Light wood table with mismatched chairs
To me a good table is one you can read like a good book. Unevenly worn and smoother in places and showing the chapters of a lifetimes use. Coffee rings, curry stains, red wine splashes, crayon wax and pet scratches all ingrained in the wood reminding us of a time when....

 To begin your story you don't even have to spend a lot of money to find a decent one. They are often on craiglist, ebay or found in thrift stores and in fact ours was a lucky find from an alley when we were still students. It was covered with a lifetime of other families memories (and a nasty dark wood stain) so a simple sanding down refreshed and lightened the table and gave us a blank canvas in which to start our own memories. We already have a great collection of marks and bashes including a wonderful blue stained bit that will always make me smile (from a paint explosion that had my 2 year old and me in hysterics for a good 20 mins).
For this reason I could never buy a new table, one that had to be kept in perfect condition and religiously varnished/oiled/waxed. My table has sentimental value (yes I am a Taurean) and I look forward to many more meals sharing stories and laughter with friends and family, seeing my son complete his homework at it and even just sitting at it having a cup of tea on my own.  It is also why it is always dressed with fresh flowers.... the kitchen table is the heart of the home and deserves a little TLC.

Country kitchen...