FurniturebyDesign.
FurniturebyDesign.

How to Choose a Dining Table

Leave 90cm clearance on all sides. Measure before you fall in love.

1. Allow 60 to 70cm of table perimeter per person seated.
2. Round tables suit square rooms. Rectangular tables suit rectangular rooms.
3. In New Zealand, quality veneer over an engineered core often outperforms solid timber long term.
4. Legs usually ship detached to protect the top in transit. Reattaching them takes about 20 minutes.
5. An extension table is only as good as its mechanism.
6. Standard NZ dining height is 75 to 76cm. Chairs should sit at 44 to 46cm.

People usually get this wrong in one of two ways: they measure the table but not the room, or they buy into a nice-sounding material story without asking how it will behave in a real house.

Here is what to know before you buy.

Q. What size dining table do I need for my room?

A. Leave at least 90cm clearance on all sides of the table. Measure your room, subtract 180cm total, and that gives you the maximum table length and width.

This is the most ignored rule in furniture buying. Not because people do not know it, but because they find a table they like first and then try to make the room forgive them.

The room usually does not.

A table that technically fits but leaves only 60cm behind the chairs means every meal involves someone doing a sideways shuffle to sit down. Do the maths first, then shop.

A fairly standard 3m x 4m dining room can usually handle a table around 180cm x 90cm comfortably. Not generously. Comfortably. If your room is smaller, round tables and pedestal bases become much more sensible.

Flow Dining Table & Nord Chairs
FurniturebyDesign.

Q. How many people should my dining table seat?

A. Allow 60 to 70cm of table perimeter per person. A 180cm rectangular table seats 6 comfortably. It can seat 8 if you use the ends and nobody expects restaurant-level elbow room.

“Seats 8” on a product listing is often optimistic. It usually means eight adults can technically be arranged around it, not that they will enjoy the experience.

Use the spacing rule instead.

If you host large family gatherings regularly, buy the bigger table. If you do it twice a year, an extension table is probably the saner answer.

Q. Round or rectangular? Which shape is right?

A. Round tables suit square rooms and smaller gatherings. Rectangular tables suit rectangular rooms and larger groups. Oval is the underrated middle ground.

Round tables are socially better for smaller groups. Everyone faces each other, nobody gets banished to the end, and the room feels softer.

Once you get beyond eight people, round becomes awkward. The diameter needed to seat ten puts people so far apart the conversation starts to feel like long-distance communication.

At that point, rectangular is not a compromise. It is just the shape that works.

Oval deserves more credit than it usually gets. You get better flow than a rectangle, but without the full space penalty of a large round table.

Arc Dining Table & Rho Dining Table

Rotterdam Extension Dining Table, material detail

Q. Should I buy a solid timber or veneer dining table top in New Zealand?

A. In New Zealand’s variable climate, a quality veneer over an engineered core is often the smarter long-term choice. Solid timber moves with humidity. Veneer done properly stays stable.

This is where a lot of overseas buying advice falls over. “Always buy solid timber” sounds authoritative, but much of that advice comes from markets with more stable indoor conditions than the average NZ home.

Solid timber is beautiful. It is also reactive. In homes that swing between damp winters, dry summers, open windows, underfloor heating, and changing humidity, solid tops can split, warp, or develop hairline cracks along the grain.

A well-made veneer top over a quality substrate avoids most of that. It stays flatter, behaves better, and still gives you the look of natural timber.

What matters is quality:

  • A thick natural veneer
  • A stable engineered core - not particle board
  • Proper finishing and edge detailing

What you do not want is thin, cheap veneer over poor-grade particle board. That is where the horror stories come from.

Pictured Link

Q. Why does my dining table arrive without the legs attached?

A. To protect the top in transit.

A fully assembled dining table shipped across the ocean is asking for trouble. Legs get knocked, tops get scratched, corners get damaged, and the weight of the top puts stress through the joints every time the crate is moved.

Shipping the top flat and protected, with the legs packed separately, is not a sign of cheap construction. It is usually the opposite. It is how you get the table here in one piece.

Reattaching the legs usually takes about 20 minutes and a spanner. If you would rather not do it yourself, any installer or handyman can manage it easily.

Woodenforge extension dining table with chairs

Q. Are extension dining tables worth it?

A. Yes, if you entertain regularly but do not want a large table dominating the room every day. The mechanism matters as much as the table itself.

The idea is excellent. A smaller table for daily life, more room when people come over.

The problem is that some extension mechanisms are brilliant and some are absolute nonsense.

If the table wobbles when extended, feels stiff to open, or misaligns when you close it, walk away. You will not become more tolerant of it later.

Always test the mechanism properly before buying. That part matters more than whatever marketing phrase is wrapped around it.

Pictured Link
Natural oak dining table with Nora upholstered dining chairs

Q. What is the standard dining table height in New Zealand?

A. Standard dining height in NZ is 75 to 76cm. Dining chairs should have a seat height of 44 to 46cm, leaving around 28 to 32cm between seat and tabletop.

That combination feels comfortable for most people.

If you are buying table and chairs separately, do not assume they will work together just because they look right in photos. Measure them.

Pictured Link
Kontur natural oak extension dining table with chairs

Final word

Most dining table mistakes come down to three things:

  • Buying for the photo instead of the room
  • Trusting vague material claims
  • Ignoring proportions until the table is already on its way

Measure first. Buy for your actual home. Be suspicious of anything that sounds impressive but tells you nothing useful.

If you want to start somewhere sensible, our dining collection is a good place to begin.

Explore

How to Choose a Dining Table That Actually Works for Your Space