How to choose the right size dining table

At YARD Furniture we custom make tables to fit your space.
Taking the 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!

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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 600mm per person. This can change depending on your chair style.
Dining tables have a standard height of 740mm
Allow 800mm – 900mm from the chair to the walls or nearest points of furniture.
Do you want to seat one person at the end or two? To seat 2 people the table needs to be at least 1.1mm 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:

6 seater: 1800mm L x 1000mm W

8 seater: 2100mm L x 1000mm W

10 seater: 2100mm L x 1000mm W

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 the table. We use 1000mm W as a base, but often got up to 1050mm or 1100mm for larger tables.

Get out the tape measure!

There are two ways you can go about this:

Measure your space, subtracting the 800-900mm clearance between walls and furniture- this is the amount of space you have to play with.

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 to be larger than an existing one, tape some masking tape onto the floor in the new tables dimensions, or place furniture in that space (eg an outdoor table) to get a feel for its potential size.

Leg styles:

Consider the leg style when deciding the number of people you’d like to seat.
A table with an inset leg such as our Tallulah allow you to slide a bench seat under the table, or seat someone comfortably at the legs.
Other styles like our Strathewen table with its striking leg design lends itself a to larger table size to comfortably seat 6-8 people if we factor in the 600mm per seat guide.

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.
Most of our tables can be made with an extension at either one end or both.
One extension piece adds an extra 350mm to the end of a table, two add 700mm to the overall length.

This allows you to take a 6 seater to a 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.