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Thread: Butterfly leaves

  1. #1
    dwainw Guest

    Default Butterfly leaves

    Do any of the custom cabinetmakers build dining room tables with butterfly leaves? I know the basic design dates back to the 19th century, but I don't see it employed very often. Is there a big downside that I'm missing?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,887

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    Ahh,,the old New England butterfly table. Not many of those around today. They can be custom-made though....no idea of the cost, we'd have to spec one out.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    274

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    The closest I can recall seeing is Thos. Moster's Vita Dining Table.

  4. #4
    dwainw Guest

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    Is there a reason that they aren't more popular? I would think that once engineered, they would be relatively simply to build. And aside from a few hinges and a pivot bar, they costs wouldn't be tremendously higher than a similar standard leaf table. Is there a functionality or durability problem I'm not seeing?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    15,887

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    Not that I'm aware of, just one of those things that has fallen out of favor and hasn't been 're-discovered' as near as I can tell. I like the concept, however.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  6. #6
    organic_smallhome Guest

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    What is a butterfly leaf? Is that a leaf that pops up when the table is opened?

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    Yes, that's it exactly.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  8. #8
    dwainw Guest

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    A butterfly leaf folds in half and pivots on bar to store under the table when it is closed. The leaf can be stored or installed in a moment's notice. No more digging the leaves out a closet or under the bed. Here is a link that shows a butterfly leaf in partial deployment: http://www.mymodelships.com/product_...g-Table-38.jpg

  9. #9
    dwainw Guest

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    OK Duane, just for grins, can you give me some idea what it would cost to commission an unusual table? I've not seen anything quite like this before, but it seems to make sense, at least for us.

    Unbeknownst to me, my wife has been toying with the idea of reducing the size of our dining table for our open dining/kitchen area. She was walking through a store the other day, not even thinking about a table, and spotted a smallish pedestal table with a butterfly leaf, with drawers in the pedestal. She took me back to check it out and I wasn't impressed with much about it. Of course the more I read here about the proper way to build casegoods, the more jaded I become. At any rate, after talking over with her what I was seeing, I found out that it was the basic idea of having a multifunctional table with storage not only for it's leaf, but also for other things in its pedestal that impressed her. So below is a picture of this thing, for what it is.

    What we like about this one:
    -42"x42" with 18" leaf is a good size for our space, but we are flexible
    -Nice stable pedestal with storage (number of drawers flexible)
    -Butterfly leaf, of course

    What we don't like about this one:
    -Build quality
    -Height (standard 30" would allow us to use our own cherry chairs)
    -Lack of design character
    -Colors/wood species

    This would be a daily use table for a family with kids. We are not really looking for a showpiece, but rather a solid piece that could possibly be an hierloom. Is this simply lunacy to consider something like this? Would we be talking crazy money for a one-off like this? Is there any design history for a storage table like this? I know I can trust your guidance, so I thought I would let you either encourage this thought or straighten me out. I'm not sure which I need.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Posts
    125

    Default Re: Butterfly leaves

    While I like the concept of having the storage, won't it be uncomfortable to have to get down on your knees to access the drawers?

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