farmhouse table

steve and i are in the market for a new dining room table. we're reconverting the dining room back to a dining room. it was my office for the last 2 years. i envision an enormous farmhouse table and mismatched chairs. grey walls. very informal. french doors that lead to the patio. we're (and by "we", i mean steve) installing french doors as phase 3 of our first floor facelift). the kitchen facelift was phase 1 (which i still must post photos... just having trouble getting good photos), phase 2 is moving my office to the formal living room (which opens up the dining room to become a dining room again).

we've been searching online for the table. here are our top runners. in 2nd place, this from crate and barrel. simple lines. european white oak.

this is my first choice, from restoration hardware. similar lines. more rustic, which i like. and extendable.
notice the tolix chairs in the first photo. i'd love to scatter a few of those around the table. they don't look too comfortable, so i was thinking about skinny pads for them. a la this photo, from photographer helen norman.
and, now that this has arrived, i could sew them myself! that is, after i dredge up all that i learned in 7th grade home ec.