How to choose the right dining table size

At YARD Furniture we custom make dining tables to perfectly suit your space.

Taking time to think about your needs and space requirements can help to ensure you get the most life out of your piece and importantly, select the right size!

Each table we make is a collaboration with you and we’re able to guide you through these questions if you’re unsure.

Some points to consider:

How many people do you need to seat frequently?
How often do you have occasions where you need to seat extra people?
What is the space you have to work with?
What other furniture do you have that needs to be taken into account?

At this time it is also worth considering what qualities you like or dislike about your current table and what needs to change with your new piece or which elements are important to you.

An example of this may be the leg placement of your existing table was inconvenient for extra guests, or having bench seating on one side of your table is an important factor in your new choice.

Asking the above questions will help to determine the size of your table, the style of leg, as well as allowing good traffic flow throughout your space.

Basic calculations:

Here are some basic calculations we take into account when recommending table sizes:

As a guide we allow 60cm per person. This can change depending on your dining chair style.
Our dining tables have a standard height of 74cm
Allow 80-90cm from the chairs to the walls or nearest points of furniture
Do you want to seat one person at each end or two? To seat 2 people the table needs to be at least 1.1m wide with an inset leg style.

The beauty of made to order tables is they can be made in most sizes.

We use these measurements as a guide for basic table sizes:

RECTANGULAR:

6 seater: 180cm L x 100cm W

8 seater: 210cm L x 100cm W

10 seater: depending on the leg style this begins from 240cm L x 100cm W

CIRCULAR:

4 seater: 100cm diameter

6 seater: 130cm diameter

8 seater: 160cm diameter

These measurements can be tweaked depending on your space, how much room you’d like to allocate for each seat and whether you want to seat extra seats comfortably, or don’t mind squeezing extra guests around the table when the occasion calls.
Another point to consider is how wide you’d like a rectangular dining table. We use 90-100cm wide as a base, but often go up to 110cm or 120cm for larger tables. On the other hand, if your space is compact we can make our dining tables narrower, or in a smaller diameter if you’re looking at a circular style.

Get out the tape measure!

Measure your space, subtracting the 80-90cm clearance between walls and furniture- this is the amount of space you have to play with.

OR:

Calculate the non-negotiable number of people you’d like to seat and measure this to see if this will work in your space.

If your new table is going into a new home or is going to be larger than an existing one, we recommend cutting a large piece of cardboard and placing it on something at table height to test its size and how you plan to navigate around it.

If you don’t have cardboard, tape some masking tape onto the floor in the new table dimensions.

Leg Styles

Consider the leg style when deciding the number of people you’d like to seat.

A table with an inset cross leg such as our Tallulah allows guests to be seated at any point of the table with minimal leg obstruction.
A style with an inset leg can allow you to slide a bench seat under the length of the table, or seat someone comfortably at the legs.

Classic styles with legs at each corner maximises the number of seats along the length of the table and chairs can be tucked all the way in, particularly if clearance around the table is a concern.

Hooped leg tables are visually striking and accomodate a bench seat well, though keep in mind a set number of chairs can fit between the hoop leg if space limited.

Other styles like our Strathewen and Cosmic Elliptical tables with their striking leg designs lend themselves a to larger table size to comfortably seat 6-8 people if we factor in the 60cm per seat guide. These styles are more suited to larger spaces.

Extendable options

If having an 8-10 seater isn’t practical for daily living, but you’d still like to seat guests comfortably for social gatherings, a table with an extension may be a suitable option.
A range of our tables can be made with an extension at either one end or both.
One extension piece adds an extra 30 or 35cm to the end of a table, two adds 60 or70cm to the overall length.

This allows you to take a 6 seater to a 8 or 8-10 seater.
The extension pieces are made at the same time as your table, from the same timber, slide into your table easily, and are designed to be stored when not in use.