The kitchen is the beating heart of the home – the place where we gather daily and nightly and the focal point of the celebrations big and small that mark all the seasonal milestones, along with those of our own. And, right at its centre sits the kitchen table, that trusty stalwart that sees us come together to break bread and exchange the news from the day. Dress it up, dress it down, shroud it with a cloth, or dot it with candlelight: these are the kitchen tables around which the stuff of family life happens.