West Elm Industrial Dining Table Reviews
The Mid-Century line at West Elm typically follows the same pattern in terms of fit and finish, but the expandable dining table has some slight departures.
For starters, nearly the entire line comes in a light brown "acorn" finish where the dining table comes in either a "Walnut" (a bit darker brown) or a "Dark Mineral" (a true dark brown). We like both, and figure this was done to solve the acorn finishes problem with scratches showing too easily. On a wood dining table, scratches are bound to make their mark (literally), and the last thing you want is to be reminded of that every time you sit down to eat. We've found that even in the walnut finish which is the lighter of the two, the finish is dark enough and sits deep enough that the scratches do not really show. Off to a good start.
Next up – construction materials. We like that the rest of the line is made of solid wood and some acacia veneer (usually on the drawers). The expandable dining table takes it down a slight notch by mixing in some engineered wood, but we also wonderwhere the engineered wood is and are guessing it's the table top… in which case, we think it might also have something to do with why scratches aren't as visible, so maybe this was a strategic move.
Lastly the design takes a different turn. The table top has some remnants of the other pieces, particularly the angled/cornered edges. The legs aren't quite as rounded and so the table has a more angular feel in general with nothing to soften its touch. Especially considering the overall silhouette is incredibly slim, we're not huge fans of this design change as we think it takes away from the actual "mid-century" feel and also removes a lot of the contrast we like with the rest of the mid-century line.
So how's the build quality? It's sturdy, but not super sturdy. The top is set on two sets of biscuit jointed legs which are screwed through a plastic "plate" into the top. Probably because of the general slimness of the top there's not a lot of weight pushing down on the legs and so it suffers a little and gets a tiny bit of wobble when the table sees some action. Generally speaking, the construction is fine, but nothing to write home about. We've seen way worse, but we've seen better.
Of all of the mid-century line, we've liked this item the least, though we're glad to see they solved the scratching problem for this particular piece. At $699-$799 it's not a terrible price for what you get within the West Elm catalog.
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West Elm Industrial Dining Table Reviews
Source: https://furnishedreviews.com/review/west-elm-mid-century-expandable-dining-table-review/
