How to Choose a Conference Table Finish

The short answer: how to choose a conference table finish comes down to four choices, in this order. Solid color or wood look. Light or dark, judged in the room's own light against the floor, the walls and the chairs. A base that matches the top or sets it off. And the edge, which decides whether the table reads as one block or as a top on a base. Every table in the OfficeSimpli builder comes in 15 laminate finishes: 11 standard and 4 Premium finishes. The builder shows each one on your own table, with the base matched or contrasting. Below: what each finish looks like, when a two-tone table works, what the edge changes, and how to check a color before you order.

Solid color or wood look?

Start here, because it decides the feel of the room more than any single color does. A solid finish reads as modern and quiet. White, gray and black tops sit well with glass, concrete and metal legs, and they do not fight with a patterned carpet or a bold wall.

A wood look reads as warmer and more traditional. Seven of the standard finishes and all four Premium finishes are wood looks, from pale maple and oak to deep coffee brown.

All 15 come in the same colors whether the top is TFL (a laminate fused to the board with heat) or HPL (a thicker, harder laminate). Our materials page explains the difference.

Light or dark?

Judge the color against the room it is going into. The room's light changes how a finish reads. A dark top in a room with one small window can look darker still. A pale top under cool office lighting can look washed out. By the builder's own colors, the lightest finishes are Glacier White, Hardrock Maple, Battle Creek Oak and French Grey, and the darkest are Black, Vienna Coffee, Grigio Notte, California Walnut and Slate Grey.

Two habits help. First, look at the floor and the chairs before the table. A finish that is clearly lighter or clearly darker than the floor looks planned. One that is almost the same can read as a mistake. Second, read the names with care. Iconic Maple is a gray-silver woodgrain, not a blonde maple; Hardrock Maple is the pale blonde one. Portico Teak reads gray-brown. And Iconic Maple, a standard finish, and Iron Hemlock II, a Premium finish, are both silver-gray grains, so compare the two before paying more.

If you want a walnut look, California Walnut is the dark walnut brown and a Premium finish, Vienna Coffee goes darker, and Straight Noce is a medium warm brown among the standard finishes. We wrote a whole post on it: our walnut-look finish up close.

Should the base match the top?

In the builder the base matches the top by default, and for most rooms that is the right call. One finish top to bottom makes a long table look like a single design. The exception is the side panels on the 5-inch panel base and the rectangular and square pedestals: they start in Glacier White, so set them to match the base for one finish all the way down.

A two-tone conference table is the other way to go, and it works when the room has a reason for it. A dark top on white pedestals lightens a long table and makes the base read as furniture rather than as a block. A pale top on a charcoal base grounds a table in a bright room. Pick the base color second, after the top, and keep it clearly lighter or clearly darker. A near miss can look like mismatched parts.

The builder gives you three ways to do it:

• Base finish. On the Finishes step, switch a laminate base from “Matches the top” to any of the 15 finishes.
• Silver metallic side panels. On the 5-inch panel base and the rectangular and square pedestals, the side panels can be silver metallic for an extra cost per base. They pair well with silver metal legs elsewhere in the room.
• Two finishes on one top. Three-piece tops 10 to 20 feet long and 48 to 60 inches deep can come as multi-finish (TFL only), where the center piece is a different finish from the two ends. It is a strong look on a long boardroom table, and it should be the only pattern in the room.

Most metal legs come in silver, black or white. On some open-frame and A-frame legs black and white cost more, and the builder shows the difference as you click. Tables with metal legs can take around 4 weeks to ship instead of 2 to 3. Our guide to choosing a conference table base covers what each base type does.

What does the edge change?

The edge runs all the way around the table, so it changes how the finish reads. A PVC edge (a thin plastic band) in the same color as the top makes the table look like one clean block, and it works with every finish. A wood edge band shows as a wood frame around the top and suits the wood looks. The builder does not offer a wood edge on a solid color such as white, gray or black. HPL tops add two more: a knife edge and an exposed plywood edge. Our guide on how to choose a conference table edge compares all seven.

Do Premium finishes cost more?

Yes. California Walnut, Vienna Coffee, Fawn Cypress and Iron Hemlock II are the four Premium finishes. A Premium finish costs more on the top, and on a laminate base in the same finish, and the builder shows the difference next to the swatch as you choose. The other 11 are included in the price of the table.

How do you check a color before you order?

Three steps. Open the laminate colors page and read the description of the finish, not just the name. Then open the builder, set your shape and size, and click through the finishes with the lights in your room in mind. Then look at the table from low down in the 3-D view, where the edge and the base show, because that is how people see it when they sit.

Our how to buy a conference table post has a short section on finish if you want the rest of the buying decisions in one place, and our guide to designing a custom conference table walks through each step of the builder. When you have two designs you like, the builder's Copy share link button saves each one, so you can send both to whoever signs off.

Worth knowing: you choose a finish from a screen and a written description. Screens shift color and product photos show one finish, so a finish that looks right on a laptop can land a shade warmer or cooler in the room. When two finishes are close, go by the description, not the swatch.

Questions about conference table finishes, answered

What finishes does a conference table come in?

Fifteen laminate finishes in the builder: four solids (white, light gray, charcoal and black) and eleven wood looks from pale maple and oak to deep coffee brown. Four of the wood looks are Premium finishes and cost more.

Can a conference table be two colors?

Yes. In the builder the base can be a different finish from the top, some panel and pedestal bases take silver metallic side panels, and three-piece tops can come as multi-finish with a different center piece. Keep the two colors clearly apart in tone.

Can I get a white conference table?

Yes. Glacier White is a bright solid white, and the base can match it or go darker. A white top takes the PVC edge in the same white. The builder does not offer a wood edge on white.

Can I get a black conference table?

Yes, in Black, a solid finish. If you want dark without solid black, Slate Grey is a dark charcoal solid and Grigio Notte is a charcoal-brown woodgrain. Most metal legs come in black too; on some styles black costs more, and the builder shows the price as you click.

What gray finishes are there?

Two solids, French Grey (warm and light) and Slate Grey (dark charcoal). Four wood looks lean gray as well: Portico Teak, Iconic Maple, the darker Grigio Notte and Iron Hemlock II, which is a Premium finish.

Jeremy M. built OfficeSimpli's Build Your Own Conference Table; the finishes and options in this guide come from the builder itself.