What size dining table for 4 people?
90 × 90 cm 35 × 35 in · or round, 90 cm across
For 4 people, the smallest stock dining table is 90 × 90 cm (35 × 35 in) square, or round and 90 cm across. Either one needs a room at least 2.72 × 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in × 8 ft 11 in) to leave 91 cm (36 in) behind every chair.
A small square table seats one person a side, and it is the easiest table to fit in a kitchen or the corner of a living room. It is also the tightest: plates and glasses fit, serving dishes do not.
If the table is where you also work or the family eats every day, go one size up. The next stock rectangle gives each person a wider place and room for a dish in the middle; the table below shows what it asks of the room.
Worked out for 4 people at a rectangular table in a UK stock size, with 91 cm (36 in) from the table's edge to each wall, enough for someone to edge past a seated diner. Change the numbers
The working
- 4 people.
- Seats = 60 cm per diner on the long sides, plus one at each end when the table is at least 90 cm wide.
- Least room = table + 2 × 91 cm each way.
The rules, and their sources
Table edge per diner
A rule designers use: give each diner at least 60 cm of table edge (24 in). The NKBA asks for a 610 mm (24 in) wide place at a 30 in table.
A rule designers use Sources: IKEA Switzerland, How much space per person at a dining table (checked 31 October 2026); NKBA, Kitchen Planning Guidelines, Guideline 9 (checked 31 October 2026); furniture.co.uk (Amy, 14 Mar 2026), Dining table size guide (checked 31 October 2026).
A diner at each end
Our rule: a table at least 90 cm wide seats one diner at each end, and the end diners take about 10 cm of each corner from the long sides. IKEA says 40 cm of edge is enough at an end.
A rule designers use Source: IKEA Switzerland, How much space per person at a dining table (checked 31 October 2026).
Space behind the chairs
The NKBA's guidelines: 813 mm (32 in) from the table edge to the wall when nobody passes behind a seated diner, 914 mm (36 in) for someone to edge past, 1118 mm (44 in) to walk past. 75 cm is the least for a chair to pull out.
An industry guideline Sources: NKBA, Kitchen Planning Guidelines, Guideline 8: traffic clearance at seating (checked 31 October 2026); furniture.co.uk (Amy, 29 May 2026), Round dining table sizes (checked 31 October 2026); IKEA Indonesia, Ideal dining table height (checked 31 October 2026).
UK stock dining table sizes
UK shops sell rectangular tables from 120 × 80 cm (four) to 260 × 100 cm (ten), round tables 90–180 cm across and ovals from 150 × 90 to 220 × 100 cm.
Shop sizes Sources: furniture.co.uk (Amy, 14 Mar 2026), Dining table size guide (checked 31 October 2026); furniture.co.uk (Amy, 29 May 2026), Round dining table sizes (checked 31 October 2026); Castlery UK, Round dining tables (checked 31 October 2026).
Other numbers of people
The smallest stock rectangular table that seats each number in comfort, and the least room that leaves 91 cm (36 in) behind every chair.
| To seat | Table | Least room |
|---|---|---|
| 4 people this page | 90 × 90 cm35 × 35 in | 2.72 × 2.72 m8 ft 11 in × 8 ft 11 in |
| 6 people | 150 × 90 cm59 × 35 in | 3.32 × 2.72 m10 ft 11 in × 8 ft 11 in |
| 8 people | 200 × 100 cm79 × 39 in | 3.82 × 2.82 m12 ft 6 in × 9 ft 3 in |
| 10 people | 260 × 100 cm102 × 39 in | 4.42 × 2.82 m14 ft 6 in × 9 ft 3 in |
Change the numbers
Your sizes will differ. The dining table size calculator opens with these numbers filled in: change any of them and the answer, the working and the drawing follow.
Editorial notes
Worked out by the Snuug team on 12 November 2026 with the same code as the dining table size calculator, so the two cannot disagree. Every rule cites its source, with the date we last checked it. A rule designers use is a convention, not a study.