Out of curiosity is this database for an application that allows users to create/define custom fields or even data types? The only reason I'm asking is because I've had to support such applications which users love because they can create there own custom forms but it can be a pain on the database side. If that is the case you are on the right path using a name/value pair. Just make sure you index your table properly. Otherwise you'll save yourself many headaches by moving the data to proper tables.