The dining niche dilemma

Its sounds like a Robert Ludlum novel, right? "The Dining Niche Dilemma", LOL. Anyway, I've been agonizing for weeks now on exactly what kind of little table should work for the dining nook in the apartment. And I REALLY need to solve this soon. Whenever I make something to eat I have to bring the food down the hallway, down the steps into the main room, and across to the desk in the opposite corner of the space. Not easy and not fun. It would be so much better to just eat in the proper eating space just off the kitchen except for the fact THAT I DON'T HAVE A DINING TABLE.
I've been trawling Craigslist, Chairish, antique stores, thrift shops...and have found nothing. I technically need a 'bistro table', or sometimes called a 'cafe table', something standard dining height (roughly 30") and with a small round top. Steve, my architect, thinks I should go no bigger than 20" in diameter but I think that's too small to hold a dinner plate AND a newspaper or magazine (I like to read while I eat) or even a laptop (yes, I surf the web while eating too). I've been searching and searching and think I've found the perfect piece at CB2. The "Hackney" table.

The "Hackney" marble topped bistro table at CB2

It's got a pedestal base (too many legs gets too busy), and a marble top. Marble is one of the main design materials of the apartment...the mantel, the bookshelves, the window sills, the bathroom tiling, the kitchen counters, all are carrera marble. So this table would fit right in. I even like the brass ring detail around the base which ties into all the brass and bronze in the rest of the apartment. The drawback? It's a little pricey at $500. And I don't have a lot of spare cash to just throw at one little table. The other thing is that I was worried that the top was too big (it's 28" in diameter). So I did a little experiment: i cut out a piece of newspaper to the size of the tabletop and placed it near the niche. Lo and behold, I think the table is just the right size. There's plenty of room to walk by it and not bump into the corner of the wood veneer wall. Here's the table and photos of how it would lay out.




I think I'm sold on it...now if I only had the money to buy it!