The History Of Modern Dining Room Tables

There is something spectacular about a “grand room.” While it’s obvious that its name suggests greatness, it’s the idea of royalty and castles that go alongside with it that creates a lavish and extravagant mental picture in our minds. Over time, the way in which we dine has changed and evolved.

Food as we know it today started evolving around the 17th century when sandwiches started being created. From there, we got mayonnaise, tartar sauce, and a few years later came the good stuff. We had taffy, toffee, and butterscotch, which was great because they had also just invented ice cream cones. This is all in the 18th century, so they had a pretty solid foundation and variety of food. There are many recipes from then that are still around, and in use today.


Just like the food itself has adapted and been modified and changed, so has the way in which we eat. The common practice was to dine in a large “grand” hall. The king and queen, or head of the family, would sit on a raised platform area, with everyone else lined in diminishing order of rank to them. Typically, they were long tables with benches for chairs. This function would tend to get extremely loud, especially after the women had gone back to their rooms, while the men continued to drink and socialize. It was mostly due to the noise that the dining area started being separated or completely separated from the hall. These parlors started becoming used more and more often to have a more quiet time, with conversation and meals. It was this separation that eventually led to a private eating area.

One characteristic of all of these areas are large dining room tables. They are usually large, and have chairs placed alongside it. Many of them come with removable leaves that allow accommodations for extra guests and family. This is still a staple in our homes today. This area has become a formal space to eat dinner, like for family meals on Sunday, because most people are grabbing quick meals in the kitchen or in the car, but it’s still very much a focal point of the home that brings families together.

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