Wood table tops

A wood top makes a table feel like it belongs in a bakery. Here are 15 of them, solid wood, wood and veneer, in square, rectangular and round shapes, with a few drop-leaf versions for rooms that need to flex. Decide the size and shape for your floor first; the wood, the edge and the stain come after.

Shape and size

Rectangles and squares make up most of the range, rounds come next, and a few drop-leaf tops widen for a bigger party and fold back against the wall when the room empties. Size by who sits there. A 24-inch square holds two at the window. Stretch to 30 and those two have space for plates and a newspaper. Four want 36 inches a side, or a round of 42, and the Saturday table of five or six needs a 48-inch round.

Thickness and edge matter less than size, but read them on the listing anyway. A thick top looks generous at a bakery; a slim one keeps a small table light enough to move when you mop.

Wood at work

Solid wood moves. It swells a little in a humid summer and shrinks in a dry winter, and that natural movement is not something the warranty treats as a defect. Solid wood tops come with six months of warranty cover for defects present when the top arrived.

Care is plain and daily. Wipe spills before they sit, use a mild cleaner, and keep harsh cleaning agents away, since the wrong ones are on the warranty's list of exclusions. A couple of these tops are listed for patio use. The rest stay indoors.

The solid wood plank tabletop is the plain workhorse of the group, and a natural edge wood table surface gives a counter or communal table a live edge. Prices range from about $84 to $223.

Other tops to weigh

Wood is not the only answer for a busy shop. The butcher block table tops give the look of a bakery bench. The laminate table tops and resin table tops take a harder daily wipe with less fuss about spills. If you want to set the size and edge yourself, try the configurable table tops. Everything sits under table tops.

Record each top with its base on your shop plan, shape, size and stain together. When a top needs replacing, you reorder one line, not a puzzle.