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Non Toxic Dining Tables
Solid wood dining tables, including more affordable ones, and glass and metal options, too. Click the rating symbols below each table for more information about its material health.
Natural Furniture sells only 100% solid wood furniture— no formaldehyde-containing particleboard or MDF anywhere. You can select unfinished options, or choose one of their plant-based finishes for their wide selection of dining tables. Glue brand is unspecified but company verifies that it is always zero or low-VOC.
Avocado makes a sustainable kitchen table that’s part of their zero waste mission. No veneers, laminate, or plywood are used — being 100% solid wood ensures durability. They use ECOS wood stain and Titebond wood glues, the leading standards for non toxic glues and stains. Great transparency as always.
Organic Dining Table
Medley Home makes their non toxic dining tables by hand with solid wood. They are finished with a plant-based, zero-VOC hardwax oil that is naturally water and heat-resistant. Zero-VOC glues are used only when necessary. One of the best organic modern solid wood dining table options.
Zero VOC Solid Wood Kitchen Table
The brand Wood Furniture features the Ethnicraft collection of tables, which are made from solid woods, joinery, and natural finishes. The rating below represents their healthiest option.
International Concepts is a super affordable solid wood dining table brand you can buy through Amazon. I actually have their nightstands, and finished them with Rubio Monocoat, and they’re high quality and great. The only issue is that their glue is unspecified and requires a Prop 65 for formaldehyde. While I’m not normally a fan, it is so hard to find unfinished, affordable, solid wood furniture— in this case, the benefits outweigh the costs for me. I simply let mine off-gas outdoors for a few days, though in my opinion, they were far less smelly than even IKEA’s glues are. An imperfectly healthy wood option!
Affordable Metal and Glass Table
Metal and glass are materials that offer an affordable dining table option without any formaldehyde-containing particleboard or MDF. They also typically have very minimal adhesives, if any. An easy to clean kitchen table means you don’t have to worry about a waterproof table cloth or rings on a wood surface. Finally, glass and metal dining tables can be a more affordable healthy choice than many solid wood options. This Amazon option is affordable, and Amazon has many other glass and metal choices if this one isn’t quite your style.
Certainly high end, I include this ultra-designy glass table because it’s made entirely from glass, bonded together with light, and was designed by Patricia Urquiola, an architect whose work I love. It doesn’t feel sterile at all, and is just so pretty! Beyond this table, Design Within Reach has several high end healthy glass and metal tables to choose from.
Still more affordable than many wooden options, this stainless steel and glass table is a smaller, round option from Wayfair.
More Healthy Design for You
More About Non Toxic Dining Tables
Is a glass or wood table better?
Both can be very healthy choices. Here are some pros and cons of each, from a health perspective:
Glass and metal are very healthy materials that are very easy to clean. They can be less expensive than solid wood, as well. Some people don’t like how they look, because they can feel more “sterile” or modern than wood.
Solid wood is a very healthy material, but can be expensive and heavy. Many wood tables are actually made of plywood, MDF, or other engineered “wood,” which is less expensive and lightweight, but isn’t as healthy— you can read more in my wood guide here.
What if I can’t afford a solid wood dining table?
I have the International Concepts option listed above, if you’re comfortable with standard glue. Or, you can consider shopping for vintage pieces. While the finish will be unknown, you can re-finish it, or trust that any off-gassing it needed to go through finished decades ago. If it’s painted, be careful to check to see if it contains lead before refinishing it with a lead check test from your hardware store.
Is an engineered wood dining table non toxic?
It depends entirely on what the glue/resin/binder is that holds the wood together. If it is held together with a soy-based resin with no added formaldehyde, for example, then it’s a healthy option. If it is held together with a glue that contains formaldehyde, or a glue that contains other harmful chemicals like isocyanates, then it is harmful to health.
Engineered wood is made from thin pieces of solid wood attached with glue to either side of a non-solid wood core. The core can be either plywood or ground wood fibers mixed with resin. The outer solid wood surface is called a veneer, and the layers are bound together with adhesives. The adhesives holding the layers together, and the glue-based binders in the plywood or ground wood fibers, are where the health issues potentially lie, since these glues typically contain urea-formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Newer engineered wood uses bio-based glues or NAF (No Added Formaldehyde) resins that are much healthier (some don’t, using polyurethane or other harmful substitutions).
Solid wood or glass are healthier choices than engineered wood, but if you do choose an engineered wood table, a formaldehyde-free one is best— you can learn more on my wood guide here.
Are wood stains toxic?
Wood stains are often, but not always, toxic to health. It depends completely on the kind you use. A completely natural wood stain like coffee is obviously safe. Water-based wood stains are relatively non-toxic, especially ones with certifications like GreenSeal-11 ensuring the most harmful additives are avoided. Ones without VOCs, antimicrobials, chemical drying agents, or heavy metals are a better choice. Oil-based wood stains with standard chemicals that release high VOCs are quite harmful to health.
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