Discover the Extendable Oak Table for Ten

This extendable dining table starts at 200 cm for everyday use and opens to 280 cm when the family arrives, seating up to ten guests without a second table appearing from the garage. The top is veneered while the legs are solid oak in a natural finish, a construction that puts stable engineered panel where the span is long and solid timber where the load travels down to the floor. Proportion holds at both lengths, which is the hardest thing for an extending design to achieve.

The 80 cm extension lives permanently inside the table, so there is no leaf to store behind a wardrobe and nothing to mislay between Christmases. Opening is handled by a butterfly mechanism: the top parts, the concealed leaf unfolds along its hinge like a wing, and the halves close back onto it. The timber carries FSC 100% chain-of-custody certification, tracing every component to responsibly managed forests, and the piece was designed by the Kave Home team. Other sizes are available.

Understanding the Butterfly Extension

A butterfly leaf differs from a drop-in panel in one important respect: it is hinged at its centre and folded in half beneath the closed top, so extending becomes a single continuous movement rather than a two-person hunt for a stored board. Draw the halves apart, lift the folded panel, let it open flat, then push the ends together until the surface sits level. Once learned, the sequence takes under a minute. Because the extension is concealed, the closed table keeps a clean underside with nothing bolted on beneath the veneer.

Plan the room for the open length as well as the closed one: a table that grows by 80 cm needs that clearance at one end before chairs go in, so measure the walkway with the leaf out rather than tucked away. Keep the runners clean and free of crumbs, since grit is what makes an extension stiff over the years, and open the table now and then even when you are not hosting. Care for the oak veneer top with a dry cloth and trivets, and check the solid oak legs for tight fixings each season.