For most New Zealand households, a 120cm round dining table is the size to start from. It seats four people in comfort, five at a squeeze, and fits a dining space of about 3m by 3m with room to pull chairs out. Go down to 90 or 100cm for two people or a kitchen corner, and up to 130 or 150cm if you regularly feed six.

That is the short answer. The longer one depends on how many people sit down on an ordinary weeknight, how much floor you really have, and whether you want a top that copes with hot dishes. This guide compares the choices that matter for a round table: small or large, fixed or extendable, timber or ceramic, and where the legs sit. All sizes below are taken from the round tables we sell today. If you would rather compare them side by side now, browse our round and extendable dining tables.

Round dining table sizes compared: 90cm to 150cm

A round table has no head and no corners, so every seat shares the same edge. That is why the diameter does all the work. The table below is a practical guide rather than a rule; slim chairs fit more people around a table, and chairs with arms fit fewer. The room size assumes the 90cm of clear floor around the table recommended in our dining table and chair sizing guide, which is enough to pull a chair out and sit down.

To check a size at home, cut a circle of cardboard or fold an old sheet to the diameter you are considering, lay it on the floor, then put the chairs you own around it. Walk past it with a plate in each hand. If you have to turn sideways, step down one size. Heights in our range sit between 74.8cm and 76.4cm, which suits standard dining chairs; the sizing guide linked above covers seat height and chair spacing in detail.

Small round vs large round: 90 to 110cm or 120 to 150cm?

The jump from 110cm to 120cm looks small on paper, but it changes how a table is used. Below it, a round table is a compact everyday table. Above it, it becomes the table you host at.

Small round tables, 90 to 110cm

The Prunus in solid cherry comes in 90 or 110cm and is made with apartments and cosy dining nooks in mind. The Garwood in solid ash starts at 90cm and comes in an ash or walnut colour.

• Pros: fits a kitchen corner, a bay window or the end of an open plan living room; easy to walk around; no corners at hip height for children to run into.
• Cons: serving dishes crowd the middle quickly; a fourth chair at 90cm feels tight for a full meal.

Large round tables, 120 to 150cm

The Oslo in solid oak comes in 110, 120 and 130cm. The Nest in solid black walnut is 130cm across, and the Garwood goes up to 130cm as well. For 150cm, the Seattle round extendable is the option.

• Pros: everyone can see and talk to everyone else; room for shared platters in the centre; reads as a feature in a square dining room.
• Cons: needs a squarer space than a rectangular table of the same seating; at 150cm, passing a dish across the table means standing up.

A useful test: count the people who eat at the table on a normal Tuesday, not at Christmas. Size the table for that number, then choose a design that stretches for the occasions when more turn up.

Fixed round vs round extendable

A fixed round table is simpler and cleaner looking. An extendable round table trades a little simplicity for flexibility, which matters most in a room that has to do more than one job.

The Seattle round extendable comes in solid ash or solid black walnut, in two sizes. The 130cm table is listed at 130cm wide with a depth that runs from 85cm to 130cm, and the 150cm table runs from 90cm to 150cm deep. In practice the top changes shape between oval, semi oval and round, so it can sit narrower day to day and open out when guests arrive.

• Choose fixed if the table stays the same size all year, if you want the lightest look, or if you want the fewest moving parts.
• Choose extendable if your household goes from two or three on weeknights to six at the weekend, or if the dining space doubles as a walkway most of the time.

If you are weighing up extendable tables more broadly, including rectangular designs, compare the full range on our dining tables page, where the round and rectangular extending tables sit together.

Solid timber top vs ceramic top

Most of our round tables have solid timber tops: oak on the Oslo, ash on the Garwood and Seattle, cherry on the Prunus and black walnut on the Nest and the walnut Seattle. Two designs pair a timber base with a ceramic top instead. The Oslo round with ceramic top is 130cm across. The Nest with ceramic marble top comes in 110 or 130cm, in white or black.

Solid timber tops

• Pros: warm to the touch, natural grain that is different on every table, and light surface marks can often be refreshed rather than lived with.
• Cons: hot dishes need a trivet, spills should be wiped up quickly, and timber responds to dry winter heating, so it needs basic care.

Ceramic tops

• Pros: the Oslo ceramic top is described as resistant to stains and scratches, and the Nest ceramic marble top as scratch and heat resistant, so hot pots and pans can go straight on it.
• Cons: harder and cooler to the touch than timber, louder when plates are put down, and a chip is much harder to repair than a mark on timber.

On a round table there is one more thing to weigh: a ceramic top makes the whole table feel more solid and settled, which suits a 130cm table that anchors the room, while a timber top keeps a small 90 or 110cm table looking lighter. For the difference between ceramic, marble and ceramic marble, and how to look after each, see our guide to ceramic and marble top dining tables.

Legs at the edge vs legs drawn in

On a round table, the base decides where the chairs can go. This is the detail most often missed when buying online.

A table with four legs set near the edge is very stable, but the legs fix the seating positions. Four chairs fit neatly between them; a fifth or sixth chair has to straddle a leg. A table with a central base, or legs drawn in towards the middle, frees up more of the edge, so you can add a chair almost anywhere. In our range, the Garwood pairs thickened conical legs with a solid iron base and a low centre of gravity to resist tipping, the Nest uses tapered legs designed to leave ample legroom, and the Oslo with ceramic top uses cinched, waisted legs so diners can sit without the legs getting in the way.

• Choose a design with legs at the edge if the table will mostly seat four and stability is the priority.
• Choose legs drawn in towards the centre if you often add a fifth or sixth chair, or use stools or a bench seat around part of the table.

Look closely at the product photos from the side and from above before ordering, and picture your own chairs around the base, not just around the top.

Which round dining table suits your home?

Use these pairings as a starting point:

• A couple or a kitchen corner: a 90cm Prunus or Garwood.
• Three or four people every day in a small dining area: 100 or 110cm, from the Garwood, Prunus or Oslo.
• A family of four who host now and then: 120cm in the Oslo or Garwood, or the 130cm Seattle extendable if guests are a weekly thing.
• Five or six around the table most nights: 130cm, in oak, ash or walnut.
• Regular dinners for six or more: the 150cm Seattle round extendable.
• Hot dishes straight from the oven: the Nest with ceramic marble top.

Once the table is settled, the chairs are the next decision. Our wooden dining chairs are worth comparing alongside the table so the seat height and width suit the diameter you have chosen.

Round dining table questions

How many people does a round dining table seat?

As a guide, a 90cm round table seats two, 110cm seats four, 120cm seats four with room for a fifth, 130cm seats five or six and 150cm seats six. Slim armless chairs let you fit one more; chairs with arms fit one fewer.

What size round dining table do I need for six people?

Look at 130cm as the minimum and 150cm for comfort. If six is an occasional number rather than an everyday one, a 130cm round extendable gives you a smaller table most of the week.

Is a round dining table good for a small space?

Often, yes. A round table has no corners to walk around, so it is easier to move past in a tight room, and a 90 to 110cm table fits spaces where a rectangular table for the same number of people would block the path.

How much space do I need around a round dining table?

Allow at least 90cm of clear floor on every side so chairs can be pulled out and people can walk behind them. For a 120cm table, that means a space of about 3m by 3m.

Not sure which size will work in your room? Measure the space, note where doors and walkways are, and compare our round dining tables with those measurements in hand. Our team is happy to help you narrow it down.