Choosing the Right Conference Table
Choosing the right conference table for your conference room is an important task to ensure that guests and clients have a positive impression about your business. The conference room needs to be not only stylish and inviting but also efficient. There is a balance that needs to take place when searching for a new conference table. Efficiency and style. A stylish table that doesn’t fit the needs of the office is not a good match. While an efficient conference table that doesn’t have an attractive appearance will negatively impact the perception of your office with those who matter most, your clients. With this in mind, we are creating this guide to help with the steps that should be considered when selecting a conference table. Following this simple guide will lead you to the office furniture that you need for your conference room. The tips we provide below covers every aspect of the conference table from shape to size, so that everything is considered before your purchase. Without further delay, here are the Madison Liquidators six tips to choosing the right conference table. #1 Choose A Table Shape Boat Shaped  Rectangular  Square  Racetrack  Circular One of the biggest decisions to make when selecting the right conference table is the shape. A conference table has several options for shapes. The standard shapes are square, round, and rectangular. Each of these shapes are self-explanatory in their shape but are different in use. A round or square conference table is perfect for a small conference room. While a rectangular conference table is a traditional shape that can accommodate from six to twenty-four people and even more when two or more are combined. However, a modern twist brings an upscale look to the conference room with unique shapes. The boat shaped conference table is the #1 choice for a conference table today. With the long ends flaring out the conference table takes on an old-time dingy shape, hence the boat shaped name. The other modern design is a racetrack shape. The racetrack shape is the exact opposite of the boat shape, as the long ends are straight, and the ends are rounded. By doing this, it takes on a look of a NASCAR track. Rectangular conference tables are the #2 most popular shape, while racetrack comes in a #4. When it comes to a conference room that needs to be flexible, square conference tables are the way to go. By purchasing multiple square conference tables, the conference room layout can be made into anything that’s needed. Need A U shape that flows around three sides of the conference room? But a few hours later need a rectangular shaped conference table? You can do both when you have multiple square conference tables. This isn’t some strange idea either. Multiple square conference tables are the #3 most purchased office furniture for the conference room. #2 Choose A Finish Aspen  Cherry  Espresso  Gray  White The finish of the conference table will go a long way in determining how well it will fit within the overall style of the conference room. With modern commercial grade laminate materials, the office furniture has the ability to take on any traditional wood or modern finish to ensure fits within the any office style. Common finishes include White, Espresso, Cherry, Gray or Modern Walnut. White is a neutral finish that will match up well in any office setting. Espresso is a deep brown that matches the coffee look. Cherry is a natural finish that is a warm reddish tone with a woodgrain pattern. Gray is another neutral color that is exceedingly popular in all forms of businesses today. Modern Walnut is rich brown with a woodgrain pattern. Selecting a matching finish to the rest of the conference room is very important. #3 Choose a Table Base Cube Base  Cylindar  Slab Base  Metal Leg  Height Adjustable Choosing a base of your new conference table goes a long way in determining the style of the office furniture in the conference room. The tabletop is limited in how much character it can bring, so the base of the table is where the style is often established. There are several types of bases to choose from such as a hollow base. Metal legs are great for a modern look. Wood legs can provide an alternative modern/contemporary look while a laminate slab base provides a contrasting look. Cable management is a focus of modern conference room office furniture. Many conference tables available today have hidden areas for cables to safely flow through. Hollow cube bases are an obvious choice for cable management but manufacturers have been innovating designs to meet the modern office needs, and now even some metal legs are hollow for a modern cable management system. Speaking of modern innovation for the conference room, standing height conference tables are very popular for an office that is on the move. Everywhere we turn we see studies about the sedentary office lifestyle and the need to combat it with simple commonsense solutions. One of these solutions are sit to stand desks where the office worker can get on their feet while working throughout the day. Now the conference room is following that trend by offering standing height conference tables. Also, soon to be available through Madison Liquidators, a height adjustable standing desk. Need a traditional conference table but also want to add the ability to stand from time to time? These conference tables will be huge when they hit the market later this year! #4 Choose a Size 14 FT Conference Table with 10 Chairs As a rule of organization and safety, the conference table should provide at-least 36-48 inches of walk space between the edge of the table and the wall. If you are looking for a conference table that will fit a certain number of people a rule of thumb is for each one foot of table, you can fit one occupant. So, an eight-foot table would fit eight people. As long as this rule is followed in conjunction with the available space, you will find the right conference table for your conference room. However, for oversized chairs or just for comfortability, you may want to consider reducing the chairs to six for an eight-foot conference table. In fact, the Madison Liquidators conference room follows this principle. We have found that instead of jamming as many chairs as possible into the conference table, we removed two chairs which was received by the staff with positive feedback for their comfort because as we know, everyone values their own personal space. So, if you value personal space you could to consider reducing the conference room chairs to provide more space for each occupant. #5 With Power or Without Power? Conference Table Power Hub Placing power modules in the conference table takes the meetings to an entirely new level. By placing power in the conference table, you eliminate tripping hazards such as extension cords, and equipment power cords. Items such as laptops, projects, phones, and printers can be powered from the center of the conference table to make for a more efficient conference room. Power modules offer not only power plugin connectivity but also provide a phone jack, ethernet connection, and an HDMI connection. For decades phones have been a key aspect of a conference room, the power module takes care of the wiring for the phone. Ethernet at the desktop allows for direct plugins when wife isn’t available. The HDMI connects laptops to the connected tv or projector to take the meeting to the next level. All these modern technological amenities can be commonplace in your office with a power module. #6 Choose Your Chairs Modern  Leather  White  Executive  High Back Of course, this is optional, but we feel like it’s necessary! A conference room with mis-matched chairs will give the wrong impression to visitors to your business. We always recommend having a full set of matching chairs! To ensure that the conference room has a complete and cohesive appearance, selecting the right conference room chairs is essential. One of the biggest pieces of advice we give is not to skimp on the chairs. Conference room chairs serve a different purpose than a desk chair. Desk chairs are designed for all day use while conference room chairs are for periodic use. They may look similar on the surface but no one would be satisfied with a conference room chair as their desk chair. One of the biggest differences is that the conference room chairs lack several adjustments that a desk chair has. It has been found that fixed arms for a conference room chair keeps distractions to a minimum because people tend to blankly play with adjustable arms throughout the entire meeting. Typically, a height adjustment with swivel is the only adjustment needed for a conference room chair. More ResourcesAfter considering the tips above, you may still have more questions before selecting your conference table for your conference room. Madison Liquidators provides another service for customers that have more questions. Our sales team is available to answer any questions that may arise. Our team is customer focused to serve you in your time of need. With many years of customer focused service, our team will help in any way you need. If you’re ready to discuss conference tables or any other office furniture for the conference room, give us a call at (888) 831-1012 to get started. chair, conference, conference room, conference room chair, conference table, square conference table, table
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