANT, I NEED, after the initial Wow, how cool is that sunk in. Not wanting to display my inner bratchild ravings, I went on to ask how this was possible. The answer; it’s to do with the use of nanotechnologies in a fabulous FENIX NTM surface material that they’ve used.

 

https://youtu.be/SyXVHBO80lg

This incredible nanotech matte surface material not only removes Sharpie ink from your table, but boasts a whole host of features. I’ve included a video above, but in case you haven’t got the 7 mins to watch it (yes it takes that long to show off all its attributes), I’ve included an infographic from Adventures in Furniture website below.

 

 

Another great reason why I love this Como table is that it extends easily without the need to find storage for the additional piece as it folds in on itself out of sight. It’s a bit of a smooth operator and I like it when furniture provides form and function!

 

THE SPEC

Adventures in Furniture have come up with five easy to live with colours (shown below) to choose for your Fenix NTM table top.  You can also opt for one of the six natural wood finishes if your household isn’t the type to take that much abuse ie., no kids, or adult like kids.

If you happen to have a smaller space, or don’t want or need an extendable dining table, there are 8 sizes of their Como dining table to choose from. Sizes range from 120/170 (with 80cm extension) through to 200/280 with a 90 cm extension. They also do a range of other Fenix topped dining tables so if you’re not keen on this particular design, check out their website here.

 

Considering that most families lives are centred around the dining table, (I know ours is), with friends and family contributing to its wear and tear, the Como dining table really does appear to represent itself as a durable long-lasting and sustainable piece of furniture. For me it gets a huge tick in the Perfect Modern Family Dining Table box. What do you think?

 

Until next time, thanks as always for stopping by….

Maria