Bistro and café tables are made for staff canteens, coffee points and breakout spaces, at either standard or café height. No furniture in the office works harder: it gets bumped, splashed and leaned on all day. In any Irish workplace, the right base, height and top is what separates a canteen that runs smoothly from one that draws complaints.
Start with a steady base
Canteen tables are shoved, leaned against and knocked by chairs from morning to evening. If the base is even a little too light, the table wobbles, and a wobbly table is a complaint you will hear every day.
- Cross bases give people more space for their feet.
- Disc bases are simpler to clean around.
Both styles can work. The weight of the base, and how well it grips the floor, matters far more than its shape.
Match the height to the seating
Standard height tables go with normal chairs and are best for eating. Café or poseur height tables go with stools and suit quick breaks and standing conversations. Mixing these up is the most frequent mistake with canteen furniture, and there is no simple fix afterwards. Pair your tables with café and bistro seating or stools, or buy both from the Café and Bistro Collection so the heights already match.
Choose tops that clean easily
Wipe-clean tops with sealed edges keep their looks. Any join that lets liquid seep in will look shabby before the year is out in a busy canteen. A top that wipes down in seconds also makes the lunchtime turnaround quicker for whoever looks after the room.
For a consistent look across meeting rooms and breakout areas, see the Italia tables range, and for standing height, browse bar and poseur tables.
