Which Dining Table Shape is Best for My Family?
In today’s episode we’re answering a question from our Facebook group:
My current dining room set is rectangular, and we’re looking to change to a oval one. I understand that curved edges are more harmonious for dining room tables. We are a family of five. The picture I’ve sent in is our current set, and the other picture is a table that I think would be better feng shui.
In feng shui, dining room tables represent where you nourish yourself, and the place where family and friends come together. It is true that the general, formulaic advice is that rounded tables are slightly better than square or rectangular tables because they don’t have pointy corners. Also, a round table can represent more equality on all sides; think of the knights of the round table, or a round table discussion.
However, I would challenge you to look at the situation more deeply. You have a very lovely rectangular dining room table that looks almost exactly the same as the new table you are considering. So, the answer depends on what you want to cultivate with your family.
There is something nice about having a rectangular table to reinforce the hierarchy within a family with children. In Anjie’s family, the parents sat on either end of a rectangular table and the kids sat in the middle. Although the western world tends to vilify the word hierarchy, it doesn’t have to mean that someone has control over another person. It can simply mean a natural unfolding where the children listen to what the parents say and offer them respect. A rectangular table can serve the purpose of creating clarity around this hierarchy and making sure that the children are not running the show as equally as the parents.
In the spirit of not throwing things away for no reason, we would recommend taking some more time to think about this decision. There could be mundane reasons for changing your furniture; perhaps the new table will be more accommodating. However, if you love your current table and it works well for you, and you’re getting rid of it simply because you’re bored or because you think a new table will make your life better, you may want to reconsider. Is it really going to make that much of a difference? Or is this a distraction that is directing your attention away from things that really matter?
So yes, the formulaic answer, if you’re starting from scratch with buying a dining room table, is that an oval one is slightly better than a square or rectangular one. However, they’re both great, and the most important thing is that you provide love around the home.