Proof that there are two sides to every story: Designers Roric Tobin and Summer Thornton face off on whether or not to pull the rug out from under the dining table.

Cut the rug

Rugs in dining rooms are incredibly impractical. Pulling in and pushing out your chair becomes a total chore and inevitably leads to awkwardly bumping into your neighbor when a leg catches. And with all the food and wine, you know some of it is going to end up on the floor. (I prefer mementos of great dinner parties to be preserved in photo albums rather than in carpet stains, thank you!)

A dining room by Bradfield & Tobin, with the Liquid Glacier table by Zaha HadidSargent Photography