Dining Solutions for Small Apartments

• Pub table and bar stools:

If it's just you, or you and one other person living in the apartment, you don't need a full-sized table. Instead, get a pub-style table (a tall, long and narrow table) with two bar stools. This can be pushed up against a wall, and the two bar stools can slide under when not in use. It's a pretty good space saver for small apartments.

You could get four stools and pull the table out from the wall if you need to fit more people around it.

• Wall-mounted dining table:

As long as you fill in the holes before you move out, a great dining solution for a small apartment is a wall-mounted dining table. When in use, it folds out, providing a surface to eat your meals from. When not in use, it conveniently folds up flat against the wall. Add a couple of foldable chairs, and voila, you have an instant dining room!

There are different styles of wall-mounted dining tables. Some fold up flush against the wall, while others convert from a small shelf into a table.

• Coffee table and cushions:

If you want more of a bohemian-style dining situation, you can get a coffee table and then add cushions or short stools so you can sit around it and eat. You won't necessarily get back support, but it's a good use of space when you don't have much to spare.

• Drop-leaf or extendable table:

A drop-leaf table sits against the wall as a narrow console most of the time, and the leaves lift up when you have company. Extendable tables do the same job with a hidden centre leaf. Either one gives you a real table for two on a normal day and seating for four or six when you need it.

• Folding or nesting chairs:

Chairs eat up more floor space than the table itself. Folding chairs can hang on hooks inside a closet, and nesting stools slide into each other and tuck under the table. Keep two out and store the rest.

• Rolling kitchen cart:

A cart with a solid top doubles as extra counter space while you cook and as a small table or serving station when you eat. Because it's on wheels, it can move out of the way when you're done.

Whatever you choose, measure first. You need room to pull a chair out and sit down, roughly the depth of the chair plus a bit more, and a clear path to walk around the table when someone is seated. Tape the footprint out on the floor, chairs included, and live with it for a day before you order anything.

If you're looking for an affordable apartment for rent, use Gottarent.com to find the right small apartment for you! Use these dining ideas to maximize your use of space.