Dining Table Tops

Plywood and solid wood are both furniture-grade choices with different benefits. Our 25 mm AA-grade Baltic birch plywood stays flat and stiff because its layers run in alternating directions. This allows the top to mount directly to the legs without a traditional apron, which gives you more legroom and a clean, modern shape.

Solid wood can be sanded and refinished repeatedly over many years. Choose plywood for a stable, modern top, or solid wood when you prefer traditional construction and the option of deeper refinishing in future.

Choose oak plywood for a warm, mid-honey tone with prominent grain. Walnut plywood has a deeper colour and bolder grain. Birch plywood is light in colour, with an even face and continuous grain running from edge to edge. Formica birch plywood comes in Shell White or Pewter Grey and provides an easy-to-clean surface.

All four use the same 25 mm AA-grade Baltic birch plywood core, so choose by colour, grain and surface.

A 150 × 75 cm top seats four comfortably. It can seat six with one person at each end, although the space is tighter.

A 180 × 80 cm top seats six comfortably, either with three people on each side or with two on each side and one at each end. It can seat eight with three on each side and one at each end.

The solid-oak range also includes 70 × 70, 90 × 90, 120 × 70 and 180 × 75 cm tops, plus Ø75, Ø90 and Ø120 cm round tops. A Ø90 cm round top seats four, and Ø120 cm seats six. Allow about 60 cm of table edge per person for comfortable everyday dining.

Yes. AA-grade Baltic birch at 25mm is strong enough for any standard dining table, desk, or bench span Hairpin sells. The ply is stiff enough on its own; L-channel stiffening bars (sold separately) add extra rigidity for certain use cases. For tables, bars are worth adding on heavy desk setups where vibration could move a large monitor, or on dining tables at 180cm+ for extra stiffness. For benches, we recommend bars on every length: plywood handles the load alone, but bars make the bench feel rock solid when you sit down.

On a 180 cm tabletop, your leg span will sit between around 140 cm and 180 cm, depending on how far in you set the legs.

At 140 cm leg span (a 20 cm inset per end), the top is rigid with no flex, sag, or wobble under typical dining loads. That's well within the structural range of 25 mm cross-bonded Baltic Birch ply.

At a full 180 cm leg span (legs flush to each end), the top still holds without sagging. L-channel stiffening bars can add some quality of feel at this span.

25mm is the right thickness for Hairpin's tops. It's a common ply size, thick enough that screws bite securely into the underside, and stiff enough on its own for most table, desk, and bench builds. Going thicker does add stiffness, but at the cost of much more weight per unit of stiffness gained, and ply gets harder to transport and handle. When extra stiffness is wanted (longer dining tables, heavy desk setups, or benches with regular heavy load), L-channel stiffening bars are the more efficient answer. A bar adds the stiffness needed without the extra weight (and material cost) of going thicker. For most builds one bar is enough; on a 180cm bench expecting heavy users, two bars down the centre is the right call.

Both use the same 25 mm AA-grade Baltic birch plywood construction and hard wax oil finish. Oak plywood uses European oak and has a warm, mid-honey tone with prominent grain. Walnut plywood uses American black walnut and has a deeper colour with bolder grain.

Their construction and performance are the same, so choose the colour and grain that suit your space.

For oak plywood, walnut plywood and birch plywood tops: use trivets for hot pans, wipe spills promptly, and avoid pooling liquid on the surface. Apply Osmo Polyx-Oil 3032 (Satin) for top-ups or to refresh the finish after years of use.

Clean Formica tops with a mild kitchen-surface cleaner and a soft, non-abrasive cloth. Rinse and dry the surface. For stubborn marks, use a small amount of acetone on a clean cloth, follow the product's safety instructions, then rinse and dry. Do not flood the edges or use abrasive cleaners. Use trivets for hot pans.

Clean solid oak tops with a furniture cleaner or a mild, non-abrasive surface cleaner and a soft cloth. Do not use bleach or harsh kitchen cleaners. The tops are coated with a satin polyurethane lacquer. Use trivets for hot pans.

You need a top, suitable legs, a drill and a screwdriver. Screws come with the legs.

The optional Premium Drilling Kit includes a depth-set 3.5 mm countersink bit and an automatic centre punch for accurate pilot holes. It works with every current undrilled Hairpin top: 25 mm TO-FP plywood and 32 mm solid oak. It is included as a free option with our complete furniture sets when selected.