Creating Dining Moments with a King Living Designer

A dining table is more than a piece of furniture. It’s a place for sharing meals, making memories and special moments. That’s certainly the approach we take at King Living when creating dining tables.

Since joining the King Living in-house design team in 2022, Industrial Designer Ryan McGoldrick has worked on creating new dining furniture.

Much of that work has revolved around the Heritage Dining Collection – in partnership with Founder David King – the Magnolia Dining Table and Heirloom and Tasman Dining Chairs.

Ryan shares his insights into the development of the latest additions to the dining collection and how they make it easy to create dining moments.

Picturing Ryan McGoldrick who designed the Heritage Dining Table (right) in partnership with Founder David King.

A 100-year table

When designing the Heritage Dining Table, the brief was to create a 100-year table. Ryan explains that the team approached this brief in a number of different ways.

“To start with, the visual design of the table is timeless and minimal,” he explains. “We explored numerous subtle variations before landing on what you see today—a simplistic and beautiful table surface with waterfall detailed edges, visually generous thickness, and the mixed curvature of the angled legs.”

Featuring the Heritage Dining Table in American Walnut and Heirloom Dining Chair in TrueTouch Wattle and American Walnut.

“The engineering of the tabletop reduces some of the long-term problems that can occur with solid timber such as natural movement. It is paired with thoughtful design considerations in its construction to highlight the natural beauty of the material.”

The timber top combined with the steel frame makes the Heritage Dining Table a piece of furniture that is incredibly durable to last for generations. Combined with the optional to choose an extension design, Heritage is a versatile, 100–year table.

“There was nothing in the market as big as Heritage that included an extension mechanism,” recalls Ryan. “The result of the project is a dining table that can easily unfold in a gentle, beautiful process.”

The beauty of this is that you have a majestic table that can serve you every day and then extend for gatherings. The King Living SoftTouch Extension Technology® enables a seamless transition between table sizes.

The Heritage Oval Extension table expands from a 6-8 Seater, perfect for accommodating larger gatherings.

The Heritage Coffee Table Collection is available in round, rectangular and oval designs.

Expanding the Heritage Collection

Since the release of Heritage, the collection has evolved to include the Heritage Oval Extension Dining Table and coffee table designs.

“Through the design exploration process, the team discovered the generous proportions and design elements of the table worked at other scales.” Ryan explained. “This led to the creation of the Heritage Dining Tables in fixed, extension, and oval extension designs, along with a range of coffee tables, all echoing the original design language of the first table.”

The oval design offers a softer, flowing look and the reduced table size is ideal for smaller living spaces. To create a cohesive space, the Heritage Dining Table can be paired with the Heritage Coffee Table designs. Available in a choice of round, oval or rectangular designs, the large and medium tables can be combined for a layered effect.

Featuring the Magnolia Dining Table in Onxy and Tasman Dining Chair in Dark Olive and Onyx.

Grand design with a petite footprint

Where the Heritage Dining Table is a large format design, the Magnolia Dining Table was designed with smaller spaces in mind.

“Magnolia shares a lot of the same design principles and philosophy as the Heritage Table,” explains Ryan. “It’s got the same plywood core and steel frame construction for strength and features a solid timber border frame and robust thickness of veneer.”

The difference is in the petite footprint, with the Magnolia Dining Table having more slimline legs, curvy edges and a reduced table width.

“Magnolia is a very social table,” adds Ryan. “It’s the smaller format interpretation of the 100-year table that is the Heritage Dining Table.”

The Tasman Dining Chair pairs perfectly with the Heritage Dining Table.

The finer details

What is consistent across both the Magnolia Dining Table and the Heritage Dining Table – or any pieces in the King Living Dining collection – is the attention to detail.

“When we go through the design process, we’re thinking about things like how many chairs can fit around the table with generous spacing for each,” says Ryan. “We also look at things like the treatment of the table on the underside, so no matter which surface you interact with, it feels considered.”

The attention to detail extends to the finishes on the table to ensure they’re durable enough for everyday use.

“Sometimes you’ll spill some food or wine during a dinner party and may not get around to cleaning it up until the next day,” he explains. “But that’s not something you need to worry about with King Living finishes. You can enjoy your dinner party knowing that the premium quality finishes on the table are tested for durability.”

The Heritage Dining Table and Magnolia Dining Table were also the first in the King Living Dining Collection available in the new Natural Oak timber finish.

“Each of our signature timber finishes offer a different look to suit different spaces,” says Ryan. “The lighter Natural Oak finish is a great option when working with a smaller space. The last thing you want to do is put in a big void-filling object, which can be the case with darker timber in some spaces.”

The Heritage Extension Dining Table easily transforms from a 6-seater to 10-seater table.

Create your own dining moments with King Living

Shop the King Living Dining Collection and explore furniture that facilitates making moments and memories to last a lifetime.

Find your nearest King Living Showroom or discover more dining articles.