BH | Studio Beaune Oval Pedestal Dining Table

The pedestal dining table has been prized since the days of the Regency in England and the Empire in France for one simple reason: with a single central support in place of four legs, nobody has to straddle a table leg. Every place is equal, and chairs can be pulled in wherever a seat is wanted, just as a long Burgundian lunch ought to be shared.

This is the larger, oval version, long enough to seat six. The top is finished in real wood veneer over an engineered core, with softly rounded ends, and it rests on a single oval pedestal that flares as it reaches the floor, so nobody fights a table leg for knee room. The top comes in Chestnut, a warm mid-brown with a strong grain, or in White. The table is rated to hold 330 lbs, a felt mat protects the floor, and some assembly is required.

Use it in a family dining room for Sunday lunches and long dinners, with a linen runner, candles and a big dish of roast vegetables in the middle; the oval makes conversation easy from end to end. It works in an open-plan kitchen too, as the table where homework and suppers happen. It looks handsome with cane or leather chairs, a pair of brass candlesticks and a large still life on the wall.