Dining Table Dimensions: How Many cm for 6, 8 and 10 People?

Short answer: each person needs 60 cm of table edge. On that basis, a 4-seater table is 120 × 80 cm, a 6-seater 160-180 × 90 cm, an 8-seater 200-220 × 90-100 cm and a 10-seater 240-260 × 100 cm. For round tables the size is given as a diameter: 130-140 cm for six, 150-160 cm for eight. The table height is the same at every size: 75-78 cm. What really decides things, though, is the space you must leave around the table.

How many cm of table edge does each person need?

• 60 cm of width: for the plate, glass and elbows.
• 40 cm of depth: the area in front of each person; two people facing each other makes 80 cm.
• 20-30 cm of central strip: for the serving dish and jug. This is why the table depth should be at least 90 cm; at 80 cm, putting a serving dish in the middle pushes the plates to the edge.

Leg position matters too: if the leg is at the corner, the legs of whoever sits at the head meet it. On tables with a single central pedestal, a chair can be pulled up anywhere.

How many cm for how many people? The dimension table

The table is for comfortable seating; at a crowded table for a short while, two more can squeeze in at every size.

↔ Scroll the table sideways to see all of it.

The round figures come from the circumference: diameter × 3.14 ÷ 60 = people. Do not go above 160 cm in diameter — the reason is not capacity but reach: at 180 cm you cannot reach the serving dish in the middle from your seat.

For all the dimensions of a 6-seater table by shape: 6-seater table dimensions.

Table height and chair seat height

↔ Scroll the table sideways to see all of it.

The most overlooked line is the last one. If the top of the arm is higher than the clearance under the table top, the chair will not tuck in. If you are buying chairs separately, compare these two measurements; buying a set means the fit has already been worked out (how to choose a dining room set).

How much space must be left around the table? How many m² should the room be?

What takes up space is not the table but the ring of seating around it.

• 75 cm: the minimum for a chair to pull back and the person to stand up.
• 100-110 cm: if someone will pass behind a seated person carrying a plate.
• 45-50 cm: enough if nobody will sit on that side.

The formula: space needed = (table length + 150) × (table depth + 150).

↔ Scroll the table sideways to see all of it.

These values are what the dining area alone needs, not the whole room; where the space is shared with a seating group, calculate the two areas separately (sofa set dimensions and living room layout). When measuring, do not imagine the table: mark its outline on the floor with masking tape, then draw a second line 75 cm outside it on every side. Inside that second line there should be no radiator and no swinging door leaf.

Round table or rectangular?

• A long, narrow room: rectangular; it sits along the room's long axis.
• A near-square room: round; it leaves the corners free and you walk round it at the same distance from every side.
• An area on a walking route: round or oval; with no corners there is nothing to bump into.
• A large family: rectangular. It seats the most people in the same floor area.
• Open plan joined to the living room: oval; it gives the capacity of a rectangle, and the rounded ends ease circulation.

To compare the shapes see the dining room collection, or for tables alone the table category.

Which measurement do you plan around on an extending table?

A table described as "8-seater" is often 6 closed and 8 open. An extending table has two dimensions, and you must plan the room around the open one; it grows into the room. The extension is 40-50 cm for a single central leaf and 80-100 cm for a double. If 75 cm of chair space is still left when it is open, an extending table is the right decision (how many an extending dining table seats). The Larin dining room set is a typical example: six chairs, a centre-opening top and a single-block pedestal.

How much room must be left for a console or display cabinet?

• Console depth 40-45 cm: take it off the room's short side.
• Console length 180-220 cm: if the wall is short, the piece will not fit.
• At least 90 cm in front of the console: so the doors can open and you can pass in front.

An example: in a 300 cm wide room, a 90 cm table plus a 45 cm console leaves 165 cm: 75 cm of chair space and 90 cm in front of the console. It fits with nothing to spare. If it is narrower, move the console to the short side (the difference between a console, a sideboard and a buffet, example: Luna sideboard).

Whether the console, display cabinet and buffet are included in the set varies from seller to seller; we explained how to read the piece count in how many pieces are in a dining room set.

The 5 most common measuring mistakes

• Measuring only the table. The table fits; pull a chair out and it does not.
• Skipping the open dimension. Plan around the closed size and the day you extend it one side will be pressed against the wall.
• Not comparing armchairs against the clearance under the top.
• Buying the rug too small. When a chair is pulled back its legs must still be on the rug: it should extend at least 60 cm beyond every side (how to choose a rug size).
• Not thinking about how the table will get into the home. A 240 cm one-piece top will not fit in the lift (will it fit through the door and the lift).