A kitchen table family describes a dynamic where moms, dads, and children come together to eat and connect over dinner — most often around the same time each day.

For many, that’s a classic kitchen table. Said design-firm principal Mélanie Cherrier of Blanc Marine Intérieurs in Montreal, “A giant island can remove all the soul from the kitchen.” ...

Steal My Table Setting How 11 New Yorkers with particularly good taste set their tables. As told to Emma Wartzman , a senior kitchen and dining writer at the Strategist.