The term “leaf” can be used to describe those little green things that fall off trees in the wintertime but it can also be used to describe a useful extra piece of wood that can elongate your kitchen table and make room for more party guests. Tables are only as good as they are big when it comes to dinner parties. The more people you have the more space you need to provide but since every day is not party day a gigantic table can get cumbersome really quick. When you want to host parties but still have room during the off-season you should invest in a table that has multiple leaves.

All types of tables come with leaves these days. The tabletop of most tables is split down the middle and attached by a series of runners. You can lift the table up and stretch the two halves of it apart to open up space in the middle. If you’re smart you will fill that space with the spare wooden pieces (or sometimes spare rubber pieces) the store clerk gave you when you first purchased the table, if you’re not smart you will leave that hole open and stand in the middle of it while everyone laughs at you.

Table leaves can be used in various ways to extend the length of the table. There are the removable leaves described above and the drop leaves. Drop leaf tables keep the leaves of their table in place at all times but attach the sides of the table to it with a hinges and screws. The table legs underneath the drop leaf table can be folded to one side or the other so that they support either the whole table, half of it, or none of it.

Collapsible tables and ones that use extra leaves help you make space for extra guests when you need to. You can keep the table in its small form when you aren’t using its whole length and it extend it as far as you want when you have company. If you’d like to learn more about the round kitchen table with leaf visit Round Kitchen Table Ideas.