I love the pedestal; the legs are not intrusive and the carving on it is nice. Although if you have the leaves down the end of the legs do stick out a few inches from the table. Not that big a deal to me. I usually only have one leaf down at a time. It really looks good waxed and polished. My dining table has to accommodate plants/fresh flowers and a few decorative odds and ends and sometimes a large garden book opened to a favorite page and then have enough room left over for a placemat and food. It does all this without things being stretched out to the rim of the table.At the time I bought it I bought 2 parsons chairs to use with it. They were too short and sitting at a dining table that was even with my upper chest was not going to work. Pillows and cushions helped but did not fix it. I passed them on. I found that my desk chair, of all things, worked out great. Adjustable seat brought me up to my food and the ergonomics of being used at a dining table were perfect. It was on strong wheels and swiveled. I can swivel at the table and get up using both legs instead of wrangling out like in a car. Seat was covered in a caramel leather cover and now does double duty between the dining table and desk. It is fantastic and matches table perfectly. There are many task chairs out there to choose from should I decide to get another one. I am very, very happy with this setup and have had no problems with the table.The only improvement to the table I could see would be a lip under the table to conceal the locking mechanism for the leaves.