How To Choose The Right Size Dining Table For Your Home

Choose the perfect dining table for your space by following our top tips for measuring a table, picking the right shape and ensuring there’s enough room for everyone!

Key Takeaways:

• Measure your dining room first, and allow clearance space to determine the maximum table size you can choose.
• Consider how many people will be using the table regularly, as 6-8 people need a much larger table than 1-2 people.
• If you’re short on space, consider round or oval tables that don’t have bulky corners.

Your dining table is the star of your dining room, so it’s important to pick the right one for your home. As well as choosing a style that works with your room, whether that’s rustic country charm or modern minimalism, it’ll need to be the right size.

If it’s too small, you’ll likely feel cramped and overcrowded when you’re sitting down together for a meal. However, you could also go too big, which can give your table an isolating, overly formal feel that isn’t quite right for family dinners and parties.

Figuring out which size will fit comfortably in your space and which shape works best for your needs can be tricky. Don’t worry, as our guide will take you through everything you need to know, including how to measure how much space you have for a dining table and the best sizes for different households.

How To Measure For A Dining Table

Step 1 - Measure Your Dining Room

Your first step should be working out how much space you have to work with in total. If you have a square or rectangular room, that’s a simple task of checking the longest wall’s length and the shortest wall’s width.

However, if your room is a little more complicated, you might want to create a sketch of it, either on paper or using room-planning software. Make sure you scale everything down consistently!

Step 2 - Leave Enough Space For Chairs and Other Decor Pieces

Wherever you decide to position your dining table, we recommend leaving around 75-90 cm of space between the table and the wall, other furniture and lighting. This lets you move around and pull out chairs comfortably.

To work this out, take the length of your room and minus twice your clearance space - use 90cm to be safe if there won’t be storage around. Then do the same for your room’s width. You should end up with two numbers: the maximum length and width for your new table.

If your table will be next to a sideboard or similar storage with opening doors and drawers, use a slightly larger clearance space for easy access, such as 90cm-120cm.

Step 3 - Consider The Table’s Shape

While measuring for a square or rectangular dining table is fairly simple, round and oval tables can be a little trickier. Remember, you’ll need enough space for an oval table’s maximum length, which is measured directly down the centre.

Round tables can actually work well in limited space. Compared to a square table of the same size, they don’t have the angular edges, meaning they can fit in tighter rooms.

Step 4 - Create a Floorplan

A foolproof way to measure up your dining room for a new dining table is to create a sketch of it, on paper or using room-planning software. As long as you scale everything down consistently, you should be able to add in your table and test different layouts.

For a more hands-on approach, use masking tape to create an outline of your ideal table’s actual size on the floor of your dining room. Similarly, you could cut out a piece of cardboard to the size the table would be, and use it to test placements.

Choosing The Right Dining Table Shape

Rectangular Tables

If you love classic, timeless dining room looks, a rectangular table might be the best choice for you. They’re ideal for traditional and rustic interiors, but you can find them in modern styles too.

You can personalise your seating arrangement to suit your household, whether that’s just having chairs on the long sides of the table or adding the ‘head of the table’ positions as well. This can create a more formal feel, but it can also add some presence to your home.

However, you should always make sure you leave enough clearance space when you have a rectangular table. Otherwise, you run the risk of people bumping against the angular edges of the table, turning them into hazards.

Square Tables

Smaller square tables are a highly popular choice for compact dining rooms, giving them a chic bistro feel and usually seating between 1-4 people comfortably, with a chair on each side.

If you’re seating more people, while you could go for a larger square table, it’s not always the most space-effective solution. Since square tables have the same length and width, the surface gets much larger as you move up sizes, which means you quickly lose the casual intimacy of a smaller square table.

Generally, we recommend staying at 150cm or below if you’re looking for a large square table. Otherwise, it can make conversation and socialisation difficult across the huge tabletop!

Circular Tables

Round dining tables are amazing space-savers that work well in smaller dining rooms as they don’t have the bulky corners that rectangular and square tables have. They’re more casual than rectangular tables, and a little more intimate than square tables.

They also don’t have a ‘head of the table’ position like rectangular tables, so everyone sitting together is in an equal position. This can make chatting over food a little more comfortable, especially when paired with comfy dining chairs.

Oval Tables

If your dining room is long but narrow, an oval table might be exactly what you need to capitalise on that length. They provide a little more clearance space around the table than a rectangular table of the same size, and their distinctive look makes them ideal as the focal point of your dining room.

They’re a little more formal than circular tables while having similar space-saving qualities, making them a great compromise between round and rectangular tables.

Recommended Dining Table Sizes (Length x Width)

1-2 People

Rectangular: 110cm x 70cm

Square: 90cm x 90cm

Round: 100cm x 100cm

Oval: 80cm x 75cm

3-4 People

Rectangular: 120cm x 80cm

Square: 100cm x 100cm

Round: 120cm x 120cm

Oval: 120cm x 80cm

5-6 People

Rectangular: 160cm x 90cm

Square: 120cm x 120cm

Round: 140cm x 140cm

Oval: 150cm x 90cm

7-8 People

Rectangular: 180cm x 100cm

Square: 150cm x 150cm

Round: 160cm x 160cm

Oval: 200cm x 100cm

Check out the diagram below to help you visualise different seating arrangements:

Planning For Extra Guests

Never sure whether you’re making dinner for four or eight? An extendable dining table could be a smart idea, as you can make it larger when you’ve got extra company and then put it back when there’s fewer people sitting at the table.

Of course, you’ll still need to make sure you have enough room for the table when it’s fully extended. You might also need to find somewhere close by to store extra dining chairs!

Find Your Perfect Dining Room Table

Now that you know how to measure your dining room and figure out the size of dining table you need, it’s time to find the right one for your home. 

Browse our wide range of dining tables, dining chairs and full dining sets to see what matches your style!

Not got a lot of space to work with? Check out some of our inspirational small dining room ideas or our guide to mirrors that can make your dining room feel more spacious.