Extending Teak Patio Table vs Fixed-length Dining Table – Pros and Cons

13-piece-teak-dining-set

If you’re thinking of buying a new teak patio table set for your backyard, one of the biggest choices you need to make is whether to go with a fixed-length dining table, or one that has extensions. You’ll need to think about balancing forma and function. You want a table that looks beautiful since it will stand out on your patio. And yet you want to be certain to have enough seating for the number of guests you can commonly expect to have over. A table with extensions may be what you’re looking for in order to give yourself flexibility, so let’s consider the pros and cons of extending teak tables.

The Main Benefits of an Extending Patio Table:

Saves space:
Suppose that you host the occasional family gathering two or three times a year, for which you’d like to have seating available for ten people. But the rest of the year you only really need room for six, and space on your patio is tight. In that case, an extending teak table makes a lot of sense because you can get the extra seating on those few occasions when you really need it, but the rest of the time you can make better use of a limited area.

Flexibility:
You’ll be really glad that you got an extending table on those special occasions when you have extra guests come over who you’d like to entertain on the patio. Maybe it’s a 4th of July cookout or your child’s graduation party. Whatever the event happens to be, it will be quite convenient if you can simply extend your existing teak patio table to accommodate a few more friends and family. Your guests will certainly be happy if they can all have a seat at your great-looking teak garden table.

Appearance:
If you’re worried about the appearance of an extendable teak table versus a fixed-length table, you don’t need to be. Assuming that you periodically clean the extensions at the same time as the rest of the table, the leafs should appear more or less seamless with the surface of the table as a whole. If you ever lightly sand the table or decide to treat it with a teak sealer, make sure to treat the extensions as well.

The Benefits of a Fixed-length Teak Patio Table:

Durability:
The more moving parts any machine or object has, the more chances it has to break. This is just as true for furniture as it is for computers and automobiles. This is one of the main benefits of flash memory and electric cars as opposed to hard disk drives and internal combustion engines. While most teak patio furniture is made to high quality standards, you can’t argue with the fact that a fixed-length table has zero chance of broken extensions.

Ease of Use:
If you have the space on your patio to spare for a larger fixed-length table—or if you have use for the larger seating capacity often enough—then it is much more convenient to simply get a large sized fixed-length patio table. That way you don’t have to bother putting the leaf extensions in and taking them out all the time.

For most people, an extending teak patio table is probably the better option due to the flexibility it provides. You can find some great teak outdoor dining sets on sale with room to seat 8, 10, or even 12 people for special occasions. They also come in a variety of stylish designs in both oval and rectangular shaped tables.

You can find some really great deals on these dining sets, so don’t wait until summer is already here. Buy new teak patio furniture now, and you’ll have it ready for when the warm weather comes.