What's a Drop Leaf?

A drop-leaf table is a table that has a fixed section in the center and a hinged section on either side that can be folded down. If the leaf is supported by a bracket when folded up, the table is simply a drop-leaf table; if the leaf is supported by legs that swing out from the center, it is known as a gateleg table.

How do drop leaf tables work?

An undercover workhorse, the drop leaf table features two hinged leaves at either end. Pop the leaves up and it functions as a perfect dining table, or let them hang free and turn it into a console or bedside table, neatly tucked against the wall.

What are drop leaf tables called?

Drop-leaf table, table with one or two hinged leaves supported by articulated legs, arms, or brackets. An early 17th-century form is the gateleg table, which was followed by two later English forms—the Pembroke table and its more elongated version, the sofa table, which dates from about the 1790s.