How to Choose the Right Table Size for Your Room

5-Foot leg Table Seating 6 Persons

One of the things we love about building custom tables is our customers can choose a shape and size that is a perfect fit for their home.  We really want you to discover what sort of table will be just right for you.  You’ll find the following information very helpful because it’s based upon extensive research and our real-world experience here at Furniture From the Barn.

When thinking about what your table is going to look like, the main thing you’ll want to do is evaluate the space where your table is going to reside after it comes into your home.  The table should not only look good in that space, it should also provide ample seating and functionality to meet your family’s needs.

Measure to Get Enough Room Around Your Table…

We usually begin by discussing your table’s width.  Ideally, the width of your table should be at least 36 inches.  This will give you enough room for both place settings and food.  Depending on the size of your room, the width of the tabletop can correspondingly increase with its length if there is enough space to accommodate it.

6-Foot Leg Table Seating 6 Persons

When measuring the space in the room it’s important to allow for enough seating so that everyone at the table will be able to sit down comfortably.  One great trick we’ve found to measure this is to take a bed sheet and then fold and shape it to size of the table you’re thinking about getting.  You’ll want to move existing furniture out of the room before doing this and then get a table measure to determine how many inches there are from the walls (or other furniture in the room) to that bed sheet (which is serving as the imaginary edges for the table size you’re checking).  There should be at least 36 inches of clearance so that every person seated around the table will have enough room to be comfortable, plus allowing others to get around them when they’re seated.  In reality, 42 to 48 inches of clearance is better, but you should really have a minimum of 36 inches. 

Since we’re going to be crafting a custom table to fit your particular space then, as much as possible, you want to avoid overcrowding that space.  Many customers tell us that they want the table we make for them to be the “last table” they’ll every buy … perhaps even hand down to one of their children someday.  So we typically have this goal in mind.

7-Foot Leg Table Seating 8 Persons

Measure to Be Sure You’ve Got Enough Room for Your Place Settings…

Each person sitting around a table needs a minimum of 24 inches of table space in order to accommodate their place settings.  Most of the chairs we offer range from 19 inches to 20 inches wide. 

We do have a popular chair that is 22 inches wide, but if you use that chair then you’ll probably also want to calculate at least 26 inches of space for on the table for the corresponding place settings for that seat.

7-Foot Trestle Table Seating 8 Persons

Can You Get Customized Table Legs?

We usually make the legs on our tables to be removable.  The exception to this rule is when a customer wants legs built with mortise and tenon joints.  Making removable legs allows for safer transit of tables from our workshop to customers’ homes.  We never recommend shipping a table made with mortise and tenon legs for a long distances because there is a chance the legs may get snapped off at some point during transit if the movers fail to properly handle the table.

Table with Cabriole Legs

We also custom make tables for taller individuals.  For example, our standard tables are 30 inches high, but we can increase that to help make taller persons more comfortable when seated.

What About Bench Seating?

Yes, we often make custom benches to fit a particular table.  Not only do we tailor make the bench to fit so that it slides under one side of the table, but we can make bench legs either higher or lower, depending on the need.  We even make taller benches especially for children (kids really love bench seating).  After the children grow bigger many customers repurpose their bench for use in a mud room or other ways.

Really neat!

The point here is that it’s your table and seating … we try very hard to meet the needs and desires of every customer so long as things can be built and shipped safely.

Leg Table with Chairs and Bench

You can typically get more seating on a bench than with chairs in the same space.  One thing many families order from us is a table that has chairs on one side with a bench on the other side.  Benches can also be made to slide under tables and be nicely tucked away so there is more room around the table when the bench isn’t in use.

Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php

Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php