Child Friendly Dining Room for a Modern Family Home

For those who have kids and dream of a beautiful, modern home there is a careful balance between design that's Pinterest/Instagram-worthy but also child friendly. You don't have to choose one over the other! There are lots of kid proof home options including child friendly choices for your dining room. Here's a few things we've learnt over the years that can help you create a stunning dining room which is child proof...

Choosing Dining Room Furniture

Choosing the right furniture is a big one for making your dining room a safe space for your children to spend time, play and do fun activities. The dining room, for many families, is a real hub of the home.

Dining room tables aren't just for family dinners. For most busy homes they are also: homework stations, arts and craft tables, your home office and a social space. You need a dining table which is versatile enough for all uses whilst also being safe. Here's some tips for choosing a child friendly dining table:

No Sharp Corners

Round dining tables are a great family friendly dining table choice because it removes the hazard of sharp corners. Toddlers and small children are usually head height with the table and likely to bump their heads into any corners. Whilst you can't stop them from charging around and bumping into the table, a round dining table will lessen the impact!

Top Tip! Make sure you choose a dining table which is a standard height so high chairs will easily fit so the whole family can enjoy dinners together at the table.

Dining Table Materials

The table material you choose (e.g. gloss or glass) will need some consideration depending on what child friendly features you're looking for and how your table will be used.

Material	Benefits	Things to consider
High Gloss	Easy to wipe clean after craft sessions or messy dinners so the high gloss, modern look is easy to maintain. Gloss is available in a range of colours including white, grey and black so you can choose a more forgiving colour.	Can chip if objects are dropped onto it or knocked into the legs.
Tempered Glass	Also called safety glass because the process of making it ensures that it is stronger than standard glass. When it does break it will shatter into even pieces so there's less chance of sharp pieces. Also easy to wipe clean.	It can still break and there's potential toddlers or babies to find and pick up those pieces.
Wood	The textured appearance can easily hide marks and dents and can even add to the rustic appeal.	Some marks will be more difficult to remove e.g. pen

Top Tip! You can buy a glass table topper to help protect your high gloss or wood table top from chips and marks.

Table Legs

The legs of your dining table also present a hazard for small children and toddlers to bump into. Choosing a dining table with a central pillar look stunning and also remove legs which can be bumped into. If you don't like this look then choose legs which are a darker colour so your curious toddler is more likely to see them when they're racing around the dining room!

Got tips of your own to share? Let us know and we'll feature your advice for a child friendly dining room here!

Laura. R from the Furniturebox Marketing Team: floor protectors are a good idea so you when you want to push the table out of the way to make floor space (for games and play time) then you won't scratch your floor.

Need some more inspiration? Try our free room planner to create your dream child friendly dining room.