Selecting Conference Tables

The meeting room table goes high-tech and modular to meet business needs
By Shalleen Mayes Your basic conference room table has evolved from a large behemoth in the room to a stylized, efficient piece of art. Of course, there's still nothing that beats a solid wood conference table to communicate that you mean business. But wouldn't you like to have a piece of office furniture that allows some flexibility?
 

The options are much broader than they once were. Now you can order custom conference room tables with features that will help your employees get the most out of their meetings. When shopping for conference tables, look for:

1. Functional, flexible conference room table designs.
2. Technological capability built right into the meeting table.
3. Custom conference room table designs to fit your room size.

Get a conference room table that's a class act

Sleek, modern designs dominate in the conference table market. Unless your office is very traditional, a modern conference table will most likely suit your needs.
Try: Everything Office Furniture offers a variety of conference tables for sale, including the Legend conference room table set, featuring a 71" x 35" racetrack-shaped conference table in cherry finish, as well as a set of 6 leather chairs. Staples offers the Basyx 48" x 96" Conference Table in a gray laminate.

Go mod with a conference room table that adapts

You run a tight ship, and you try to maximize every inch of your office space that you can. Why buy a conference table that will just take up more square footage? A modular table system may be just what you need to solve your storage dilemma.
Try: The Conference Table Store lets you configure a round meeting room table design for your important get-togethers  (and after the notables go away, you stash the table and resume the real work). Ergo in Demand sells office furniture with a special emphasis on proper ergonomics. The company also sells a line of modular conference tables that can fold down for easy storage.

Get computer-friendly conference tables to get more done

These days, an office conference table does a lot more than just bring you face to face with your colleagues. Conference table designers have given much thought to the needs of businesses. For example, your employees will love designs that allow them to hook their laptops up to individual data ports built right into the conference table.
Try: Jazzy Expo makes The Madison Avenue, a walnut wood veneer conference table measuring 14'9" x 5'6" with built-in "Jazzybox" pop-up dual panels especially for computer work. This table also features a recessed center to keep phones and printers out of the way during the meeting. You should also check out conference tables for sale at Smart Desks or Franz Conference Tables for a custom design for your office.

• If price is an issue, consider buying used conference tables at auction or from your state's surplus office furniture program.