Dining Table Size for 6 People

Two on each side and one at each end

The comfortable layout for six puts 2 people on each long side and one at each end. Give each person 30 in of table edge for real elbow room, and at that spacing a 60 × 40 in table seats exactly six. Go down to the 48 × 40 in size and six still fit, but only at 24 in apiece, the tightest spacing that still works. Go up to a 72 × 40 in table and the same six spread out, with room for two more when you need it.

A round table for six

Round tables seat six with no one stuck at a corner. A 60 in round table seats 6 to 8: six sit comfortably and eight can squeeze in. A 48 in round table also holds six, though the table above marks it Tight. Floor space is the catch. A round table needs clearance all the way around, so a 60 in round table wants a room about 11 ft by 11 ft, more than the 9 ft 4 in by 11 ft a 60 × 40 in rectangle needs.

Checking your dining room

Measure the room wall to wall, or to the sideboard or cabinet that stays, and take 6 ft off each dimension: what’s left is the biggest table that leaves 36 in for chairs to pull out. If people will walk behind the seated diners on the way to the kitchen, leave 44 in on that side instead. If the table sits against a window and no one passes behind, 32 in works, which fits the 60 × 40 in table into a room about 8 ft 8 in by 10 ft 4 in.

What to plan next

With the table chosen, the rest of the dining room follows from its size. The chandelier size calculator sizes a fixture for a 60 × 40 in table and gives the hanging height above it. The rug size calculator has a dining table mode that leaves room for six chairs to pull out without tipping off the rug.