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1. Being that the dining room is one of the main communal
rooms of the house, I think it's certainly worth investing in
durable, aesthetically pleasing furniture. If you have more
people than can comfortably sit around one table, you
should consider getting one larger table instead of two
smaller ones. Larger single units of furniture rather than
several smaller pieces make the room less cluttered.

2. I personally like the rustic-style furniture where pieces are
built big, heavy, and durable. Of course, there are many
different styles and motifs to choose from, and they all
have their own unique pros and cons. Not everyone digs
the country flavor. One big reason some opt for other
styles is that individual pieces are often more expensive
than the equivalent in other styles due to often being
hand-made and requiring more expensive materials.

3. Our prior setup was honestly, not all that flattering. We
have a rather large number of people living here making it
necessary to have at least two dining tables. The problems
we faced were these:

4. They were both different heights.

5. They were both different colors.

6. They were both different sizes, shapes, and styles.

7. Bottom line - it looked pretty darn bad. Using Google
Sketchup I created an initial model of the table from
where I then exported several screen shots of key angles.
By printing out the relevant screen shots and clipping
them onto a clip board for example, you don't have to
keep referring back to the Sketchup file while in the
workshop. All components should be made to life-size and
dimensioned for accuracy.

8. Software programs like Sketchup help tremendously when
dealing with angles and notching. The 3d model, when
made to life-size, allows you to accurately integrate any
angles you desire in any position and size. More
specifically, the precise integration of notch-work to
accommodate an inlay-style of component attachment is
made not only possible, but quite simple, by such 3d
software.

9. To Notch or not to Notch...?

10. I strongly recommend notch-work for furniture as it makes
it considerably more stable over time. As you may
know, wood tends to change shape over time due to the
absorption and desorption of moisture from its
surroundings. This is why high-quality hardwoods that
have been seasoned thoroughly are most commonly used
by furniture makers.

11. But even then, and more so if you're using lower-end
wood, notch-work is often necessary to prevent the
components from warping, twisting, and pulling
themselves out of alignment. Young, unseasoned lumber
is extremely unstable, and if you find yourself using this
type of wood, I would advise notching all joints at least a
quarter-inch or about 5 millimeters to prevent the above
kind of behavior.

12. By using a combination of notch-work, appropriate
fasteners, and glue, as well as sealing the entire surface
area of each component, you can create furniture that can
rival most professionally made pieces. Sealing the surface
area is important as this is where moisture enters and
leaves. In most cases, you would probably do this via a
stain or varnish anyway, for looks.

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