my giant dining table

I have a pretty good dining table in the dining room. It is converted from a custom made office desk and it has a Travertine limestone top. I relocated it for use in the backyard for dining when the weather is nice. I have been putting off getting a dining table to replace it and have lived without one for too long now.
I came across this Möckelby table at Ikea when it was first unveiled a couple of years ago. Unlike typical Idea furniture that tends to be diminutive in size, it is almost giant at 92 1/2 x 39 3/8 inches . It is also quite good looking made of oak with the appearance of solid wood. Of course it is not mode of solid wood as few Ikea furniture is. What I didn't like is the 1/4 inch gap in the middle of and running the length of the table top. My other option is to build my own dining table but it would just be a lot of time and effort that is hard to justify.

Each time visiting Idea I would revisit this table again but I just could not bring myself to buy it because of the gap the run the length of the table top in the middle. One of my new year resolution is to do some house cleaning to rid some of my surplus furniture pieces and make the house more livable. I have a feeling that this Ikea Möckelby table would soon be phased out, as it is rather expensive (at $699 USD) compared to all other dining tables from Ikea. I went online and check and found out they are discounted by $200 for Ikea Family membership - while the inventory lasts. I deliberated and checked the dimensions against my dining room. They next day I went and bought one.

the Eames round dinning table is just not very practical for entertaining guests

the Möckelby table comes in three packages - weighting almost 180 pounds all together; the two table top pieces are the heaviest due to the particle board cores

I have the table all assembled and tilted it on the side to ready to flip it up all by myself

it was quite a challenge to tip it right side up as it weights more than me; a bit of well timed momentum I barely managed to right it from the side

I was hoping there is no shipping damage as it was very hard to examine it until the table is all assembled

Fortunately for me all is well; the table looks much better in person than what is shown on Ikea's website or the catalog.

the table does not look that large in this photo as the Eames DCM chairs are quite large compared to the average dining chairs

for some reason the color of the table on Ikea's site is very pale; not surprising that Ikea is closing it out because of the $699 price point and that most do not have space for such a large table

additionally the table is very poorly presented with these ill-match chairs

Do you know most of the product photos in Ikea's catalogs are computer generated/composited?

Actually before I considered the Möckelby the company released the almost equally large Mörbylånga at the same price point. Again I could not bring myself to buy it because of the 1/4" gap between the two table top halves. When the Möckelby came out, it was clear that I prefer it over Mörbylånga because of the legs. It is also 6 inches longer.

similarly styled table Mörbylånga with simpler leg system

it seats six persons comfortably and eight if necessary; it goes well with the Eames DCM (dining chair with metal legs) chairs

Evidently this Möckelby is modeled after the timeless French farm table which can be much longer. The gap on the two half table top is necessitated by the Ikea designer for transportation of DIY assembling by the customers. Without dividing the table top into two halves the top would weight about 130 pounds. I really like a generous sized dining table. It would be very handy for doing the occasional sewing projects with such large working surface.

While I was there in the store, I picked up a Vardagan saucepan. I am normally unimpressed with most of Ikea's cooking utensils but the Vardagan series are exceptional. I have two sets of each of the stockpots after testing their heat transfer efficiency, ergonomics, as well as even heat distribution.

the Vardagan stockpots are available in two sizes

Interestingly in the news today is this Guardian's article on Ikea's flatpack refugee temporary shelter. I do agree that it is a very optimized and practical design for the targeted requirements. I have seen a lot of poorly conceived and designed counterparts from Ivy league architecture schools and practicing architects that has little bearing of reality.