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Compact and convenient products that, when folded, resemble the most ordinary cabinets, and when unfolded almost a full-fledged dining table, appeared almost four centuries ago. True, they were made not from chipboard or MDF, like modern furniture, but from natural oak itself. Their legs were carved, they supported folding tabletops and were connected by horizontal bars. Of course, such a transformer product cannot replace a completely large stationary table, but a sliding and folding table-cabinet has a lot of other important advantages that have made them quite popular among the people.

Advantages of a folding table-cabinets

Only owners of a large country house or a luxury apartment can install a large dining table in a permanent place in the middle of a spacious kitchen or living room. Alas, but the majority of townspeople are forced to clean up bulky furniture somewhere at the end of a family holiday. A stationary product can only be moved to the side close to the wall, but all alone it will still take up a lot of space. This is where folding and sliding tables come in handy, which can reduce their size by half.

A folding table-cabinet, in addition to the tabletop, is also equipped with other devices, most often such models come with drawers where you can hide various things. All this is not bad for schoolchildren, it is not surprising that quite often this furniture is installed in the children’s room. Its sashes recline on both sides, and in the middle there remains a fixed rectangular platform. Therefore, in the assembled state, the product takes up even less space than sliding tables, and looks like a small nice cabinet. If desired, you can raise only one half of the tabletop and move it close to the wall, then we will get a small writing or coffee table. There is enough space for lunch, especially if no more than two or three people constantly live in the apartment.

Using a table-cabinet in the interior

If earlier this furniture was made exclusively from solid wood, now more often manufacturers use chipboard, MDF, plastic. In new models, you can find tempered glass tops and chrome steel legs. Such economical tables are perfect even for an apartment where the interior is decorated in high-tech or minimalist style. For lovers of the classics, it is better to look for products with a wood finish, those in which the halves of a folding “book” have an oval shape look very elegant. The absence of a sharp corner visually makes the kitchen more comfortable. A rounded tabletop is also well suited for a children’s room, because this shape greatly reduces the risk of injury during outdoor games.

Varieties of folding tables

Basically, such products differ in the shape of the table top, in the material from which they are made, and in the mechanism for fixing the movable sashes. The first points are easier. The same principles apply here as when choosing a regular kitchen or coffee table, but the last nuance affects not only the appearance of the folding table-cabinets, but also its stability. You can fix the «wing» in the open with hidden loops, but still the best way is a transformation device with retractable legs. You can rely on self-tapping screws and other fasteners, but one or two additional supports will best fix your product.

If for the living room you need to find something elegant and beautiful, with an original finish, then a simpler and cheaper portable model is suitable for giving. There are instances in which there is space for storing several folding chairs at once. In this case, you are already buying not one piece of furniture, but a whole set that solves several problems at once. The design of a folding table-cabinet can vary greatly, so it is easy to choose completely different models of furniture, depending on your preferences.