How to Choose a Dining Table: 5 Decisions

How to Choose a Dining Table: Size, Shape, Material

By Alexandra PetterssonReviewed by Alexander TjernströmUpdated 1 November 2026

Short answer

Per person: about 24 in
Clearance: 35.5 in around
Height: 30 in

Choose in this order: how many sit there most weeks, 35.5 in clear around the table, round or long, oak or stone, then chairs that fit under. Ours are 30 in high, 63, 94.5 or 110 in long, or round ø110 or ø55 in.

A dining table is the piece you keep longest, and the one most often bought too big or too small. The mistake is starting with the look. Start with the people and the room, and the look narrows itself. Here are the five decisions in the order that saves money, with the numbers for our four tables.

1. How many people, most weeks?

Size for the usual week, not for Christmas. Allow about 24 in of table edge per person.

Ann and Melker take one more chair at each end. We do not make an extending table. Buy the length you use, and borrow chairs for the big days.

1. How many people, most weeks?
Table	Seats
Round ø43.5 in	4
Round ø55 in	6
63 in	4
94.5 in	6
110 in	8

2. Will it fit the room?

Leave about 35.5 in between the table edge and a wall or a sideboard, so someone can pull a chair out and someone else can walk behind. 29.5 in is the tight minimum.

So a 160 by 35.5 in table needs a space of roughly 340 by 106.3 in. Tape the outline on the floor before you order.

3. Rectangular, oval or square: which shape for which room?

Rectangular for a long room, an open plan and more than six people. Round for a square room, a small one, or where everyone should talk to everyone. Oval and square sit in between, and we make neither.

Luna ø43.5 in seats four, ø55 in six. Past six, a rectangle seats more on the same floor, and Ann and Melker take one more chair at each end. A square table puts four people close together; a round Luna does the same in a square room, with no corners to walk into.

3. Rectangular, oval or square: which shape for which room?
Shape	Suits	From us
Rectangular	Long rooms, open plans, six or more	Ann, Melker, Diana: 63, 94.5, 110 in
Round	Square or small rooms, four to six	Luna: ø110 or ø55 in
Oval	Long rooms where you want no corners	We do not make one
Square	Square rooms, four people	We do not make one

4. Oak or stone, legs or frame?

Solid oak is warm and can be refinished, but wants a mat under red wine. Ann is oak top and legs. Melker and Diana put an oak top on a welded steel frame, which looks lighter in a small room.

Sintered stone on Diana takes heat and stains better than any wood, and does not need sealing. It is not marble.

5. Do the chairs fit?

Our tables are 30 in high with 28.7 in under the top. A dining chair seat of 18.1 to 19.7 in leaves room for knees. Check armrests: they must clear 28.7 in to push in.

Check the legs too. On Ann the legs sit 4.9 in in from the short ends and 6.9 in in from the long sides, so chairs slide in between.

People, room, shape, top, chairs

Round: ø110 or ø55 in
Long: 63, 94.5, 110 in
Under the top: 28.7 in

Size for the usual week, keep 35.5 in clear, pick round for small rooms and long for six or more, oak for warmth or stone for wear, and check chairs against 28.7 in. Made in Sweden, 10-year warranty.