Table tops for hotel dining

A top sets the look of a table long before a guest pulls out a chair. Here are 60 tops in resin, laminate, wood, solid wood and granite, in square, rectangular and round shapes, and 26 are listed for patio use. Choose the size from the number of guests at each table, then the surface from where that table will stand.

Size from the party, not the room

Start with how many guests sit at one table. Two fit at a 30-inch square, with plates to spare. Four fit at a 36-inch square, or around a 42-inch round. Five, sometimes six, gather at a 48-inch round, and a ballroom set in 60-inch rounds puts eight at each. Draw the room with those sizes in a property plan and the count of tops follows from the count of guests.

Surfaces, room by room

• Laminate tops for a breakfast room or meeting room that resets several times a day
• Resin tops for terraces and poolside dining, where the product page lists patio use
• Wood tops and butcher block for a hotel restaurant with a warmer look
• Granite tops for a lobby bar or a quiet dining room
• Configurable tops when you would rather set the size and finish yourself from the listed options

Resin leads the department with 25 tops, laminate follows with 12, and wood and solid wood together make 15. Granite and sintered stone are the rarest surfaces here.

Matching the base

Every top needs a base, and bases are sold on their own in table bases. Measure the round top across, take two thirds of that figure, and give the base at least that much spread. So a 36-inch round asks for 24 inches of spread, and a 48-inch round asks for 32. Solid wood is a natural material and shifts slightly as the year turns, so keep it in a room with steady air rather than beside the terrace doors.

Nine tops have drop leaves, which fold down to a smaller footprint when the room needs the floor for something else: a breakfast room that becomes a meeting room at ten, say. Single tops start around $38 and reach $382. Order a free top material sample before you commit a full room, and judge it at the table beside the chair it will meet, since a granite or wood surface reads differently next to vinyl than next to bare metal.