Keep it and use it in your kitchen! It’s beautiful, functional, and has sentimental value. There is no downside.

My first instinct was no, but I think I like it! It is a nice visual break from all the straight lines inherent in any kitchen. But what is the space like if you pull out the chair to sit on the side close to the stove, and on the other side, by the hutch? Looks good in the pic, is it good IRL?

You are so lucky to have such a big kitchen!

Aerial view of current K setup (not than it matters but items 3 and 4 were switched).

But what is the space like if you pull out the chair to sit on the side close to the stove

This is why DH did the mockup, because I said it will never work. Because I know these things!

Right now, it can be a tad annoying to access the fridge when someone sits at the far end of the table. And when i think about it, it kind of feels like the only empty space in the kitchen is really just a walkway around the table...

With the round table, the pinch point (which is not bad at all , because of the curvature), is in front of the dishwasher. We rarely use this second dishwasher, we use the one in the butler's panty.

Thank you, @localeater, I am very much trying to avoid regret on this, so your experience is helpful.

In a Marie-Kondo kinda world, it is hard to know what to let go and what to try to make work!

I love that it has sentimental value. Keep it. Try it out in Maine. You have nothing to lose!

Well, it is a big pain to move -- very heavy and ungainly, but otherwise, yes nothing to lose.

It’s hard letting some things go, but, I would keep what looks and functions best in the space. I really like the rectangular table.

I'm having freaking table envy of both of them!

How often does your husband get involved in design decisions? How often does he have strong opinions? If the answer is less frequently than you or much less frequently than you, then I'd let him have this win. Why? Because you love him and he loves this table.

I'm not into hanging on to things. I live in a NYC apartment. I cannot afford the space. But, you have a garage, attic, basement -- right? I'd use the round table, store the long table, and see where you are in a year or two. Moving these things is a major PITA. I totally get that. Maybe you get a mover to move it to your basement!

A 60" doesn't fit in your kids' current NYC apartment. They might not be in small apartments forever though. Maybe big apartments are in their future. Maybe houses are in their future. If you can, without too much sacrifice, use this table now so they have it later.

One pitch for the long table - I'd use a lot of that length while cooking to place bowls on, sit prepared dishes on, cool pies on, and generally cause even more of a mess. You can't do that with the round table but not as easily.

I still have the first table that we had in the first house we built - it's like yours - but I didn't custom size it for six arm chairs. My daughters each used it at some point while in college. I have it stored in my basement - and have been thinking about bringing it back up to use in the kitchen to replace the current square one.

I vote for you to use the round table.

(I also have a dining room table stored in the basement - I feel like if I sell it, either one of my daughters or I will want to use it at some point in the future).

Can you store the rectangular table? If so, I would make the switch for at least a few months. You can put off changing the lights till then. It looks as if it will work in the space and just be 'different' from the look and general traffic pattern you have now. For sure it's going to feel odd for a while - get past that point before making a decision.

I have things I've let go and regretted - OTOH I came this >< close to letting go of our original dining table and breathe a sigh of relief that my procrastinatory (it is too a word!) nature kicked in and I still have it.

The area of the round table is only about 10% less than the area of the one there now.

Props to Mr. Bowen, wherever he is, my 8th grade geometry teacher.

I also like how the round looks there. But….you lose two seats. does that matter? i know you have the dining room as well.

I'm the outlier here - I prefer the rectangular table. However I agree with all those who have suggested to try it for a while and see how you like it.

I think round ones are better in work spaces with multiple doorways.

33 isn't all that wide, could the long one be parked somewhere else?

I'm no help. I like that your DH is sentimental and has thoughts about the round table because mine would never be like that. I also like the look of the long table in the kitchen.

I, myself, would probably try to audition the round table in the kitchen. Easy for me to say that because we have trucks and trailers to make an easy switch and all live close to each other.

I love both but think the rich darker tone of the long table looks so good with your wood doors. The long table seems to fit the space too.

Can you use the round anywhere else since it's beautiful (along with it matching Windsors) and sentimental?

A game room addition (just kidding) although you might just do it. 😄

Why is there not an option to store the round table and keep using the rectangular? Even though the round can work, the rectangular just feels right in your space. It looks right in your space. It seems like a settle down and stay a while look in your space.

Props to you mtn, for remembering!

Team round.

But….you lose two seats. does that matter?

We easily put 7 chairs around the mocked up cardboard table, and could do 8 in a pinch. But large crowds are typically in summer, and hence outdoors, or formal affairs, in our DR, which can seat 12+. So any difference in seating capacity is not an issue in our decision.

We already have stored stuff, and the girls will be storing some of "their" stuff and we really don't have room.

If anything, I'd keep it for your kids. It has sentimental value, and one of them may want to use it one day. Perhaps we'd find them on a Homeworthy tour someday explaining how the table was from their childhood home... and then their first apartment... and they'd then describe how they incorporated this family treasure into their current decor.

Round tables are nice - no corners to bash into 🙂

I actually like both tables (and love the original chairs)

The round one does seem to free up more space/flow

I'd keep it for your kids.

My only hesitation about keeping it "for them" is that most kitchens cannot accommodate this table and its armchairs, which after all cannot scoot under the table. In our second home we, no lie, built a room for it.

The chairs and table work so well together, it’s like they were meant to be. Love that DH did a mock-up—he crushed the assignment.

To tempt you a little more, I've moved furniture up and down the coast with uship. Of course, my approach to vetting bidders is probably much like your in-depth evaluation of Airbnbs.

Here’s my take…Putting sentiment aside, always tough for me :

1. The wood color and rectangular shape looks best in the kitchen.

2. The very popular S&L cafe style chairs work with that table and not at all with round one( (imo).

3. The Stickley table is lovely and the equally lovely chairs are meant for it! The chairs make it a special set. So, I;m also torn, so no help.

But! I am sentimental, AND still team round table….WITH its chairs. Use the extra Stickley chairs elsewhere.because its special and makes a wonderful story for one of your children.

In a rectangular space. you can create a square at one end. Can the round table move further toward the outside door, to more across from the sink? Other than, of course, the position of the pendants? (they can move?)

Do you use the rectangular table as a worktop? I rather like it, it looks like the Downton Abbey kitchen, or my high school French homestay family’s kitchen.

Yes to what bpath just said. I see I did not ‘put sentiment aside”, plus I lean toward the traditional and known value of the Stickley.

How much sentimental value does the rectangular table have for you? I love and buy antiques and consignment furniture - why? because of the stories they can tell. They were loved, they had celebrations, fights, discussions and decisions made over them. Emotion and stories will always rule for me when it comes to furniture. And the memories of the kids around your first table in your first would win for me.

Is your kitchen not an unfitted kitchen? So, why are you following the rules of a round table has to be in a square room. I prefer the round table, it fits and it's unexpected.

I think you just need to try it.

We kept our first kitchen table (not a Stickley haha, it came from a store that sold only unfinished furniture so we had to assemble it and stain it etc) forever. Eventully it became the kids’ art table in our basement and we finally had to get rid of it when we moved here 7 yrs ago. But then we had a Stickley table in our dining room forever, brought it here when we moved, but it was actually kind of small in this DR. We ended up shipping it to NOLA to DS and DDIL and of course after all that, they moved 20 min from us so we could have just held onto it but anyway…I love seeing it in their home. I can tell DDIL isn’t in love with it but DS is a sentimental guy so it will stay.

I love the way the table looks in the photo in your daughters' apartment. I don't like it so much with your chairs though. I like the rectangular table/chairs you have now. However the fact DH seems to really want that round table is a big factor. My DH rarely has an opinion on that kind of thing so I would have to think carefully about that. He does like to keep everything forever though so in the end I'd probably stay with what you have now unless you can store the long table and do a trial with the round one.

I'm going to be purging an antique, round claw foot table that's been in my family my entire life (along with a few other such items). It's taken me years to come to the conclusion to do that so I feel your pain.

Yes, giving it to a kid someday is in the back of my mind but IME the odds that they will both want it and can use it seem low. Before the girls had it it was, rather incredibly, a craft table (that was when it got the glass top). It went in a craft room/sun room we built for it, but honestly it was also a prime spot for homework, games, puzzles, etc and party overflow.

It is a total PITA to move ( I suppose it could come apart but Ive not seen that) but that's on DH and even he says "we will just have to try it."

I did a mock up of an old floor plan, to scale. (The stove and counter are switched IRL and windows were moved accordingly. Too lazt to fix it)

why are you following the rules of a round table has to be in a square room

I just always feel it looks odd not to. But the mockup and floor plan actually look ok to me. Maybe because so much else is going on in the room.

How much sentimental value does the rectangular table have for you?

A bit. We have had it 12 years, and DH made it from a kit. It too is cherry.

In a rectangular space. you can create a square at one end

Yes but often by adding something like a sideboard - not doable here

Can the round table move further toward the outside door, to more across from the sink?

It could but I think centering looks more logical and proximity to the fridge more ergonomic.

I probably seems very odd but the large apron retro sink is secondary. We use it to wash produce mostly - the smaller but deeper workhouse sink is in the Butlers Pantry.

Other than, of course, the position of the pendants? (they can move?)

Yes, but it will mean patching and painting the ceiling and, project creep, a new light fixture.

Do you use the rectangular table as a worktop? Only when I have a sous chef in my employ. I much prefer to work at counter height.

am sentimental, AND still team round table….WITH its chairs.

I am 100% against using the chairs. In fact, I think my whole original concept is flawed; six armchairs is too much visually! It is also very aggressively colonial IMHO and of course not coastal. I think woven chairs of any kind, SnL or wicker, go with any and all tables. I paired bamboo and Saarinen in my apartment. I love the chairs, and they are great to sit in, but I can only take them in small doses. They are beautiful though.

my high school French homestay family’s kitchen

Be still my heart with that description. Yes. the history of the table is utilitarian, and that is one reason I chose it. I really do like it,

From the Shaker Workshops:

An early photograph of the ironing room at the Mt. Lebanon, New York community shows a group of Shaker Sisters gathered around a table nearly identical to this one. Its massive construction–with mortise-and-tenon joints, and its generous top (a full 1 1/4″ thick)–with breadboard ends pinned in to prevent warping, have stood up after decades of daily use. Wooden wheels are fixed in place by a small metal pin, to be taken out when the table is moved for cleaning. Useful as a conference table, dining table, or desk. The original is in a private collection.

I am very fond of both tables. The square footage is about the same. DH asked me ... "if you did not own either, which would you buy?"

In favor of the Ironing Table:

1. I think it fits the style of the kitchen to a T

2. Visually lighter

3. echoes the shape of the room

4 works with existing lighting, which I like

In favor of the Stickley

1. We all prefer dining, playing games, and chatting over tea, in the round

2. Makes kitchen feel more open

3. No more pinchpoint at the fridge

We will simply try it.

I am kind of surprised your DH is willing to give up the Shaker table! Mine made a rocking chair from a Shaker Workshops kit when I was pregnant with number one son; now we need to keep it until we die. (It is in a guest room at our beach house. My plan is to foist it on to whoever has the first grandchild.)

With all the additional info, I think I’m now Team Shaker Table, but still probably would try it out. (I’m sure the top comes off the Stickley table for moving.)

now we need to keep it until we die

LOL! Can relate. I just think DH's #1 priority is game nights. And it is true that, for us, every family gathering and most evenings with friends involve games.

If it's anything like my Stickley table, you can take it apart at the pedestal

I agree - most big tables like that can be disassembled for moving, to avoid damage. It usually just requires removing a few bolts.

I get the sentimental perspective, but I really love the style and shape of the rectangular in the space.

Both tables are gorgeous! I think if it's important to your husband, you should at least try. Keep the original table in storage if possible, just in case you decide the round table doesn't work. I do generally really like a round table for a kitchen space. Just feels more intimate and less formal than a long rectangular table. Seems like you have plenty of flexibility with outdoor eating space and the dining room for 12.

In terms of trying to make the table work, it looks like you're trying to center it in the space like the rectangular table was. Have you considered shifting it down to be more in front of the sink rather than the range? That might be better from a functionality standpoint so that someone sitting at the table isn't interfering opening / closing the oven door safely.

In our real-world mockup, there was not an issue opening either the D/W drawer or the oven door. I think the curvature helps a lot with pinchpoints. We will play with it in situ before we decide to keep it and switch out the lighting.

This is a more accurate floor plan

In the nearly ~28 years we have owned it, we have never taken it apart. It is soooo heavy.

And just think of the beautiful tablecloths you can have made for the round table 😎

... I was thinking about a rattan chandy and mini lampshades to match my rooster shade.

I gave the table to the girls with this tablecloth. It was noticeably absent in the photos they sent me to send the dealer (the first photo above) which means they are probably frantically trying to get a spot out? Of course I am the only one who would give this to college girls .. to match their white sofa and white Barbara Barry chaise ... so I deserve what happens

Can the round one go in your sunroom for games and puzzles? Keep the current one in the kitchen.

Nope, every room in my house is fully furnished, and all of it to my liking. I just have more stuff that I can use...

Then it is time to let it pass to a new owner. I said round table above, but you like what you have now and would regret getting rid of the current table.

Someone will be thrilled to get it.

@Sherry8aNorthAL, I've actually already concluded that we will bring it here and try it:

I am very fond of both tables. The square footage is about the same. DH asked me ... "if you did not own either, which would you buy?"

In favor of the Ironing Table:

1. I think it fits the style of the kitchen to a T

2. Visually lighter

3. echoes the shape of the room

4 works with existing lighting, which I like

In favor of the Stickley:

1. We all prefer dining, playing games, and chatting over tea, in the round

2. Makes kitchen feel more open

3. No more pinch point at the fridge

We will simply try it.