An extendable garden table earns its place on a small balcony or a courtyard that doubles as a path, where the table has to be short for daily life. If that is you, buy one, and pick one with stainless or aluminium runners. For a balcony, our balcony furniture guide has other answers.
Should a garden table be extendable?
Only if the space cannot take the long table most of the time. A terrace that holds a 240 cm table in August usually holds it in May too, and then a fixed table is simpler and lasts longer.
What goes wrong with an extendable table outside?
Three things, and none of them exist on a fixed table.
The runners. Slides and pull-out frames live in rain, grit and pollen. A joint that moves is a joint that loosens, and a plain steel runner rusts where nobody sees it.
The leaf. Stored in the shed, it does not weather like the table. Teak left outside turns silver-grey within a season; the leaf kept indoors stays honey-brown, and the stripe shows every time you put it in. Softwood and veneered leaves swell and stop fitting.
The join. A gap across the top catches water and crumbs. One solid top has no join to clean.
Which length instead?
Size the table to your usual number plus the guests you have most summers, and leave room around it.
All three are 90 cm deep and 76 cm high. The terrace sizes leave about 90 cm on every side to pull out a chair. Our garden dining table guide covers the top and the chairs.
| Diana garden | Along the sides | With ends | Terrace, at least |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 cm | 4 | 6 | about 340 x 270 cm |
| 240 cm | 6 | 8 | about 420 x 270 cm |
| 280 cm | 8 | 10 | about 460 x 270 cm |
How do I seat more people at a fixed table?
Use the ends and the benches before you think of a bigger table.
Diana garden seats one at each end. Chairs without arms, Edith and Isa at 43 cm wide, fit one more per side than chairs with arms. And a bench on one side seats more in less space: a 130 cm Hedvig or Wilma garden takes two, three at a squeeze. Our guide to a garden table with benches does the counting.
Why a fixed stone top lasts outside
Diana garden's top is one slab of sintered stone (Dekton). It does not absorb water, does not fade in sun and takes frost, so it needs no oil and no sealing. With no leaf and no runners, there is nothing to store and nothing to seize.
It can stay out all winter. Lift the feet off standing water and wipe the frame in spring; our guide to garden furniture in winter covers the rest.
One long table, nothing to slide
- Top
- sintered stone, one slab
- Depth
- 90 cm
- Height
- 76 cm
