Kitchen table--wood or veneer?

I much prefer the solid wood of our dining room table over the veneer of our dining nook table.  I looks better, feels better.  We've had it about 20 years and still is beautiful, lasting through 4 kids, lots of larger family get togethers/dinners/celebrations.  I wish I could have found a smaller version of it for our nook.

If a solid wood table has a good quality polyurethane or other sealer, it will hold up very well. If for some reason it gets damaged, a solid top could be sanded and refinished.

Veneer is a thin layer of wood placed on top of a lesser quality wood. If water sits on a veneer, it will buckle and is not easily repairable.

Hope you find something you love!

The veneer will not hold up better than solid wood over time. Several years ago we bought a table for our cabin that has a veneer top. We needed something relatively inexpensive because we weren’t sure what we were going to do in the space long term.

Literally two days after we moved it in, DH left a bag of mini donuts on it and went on an errand with our dog loose in the cabin. He jumped up and pawed at the donuts to get them down and horribly gouged the whole top of the table with his claws. If the table would have been solid wood we might have been able to sand it down and at least refinish it but because it is veneer it’s pretty much toast.

Since it’s already ruined, we’re going to repurpose it by cutting it in half horizontally, mount the two halves to the wall of the porch under the windows and add a solid wood butcher block top to match our kitchen island and create a breakfast bar.

You could always have a piece of glass made to put over the top of the table to prevent any damage from warm dishes and you could still see the beauty of the table beneath.

Look on facebook marketplace, local sales sites, craigslist, letgo, all the usuals.  I've been seeing TONS of tables with chairs posted on my sites!  Most of them free and in good shape.

We were looking for a 6’ long table a couple of years ago and were shocked at the prices for solid wood tables in local furniture stores! We ended up buying a custom made table and matching bench from someone reputable on Facebook Marketplace, and it cost MUCH less than a mass-produced one. I think I paid $400 for both pieces. It is still beautiful 2+ years later, it is a heavy and well-made piece. There are lots of furniture makers on Facebook in my area. Definitely take a look. Good luck!