Glass vs Wood Dining Table: Which is Better for ... - Joybird

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Text Us: (213) 600-6313

About a year ago, we purchased a new wooden kitchen table. Upon its arrival, I noticed it lacked the thick clear coat that my previous tables had. My children are extremely messy eaters, especially with cereal, so our kitchen table is constantly dirty. Naturally, I started searching for ways to protect our new wood table from the mess. I looked online for information on using glass to protect a wood table but found little to help me. Eventually, I decided that a glass cover was the best solution, ordered a custom piece of glass, and regretted it from day one. Here's why you might not want to go that route, even if you think a glass table protector is suitable for your situation.

The Challenges of Using Glass to Protect a Wood Table

Would you want a mirror as your tabletop? What would cleaning and maintaining it be like? This is what it felt like to me, mainly because my table's wood is dark. The highly reflective surface with a dark background shows every fingerprint, crumb, and streak even after cleaning. With four kids constantly touching the table and placing dishes on it, my once attractive table looked terrible all the time.

The only way to get it really clean was to use window cleaner, but even then, it remained streaky and unattractive. Much of the mess remained trapped underneath the glass, out of reach for cleaning.

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When the glass company initially installed the glass, they used clear spacers underneath to allow airflow and prevent table damage. However, these spacers made the table even less appealing and caused spills to slide under the glass. Removing the spacers didn't help; food, especially liquids, still got under the glass. Daily spills from my kids made this a constant issue.

To clean the wet spots, I had to slide and carefully lift the heavy glass, dry underneath it, and then replace it. This was a tedious and challenging process. Despite my efforts, crumbs kept finding their way beneath the glass, even without spacers!

My Solution

A month ago, I decided I had enough and removed the glass, giving it away online. I applied a clear coat to the table, which I don't recommend, so I won't specify what I used. Although the clear coat didn't make the table look perfect, it looked much better than it did with the glass cover. Cleaning is now much easier. We use placemats, and spills wipe up more efficiently. It's not an ideal solution, but it's better than using glass.

What I Should Have Done Instead

I should have bought a different table with a better clear coat from the start. If you're stuck with a table without a good coating, look into finishes you can apply yourself. I should have used polyurethane or varnish instead of glass, given my messy kids. Glass covers might be suitable for households without children, but you probably wouldn't need to protect your table in that case, so glass shouldn't be an option.

Have you tried using glass on a wood table? Did you love it or hate it? Think I'm crazy, or that my kids are slobs? One or both might be right. Leave a comment with your suggestions, and maybe we can collectively find a solution for maintaining a nice-looking kitchen table with kids. I'd love to hear other options!

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