Top Tips on Buying a Round Dining Table

The dining room table is more than just a place to eat as it has become the social centre of the household. From helping people create new products to hosting game night to being the place where important issues are discussed, the dining table may be the most versatile piece of furniture in your home. It comes in a square, rectangular or round shaped table.

Making the most of your dining table starts by choosing its size and shape that best fits the dining area of your home. For many, the traditional rectangular design is almost an automatic choice mostly because so many people grew up in households with that particular shape of a dining room table and it seemingly fits into a square or rectangular room.

However, there is another shape that you might want to consider when purchasing a new dining table for your residence, how about a round dining table. They offers many advantages that just may be right for your particular needs. Here are just some of the advantages that a round table may bring to your home.

A round dining table is the most versatile of all the shapes as it works in any size or shape of dining room. The circular shape helps to create a sense of intimacy, encouraging the whole table to chat. This particular shape also makes clever use of the space available, and with no corners, it can seat the maximum number of guests possible. Look for a round table with a pedestal base – these offer the most leg room, so your guests won’t need to contend with awkwardly placed table legs. A round dining table is best if you prefer informal dining. It immediately feels more casual than a rectangular dining table because there is no head of the table and will easily accommodate an uneven number of guests (but limit your table setting to 6 to 8 people at the most to maintain that feeling of intimacy). A round table in a hallway can serve as an occasional table or an extra dining table for versatile dining.

Here are the Top Tips to get a Round Dining Table.

Better Space

Because there are no corners to a round table, it creates more space so people can walk around and get to their seat. A round table is very well suited to a formal style dining rooms as well as a more open floor plan where the dining area is off to the side in a larger room.

The enhanced flow is very important as you and those who will sit at your table not only need the space for placing their meals, homework, games, or materials, but the space around the table to comfortably move and find the location where they want to sit. All too often, people purchase rectangular dining room tables for rectangular rooms and find out that there is not enough space for people to comfortably find a place to sit.

A round dining table avoids such issues by providing a better use of space in a smaller area so that there is less bumping or crowding when trying to sit down. In addition, there are no share corners to get caught when trying to get to the other side. 

Personal Interaction

One big problem with a rectangular table is that a conversation on one end may leave out those on the other. It can be rather uncomfortable to try and get into a conversation when sitting on the same side of someone down the row. You have a hard time seeing them and catching their attention is pretty difficult without being awkward. However, a round table means that everyone faces the centre so that you are never left out of a conversation. Catching someone’s attention is much easier and it’s far better for everyone at the table to participate. There is also a feeling of openness which actually encourages you to converse with others and makes for a far more pleasant experience. Of course, you are also less likely during mealtime to miss out on your favourite dish as you can simply reach out to receive it. Plus, it is far less likely that one person will be passing platters of food up and down the table instead of eating and enjoying their breakfast or dinner. With a round table, everyone is involved which means less passing and more eating and conversing. 

Perfect for Tight Spaces

Round tables have smaller footprints than rectangular tables of the same size because there are no corners that actually waste space. This means that it is easier to fit a suitable round table into a smaller space compared to a standard rectangular table. In addition, because everyone is at a slight angle to those next to them, there is less of a crowded feeling that you get when sitting shoulder to shoulder with those at a rectangular table.  

Is a Round Table is Right for You?

There are a number of ways to know if a round table will be better suited to the space that you have available.

Get some measuring tape to figure out the exact space that you have available. In addition to getting the measurements, be sure to include potential obstacles such as doors, windows, cupboards, cabinets, other furnishings, and the like so that you know what you have to work with. From there, this will give you a good start on finding the right table size and shape.

Don’t Forget the Space behind the Chairs: All too often, people forget that extra space behind the chairs is needed to pull out. Generally speaking, you’ll need to leave a minimum of two feet between the edge of the table and the wall, preferably more so that chairs can be slid in and out comfortably. Once you have completed all of your measurements, you will know the exact space you have to work with for your new table. The next question is whether a round table will work better for the space that you have available.

In most cases the answer is yes because a round table offers the same usable table space with less of a footprint compared to rectangular tables of equal size. Take away the annoying corners and the fact that people are not sitting shoulder to shoulder and you have in a round table a better fit for the available space.

So, when in doubt it is generally better to choose a round dining table thanks to the advantages it offers.

Source: Huset