We just bought this house, a mid-century ranch with some renovations, but haven't moved in yet (this photo shows previous owners' furniture).

It has this single open kitchen and dining area, and the family room is located behind the person holding the camera, so the entire kitchen/dining/living area makes an open L-shape. The bar stools are at a kitchen island and just to the other side is another wall with the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator.

We currently own two kitchen/dining room tables. One is a formal dining table that is a treasured antique family heirloom. Another is a more practical, casual set. We definitely want to put out the formal dining set, but we also need the practicality of the casual table because we have young kids and do a lot of crafting, sewing and mess-making. We aren't emotionally attached to the casual table and are open to alternatives, but neither the granite counter of the breakfast bar area nor the formal table are good spots for us to use for daily messy activities.

We have the physical space to put both tables, but I think it will look odd just to plunk two tables so near to each other. Any ideas?