High-Top Dining Compared to Traditional Dining

Furniture is all about style and personal preference as well as usability and functionality, especially today when custom furniture design stores offer such a wider range of options than what used to be traditionally available. As tastes and uses have evolved and urban living has required maximization of smaller spaces, furniture styles have evolved to fit a wider range of interests and lifestyles.

This is especially true in the world of dining, where customers now have the option to choose between standard, counter-high, or even bar-height tables from different collections fitting various home and interior styles. While high-top dining tables have not replaced traditional dining room sets and likely never will, due to the continued usability of traditional-height dining tables, high-top dining has certainly risen as a popular, more polished alternative to a standard dining table. These sophisticatedly styled dining room sets have the potential to elevate the interior of your dining room, both figuratively and literally; however, it’s necessary to weigh this emerging trend against your own personal style and long-term preferences to determine whether it really is the appropriate fit for your home. For some, traditional dining furniture provides valuable utility for hosting and accessibility that high-top dining does not quite meet.

Read more to find out some of the features of both high-top  dining and traditional dining sets to help make your decision-making process more manageable.

High-Top Dining Table Sets

Since dining table sets no longer come in a one-size-fits-all height, you can now choose between multiple height options, styles, and configurations. This gives you the freedom to showcase your personal style as well as meet your entertainment needs. 

High-top dining is undeniably chic, commonly associated with cocktail bars and cosmopolitan apartments. However, it’s not without its practical uses as well, since a heightened table will provide more depth to the area and will take up less floor space, making it a popular choice for smaller homes and apartments, especially if you are downsizing or adapting to a smaller space.

The broader category of high-top dining has been divided further into two categories:  

• Bar height dining; bar or tabletop is about 42 inches high and requires bar-height stools or seating.
• Counter height dining; counter or tabletop is about 36 inches high and requires counter-height stools or seating.

For more information about what differentiates bar and counter height dining, check out our complete guide to bar and counter stools.

For space-savvy customers, you can also “combine” high-top dining with an existing counter or bar by simply purchasing bar or counter stools and utilizing the bar space as a table. This may also prove helpful as it not only lowers the need for a dedicated dining table (an especially useful “hack” in smaller homes or apartments) but also expands the potential of the space you already have. Some individuals choose to retain a traditional dining or kitchen table, while using a bar space as a secondary high-top dining space.  

A high-top dining set is also multi-functional; it can serve as a working space for you if you work from home. Move it around and and place it in your living room and it can serve as a bar for a party.

Traditional Dining Room Sets

Traditional dining room sets will never go out of fashion. A good, traditional, sturdy dining room set is sure to stand the test of time. If you host large Christmas and Thanksgiving meals, then a traditional dining set will fit your needs (and a crowd) perfectly. Many of our customers also find traditional sets more comfortable since older people, as well as young children, can get seated more conveniently in standard height chairs. It is also inclusive for people with different levels of ability since it is the perfect height for you to place a wheelchair around it easily and doesn’t require climbing into a taller seat.

Also, since traditional style dining is still the standard option for many shoppers, these particular sets continue to have more variety available and can often be customized more effectively to meet the requirements of seating options, and preferred wood construction and styles, although many manufacturers do offer high-top options for their dining sets.

Should I Choose a Traditional or High-Top Dining Room Set?

Dining sets of both height styles have their own pros and cons, and ultimately which style of dining set you choose should depend on your own personal preference and the needs of your household. 

At Room Concepts Furniture, all of our furniture is customizable and many of our dining and bar stool manufacturers like Amisco and Canadel and our Amish builders offer wide varieties of furniture at several heights. We customize most orders according to your needs, maintain rigid quality standards, and strive for complete customer satisfaction. When deciding what types, styles, and height of dining furniture will work best for your home and lifestyle, we will help to ensure that you get the absolute best and nothing less at Room Concepts. Contact us or stop by our furniture design stores in Wexford and Pittsburgh South Hills to explore our vast array of customizable furniture today.