How To Choose The Right Table Size

You’ve found exactly what you’ve been looking for at Industrial Handcraft. You love our steel trestle legs, and you can already imagine everyone gathered around the table. Countless memories are going to be made while spending quality time with the family.

It’s perfect, but how do you know what size dining table is right for you? Don’t worry about it! We’ve got you covered. Finding the right table size doesn’t have to be complicated. You probably already have a good idea of the style you want. Let us help you decide on the perfect layout to make your dreams a reality.

We’ve created this guide to make choosing easy. You’ll have everything you need to pick the right size for your dining table, custom office desk, or bar. If you still need help finding the best design for your home, then you can always contact us. We’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Here are a few key points to decide on when designing your new beautiful Industrial Handcraft table.

⦁ How many people do you want to seat on any given occasion?
⦁ What shape and style of table would look great in your home?
⦁ Do you want a glass, natural wood, or stone tabletop?
⦁ What chair style and height do you plan on pairing with your new table?

Sizing A Table To Suit Your Dining Area

The layout of your dining room is going to play a big role in determining the ideal table size for you. We recommend that you maintain a distance of four feet (48 inches) away from any walls or existing furniture. That will allow plenty of room for guests to sit comfortably, and lots of walking space when leaving the table.

If you have a smaller dining area, then you should aim for no less than 3 feet (36 inches) of space between the table edge and surrounding walls. You’ll want to make sure that there’s a large enough area for your guests to pull a chair out.

Seating Arrangements For Different Table shapes

We’ll go over the three main shapes of table tops that you’ve got to choose from. Each of our products are catered to support different tabletop materials and lengths. You can always make sure your tabletop of choice is right for the leg set you’ll be ordering by checking product descriptions, or just send me a quick message with any questions.

All of our standard table legs are made for wood table tops. If you have a stone (granite, marble, quartz, concrete, etc...) table top then you will need more surface area support to prevent any stress and eventually cracking. Most of the table legs can be paired with what I call my sub-frame that bolts to the top of the bases. It is made from 1" square tubing and has ribs spaced every 8"-12" to give total support. You can find the sub-frame here.

If you have any special design requests, or you want to know more about the weight limitations of a specific design, then you can reach out to us.

Rectangle And Oval Tabletop Seating
Rectangle and oval tabletops allow for more efficient seating with larger groups. Narrow dining tables take up less room with little wasted space in the center. Long dining tables are best suited for combination dining and living room areas. You can accent a large room without obstructing high-traffic walkways.

Length
⦁ 4’ (48 inches) rectangle or oval dining table - 4 adults
⦁ 6’ (72 inches) rectangle or oval dining table - 6 adults
⦁ 8’ (96 inches) rectangle or oval dining table - 8 adults
⦁ 10’ (120 inches) rectangle or oval dining table - 10 adults

Width
⦁ 2.5' (30 inches) - No shared area in the middle
⦁ 3' (36 inches) - Small shared area for wine and/or candles
⦁ 3.5' (42") - Recommended width for food to be placed in center
⦁ 4.5' (54 inches) - Ideal table width for 10'-12' long tables to seat extra people at each end of the table and food/decorations in center
⦁ 5' (60 inches) - This would be to add 2 people to the end of the table

Square Dining Table Seating
Each guest sitting at a square shaped dining table will need at least two feet (24 inches) of shoulder space. That accounts for cutlery placement, and the shoulder width of an average adult. The depth of a guest’s space is also affected by the size of the serving dishes you use. Depth becomes less important with larger tabletops, but square shaped tops are rarely larger than six feet (72 inches) in width. This is the ideal shape for large decorative centerpieces, or for serving at the table. Here are the common seating arrangements of standard square dining tables.

⦁ 4’ (48 inches) square dining table - 4 adults
⦁ 5’ (60 inches) square dining table - 6 adults
⦁ 6’ (72 inches) square dining table - 8-10 adults

Circular Table Seating
Circle tabletops are often a great solution for smaller dining areas. They allow for each person to face each other directly and engage in conversation. It really adds a feeling of togetherness when having a meal. Common seating arrangements for circular tables are easy to determine based on standard table sizes.

⦁ 3' (36 inches) round dining table - 2-3 adults
⦁ 4’ (48 inches) round dining table - 4-6 adults
⦁ 5’ (60 inches) round dining table - 7-8 adults
⦁ 6’ (72 Inches) round dining table - 8-9 adults

Pedestal Table Bases
Best paired with a circular table top or to support an overhang counter top on one side. Your pedestal base should be mounted to the center of your tabletop. Our pedestal bases should be ordered according to the dimensions of your top. We recommend a roughly two-thirds ratio to the width of your base, and the width of your tabletop. For example, a 60” table top should be paired with a 40" pedestal base. Give or take a couple inches and you'll be fine.

How To Distance Legs On A Table

Our leg sets should be set in twelve to fifteen inches from the ends of the table top. They should also be centered to maintain comfortable leg room for anyone sitting at the ends of your table.

Rectangle tops that are eight feet or longer might require an upper cross bar with table supports found here. Additional legs may be needed depending on the weight and length of the tabletop you choose. Mid height cross bars are recommended for any size table to greatly increase table base stability. They can be found here. Let us know if you will be using stone tabletops, or very large dining tables. We’ll help you determine the appropriate spacing, and recommend any additional supports.

How To Choose The Right Chair Height For Your Table

The are lots of elegant chair styles you can pair with your new industrial dining table. All you need to know is that your seat height should be around twelve inches lower than the height of the leg set you’ve ordered. Other than that, you’ll have free range to furnish your beautiful dining room set anyway you want. Express your interior-designer skills with these easy to follow seat height to table top height arrangements with our three standardized sizes.

⦁ Dining table height (30 inches) - 18 inches seat height
⦁ Counter height (36 inches) - 24 inches seat height
⦁ Bar height table (42 inches) - 30 inches seat height

Do you need help finding a supplier or someone to make your table top?

A large portion of my customers are wood workers or table top makers. If you are having trouble finding what you want locally, let me know what you're looking for and where you live so I can recommend someone to help you out. I also have very talented local woodworkers that I can contact to build your table top and you can just place the order through me.

If you were interested in a glass table top, I will give you the manufacturer that I use myself. I've ordered numerous glass tops from www.GlassTopsDirect.com and haven't had a single problem. We don’t have any affiliation with this company, and we don’t benefit financially from any sales. It’s just a great place to find high-quality and affordable glass tabletops.