A table that is 20 cm too long turns a dining room into a corridor. A table that is 20 cm too short seats six people who are all touching elbows. Neither problem is visible in a photograph, and both are permanent once the piece is built. So before choosing wood, edge or finish, choose numbers.
You are not buying a table. You are buying the space that remains around it.
Start With the Room, Not the Table
The single measurement that decides everything is clearance — the gap between the table edge and the nearest wall, cabinet or radiator. Allow 90–100 cm. That is enough for a chair to be pulled out and for someone to walk behind it while a person is seated.
Below 75 cm, guests have to stand up so others can pass. Measure the room, subtract twice the clearance, and what remains is your maximum table length. Everything else follows from that number.
How Many People Actually Fit
Plan roughly 60–70 cm of table edge per person. Sixty is comfortable; seventy is generous and correct for a dining table meant to be lingered at.
| Seats | Length | Width | Room needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 120–140 cm | 80–90 cm | 320 × 280 cm |
| 6 | 180–200 cm | 90–100 cm | 380 × 290 cm |
| 8 | 220–240 cm | 100–110 cm | 420 × 300 cm |
| 10 | 260–300 cm | 100–110 cm | 480 × 300 cm |
Two seats can be added at the ends of any table from 90 cm wide upward — useful at Christmas, unnecessary the rest of the year. Plan for the everyday number, not the annual one.
Width Decides the Conversation
Under 80 cm, two people opposite each other cannot both have a plate and a glass without negotiating. At 90–100 cm the table works for dining and for everything else a dining table is actually used for. Above 110 cm, passing anything across it becomes a reach — and on a river table, the widest point is where the resin channel runs, so the surface reads best when the eye can take it in whole.
Height, Base and the Live Edge
Standard dining height is 75 cm, which suits chairs with a 45 cm seat. A 4 cm solid slab sits within that comfortably, but two details matter more than the number:
- The base position. Steel legs set 20–30 cm in from each end let chairs slide under freely. Legs at the very corners block the two best seats.
- The apron. Our bases carry no apron, so there is nothing between thigh and tabletop — the reason a slab table seats people more comfortably than a framed one.
- The live edge. An irregular natural edge varies by a few centimetres along its length. Plan clearance from its widest point, not its average.
Coffee Tables Follow Different Rules
A coffee table is measured against the sofa, not the room. Aim for 40–45 cm between sofa and table edge — close enough to reach a cup, wide enough to walk through. Length should be about two thirds of the sofa, and height within 5 cm of the seat cushion.
Pieces like Pure River and Phantom Marble are built to those proportions, and the full range sits in Coffee Tables.
When Standard Sizes Do Not Fit
Rooms are rarely standard. A chimney breast, a sliding door, a corner window — any of them can make a 200 cm table wrong and a 187 cm table right. Because every piece is made to order, the dimensions can follow the room instead of the catalogue: a bespoke tabletop is built to the measurements you give us, and Silent River or any design in Dining Tables can be made at a size that is not listed.
Once the numbers are settled, the room itself is the next decision — covered in Designing Around a Statement Table.
Quick Answers
What size dining table seats six?
180–200 cm long by 90–100 cm wide. Allow a room of at least 380 × 290 cm so chairs can be pulled out on every side.
How much space does one person need at a table?
60 cm minimum, 70 cm for comfort — measured along the table edge, with about 35 cm of depth per setting.
How much clearance should there be around a dining table?
90–100 cm to the nearest wall or furniture. Below 75 cm the room stops working, regardless of how good the table is.
Can a table be made to an exact size?
Yes. Every piece is handcrafted to order, so length, width and height are set for your room. Production takes 25–30 days.