A round table is any table with a circular top, made in sizes ranging from small occasional and wine tables to large dining, centre and library tables. Round tables encourage conversation, since no one sits at the head, and they suit the centre of a room where they can be approached from every side.
In English furniture, round tables became especially fashionable from the mid-eighteenth century, with tripod tilt-top tables in mahogany for tea and breakfast, and in the Regency period with large pedestal breakfast and dining tables, drum or library tables with drawers in the frieze, and rosewood centre tables on platform bases. Victorian makers produced impressive loo tables with figured walnut or burr veneers. Some designs incorporate extending mechanisms or segment leaves to enlarge the top. When buying, check the top for warping, splits and replaced boards, see that the top and base belong together, and examine the pedestal and feet for repairs, since the junction of column and legs is a common weak point. A good round table works well in a dining room, a hall, a library or a kitchen, and it softens a room full of rectangular furniture.
