Your dining room furniture should reflect your lifestyle. Some families use their dining room for all kinds of everyday activities, as well as sharing food there together. Other people reserve their dining room for more formal occasions, such as holiday meals, romantic dinners or family celebrations.

The furniture you need for your dining room falls into these categories:

• dining room tables
• chairs and stools
• china cabinets and hutches
• sideboards and buffets

When looking for a dining room table, there are numerous factors to consider. Apart from style, size is critical. How many people will use your table? Smaller dining room tables seat four people, while a mid-size table can accommodate six, and larger tables have room for eight or more people.

One option that offers the flexibility of increasing the size of a table, is a drop leaf table, with extra hinged sections, or a drop-in leaf table, with an insert that can be easily removed when additional seating is not needed. When choosing your table, make sure you'll have enough room to move chairs between the expanded table and the dining room walls!

Expandable tables come in a variety of shapes, from round and oval, to square and rectangular. You can also choose from a huge range of table tops, including wood, glass, metal or stone. You can select from various styles of legs or pedestals; whatever suits your style, decor and needs.

Chairs, of course, should match your table, for a proper dining room set. Look for durability and comfort, as well as matching style.

Another consideration before buying dining room furniture is the stain resistance of the upholstery. What will happen if something is spilled or on the fabric? In this case, you will need the fabric that is capable of resisting staining in order to hold up to years of fine dining experiences.

Dining room hutches are most commonly made of wood, but wrought iron, stainless steel and artificial materials, such as plastics, are also used. They vary in size, but are commonly about 5 feet wide and just under 7 feet high. Most hutches are closed cabinets or rack-style open displays.

Buffets and sideboards feature a smooth top that gives you an additional serving surface, while cabinets and drawers provide additional storage space for dishes, linens and utensils.

Be sure to choose dining room furniture that fits your lifestyle, decor and requirements.