Wooden Dining Table Buying Guide: Size, Shape and Seating

A dining table is used more than almost any other piece of furniture — for meals, homework, work-from-home days and festival gatherings. Choosing the right size and shape makes a bigger difference than any other decision. Here’s how to get it right.

Step 1: Measure the room, not just the table

The table needs space around it for chairs to pull out and for people to walk behind them. As a general guide:

• Allow about 75–90 cm between the table edge and a wall or other furniture, so chairs can be pulled out comfortably.
• Where people need to walk behind seated diners, allow closer to 90–110 cm.
• Give each diner about 60 cm of table edge; 70 cm feels generous.

Step 2: Pick the number of seats

Typical sizes (your table can be made to your exact dimensions):

Seats	Rectangular (approx.)	Square / round (approx.)
4	120–135 × 75–90 cm	90–105 cm square or round
6	150–180 × 90 cm	120–135 cm round
8	200–240 × 95–105 cm	150 cm+ round

Step 3: Choose a shape

Rectangular

The most versatile and space-efficient in long rooms. Seats the most people and suits formal and everyday dining. See the long, glass-topped Regent or the warm solid-teak Arlo.

Square

Great for four people in a compact, square room; everyone is equally close. The block-legged Cubo is a good example.

Round and soft-cornered

Friendly for conversation and easier to walk around in tight spaces, with no sharp corners for children.

Step 4: Chairs, benches — or both?

A bench on one side seats more people (especially children) in less space and tucks fully under the table. Chairs are more comfortable for long meals and for elderly family members. A mix — chairs on one side, a bench on the other, as in the Haven Dining Set — gives you both.

Upholstered seats are softer for long dinners; all-wood chairs are easier to keep clean. Check the chair seat height (usually about 45 cm) against the table height (about 75–76 cm) for comfortable knee room.

Step 5: Pick the top

Solid teak, glass over teak, or marble each look and live differently. We’ve written a full comparison: Glass, Marble or Solid Wood: Choosing a Dining Table Top.

Step 6: Legs and base

• Corner legs give the most stable, traditional look but can limit how many chairs fit at the ends.
• Turned or cabriole legs add a classic, decorative feel.
• Block or straight legs look modern and clean.

Sit at the table and check that the apron (the frame under the top) doesn’t hit your knees.

Bengaluru apartment tips

• In open-plan living–dining rooms, align the table with the sofa so the two zones feel connected.
• Measure the lift before ordering a long table — tops can be delivered separately and fixed in your home.
• If space is tight, consider a set whose chairs tuck fully under the table, like the Orbit or the Nido Nesting Set.

Explore all 38 designs in our teak dining collection, or share your room size on WhatsApp and we’ll suggest a size that fits.