Dining furniture

Choosing dining furniture

A "six-seat" dining table is a claim rather than a measurement, and it is worth learning to read past it. Six adults need roughly 60 cm of table edge each to eat without knocking elbows, so a table that seats six in a styled photograph will often seat four comfortably once serving dishes are on it. Every table in this category publishes its top dimensions so you can do that arithmetic yourself.

The base matters as much as the top. A table with legs at the four corners seats fewer people than a pedestal or trestle of identical size, because a corner leg blocks a chair. Listings name the base type and give the clear span between legs, which is also the figure to check if you are pairing the table with chairs that have arms.

Solid timber tops move very slightly with the seasons — expanding in the monsoon, contracting in a dry winter. This is normal behaviour in a natural material rather than a fault, and it is one reason a listing distinguishes between a solid top and a veneered one. Both are legitimate; the difference should simply be stated.

Where chairs are priced individually rather than only as a set, you can add to the set later without needing to match something that has been discontinued.