When purchasing a new conference room table, the first thing you need to do is to measure the conference room. The single biggest mistake you can make during this entire process is to put a tiny table in a gigantic room or a gigantic table in a tiny room. If your conference room looks anything like this, you’ve goofed.
Conference room tables come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Here’s a brief overview of some of the makes/models that are out there.

Barrington Table (National Office Furniture)
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A classic table which–if it weren’t for the laptop sitting on it in the picture to the left–would be perfectly at home in an elegant 1930s boardroom.

Epic Table (National Office Furniture)

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On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Epic Table offers a clean, minimalistic design that’s perfectly suited for start-ups that want to replicate the vibe of Facebook’s Frank Gehry-designed open office space.

Arrowood Table (National Office Furniture)

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National Office Furniture’s sleek Arrowood line features a mitered rim and clean lines. Like peanut butter or Guile’s Theme from Street Fighter 2, this is something that fits in everywhere it goes.

Lean Desk (Opendesk)

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Rather than purchase your conference room table the traditional way, you may want to consider checking out Opendesk, a UK-based company that allows you to download your table so you can have it made locally, regardless of your location. Their Lean Desk–notable for its spacious surface and modular covers–works well as both a work station and conference room table.

Barrel Shaped Glass (Calibre Office Furniture)

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Who says that conference room tables need to be made of wood? Not only do glass tables make the room appear larger, they are also much better at handling coffee spills, which–let’s face it–are going to occur at a rate of 5-7 per day.

Modular Table (Calibre Office Furniture)

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For meetings which involve a speaker standing in front of a podium, a U-shaped conference room table can go a long way toward reducing neck-strain.

Conti Table (Krost)

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If you want your table to be an exact height, width, or length, you can save yourself the hassle of searching high and low of looking for a pre-made table and just go with Krost, who will custom build your table according to your specifications.

Apollo (Boss Design)

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For meetings that draw in larger groups, a table that can comfortably seat up to 14 people is essential. Boss’s Apollo is one such table.

Foundations Table (Teknion)

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One benefit of the Teknion Expansion table is that it can be purchased with a matching lectern and wall-mounted display board, making your job as an interior designer that much easier.

Expansion Table (Teknion)

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Teknion’s Foundations table offers simple horizontal and vertical planes with added option of contrasting finishes for those seeking aesthetic variety.
This blog post previously appeared in the third chapter of our e-book Conference Room Design: A Guide For the Perplexed. To read the full e-book, click here.
ADDITIONAL READING
Conference Room Design: 10 Examples Worth Studying
5 Must-Have AV Products For Your Conference Room
Wireless Conference Rooms vs. Cabled Conference Rooms: Which Has the Better ROI?