I’m still putting together the house we moved into a little over two years ago. We need a new dining room table and I am intrigued by round tables.
Pros: For a square room, it permits equal travel all around the room, between the walls and the table. Everyone at the table can easily see and converse with everyone else.
Cons: The number of seats is generally fixed. Most round tables come with an extension leaf that turns the table into an oval – not what I want. There are some round tables that have extension leaves that pop out from under the table and keep the expanded table round, but they are very expensive. Given that we sometimes have two people and sometimes 10 people for dinner, I’m not sure a round table is best for us.
Does anyone have a round table? How do you like it??
We have a round table in our breakfast room. It has three leaves so it can be turned into a sizable oval. It just fits better in the space as a round table for everyday use. A square would take up too much space.
My all-time favorite shape was a barrel–everyone was close and it was versatile. I currently have an ellipse. We refer to the people on either end as sitting in Siberia—they can’t reach anything and are left out of conversation. It is perfect for 4 or 6 though because it puts people across from each other at the perfect conversational distance (ellipse is narrower more places than a typical rectangle) and it’s easy to pass food.
For a round table I agree that everyone can see each other, but the distances involved for a table that seats 8-10 make for a less than cozy convo. Also, you will need a lazy susan for sure.
What about getting two rectangles and forming a square table with them? Then you can pull them apart for larger or smaller groups.
I’m interested to see the answers for this. I currently have a rectangular kitchen table and would like to get a new one. I’m thinking about an oval or round, just to change the look so I’m curious to see what people say. In truth, the table is fine, although I’m sick of it, but I really need new chairs. I’m thinking for what I would pay to replace the chairs, I may as well get a whole new set.
For a long time, we had a 4’x8’ (standard piece of plywood) dining table (the top was a single slab of granite). Loved the large size. Too big for the new house (which has a dining room but no space in the kitchen for a table) so we had a new table built. We tried cardboard in different shapes and sizes and eventually arrived at a 63" square table (yes, we tried 60" and other sizes–63" was best). It fits two on each side when we want to seat 8 and easily goes down to two people by using two adjacent sides. It’s a nice size that allows for conversation in a normal quiet voice and includes everyone in the conversation, even when there are eight people. For more than 8, we use it as a buffet and spread the chairs around the living room and dining room (which flow into each other).
We did forget about the need to pass food across/around the table, though, so we subsequently bought a 27" round lazy susan for the center of the table. Everyone can reach it easily and it’s great for serving and condiments.
My high school had 72" round tables in the dining hall. They seated ten, which was too large–it was impossible to hear conversation across the table, two or more people talking at once was unbearable, and a small group didn’t work either because the distances were so large.
We have this Dining room table from rooms to go. We have had it for 3 or 4 years. What I like about it is that the leaves pop up. Also I like it because I bought a glass top like this one to cover it from Pier one. It makes cleanup with kids a lot easier. While its not a high end table it looks and works well for us.
My kitchen table is a 50 inch square with rounded off corners which makes it possible to sit people at the corners fairly comfortably. Love it. We have actually sat 8 people (okay family) there (especially when the kids were small). The square gives you more table area. Put a 22" turntable on it. Love not passing hot dishes around. Smaller round tables just don’t have enough room.
I LOVE round tables! You can see everyone and it’s easier to talk. No “stuck in the corner” problems with round.
My dining room table is 70 inch round. Love it best when you get to 6 people or more. We have no trouble conversing across the table but my dining room is fairly quiet. If you had an echo-y room it would be a problem. It has a 40 inch turntable on it. The turntable is necessary (and fun too). Turn tables that size aren’t cheap but I lucked out at a consignment store believe it or not. It feels too big for 4 people.
My NEXT table (which may be never) would be a 60" round table. with a 28 " turntable. Maybe with a leaf to enlarge if need be. That would be a great size for 4-8.
I love our kitchen table- it is a round table that can seat up to 8, but each of the rounded edges folds down and flips under the table to form a square and then it seats only 4. I bought it at World Market 5 years ago and haven’t seen another like it.
I thought about a round table but didn’t like how far apart people were when you had eight or ten for dinner. Ultimately went with an oval from Thom. Moser.
dmd–how did you get a 63" ? Did it come that way or did you make it? The rounded corners on my 50 inch square make a huge difference–it’s sort of a middle ground and allows seating at the corners.
Just sayin’. The Swartzendruber table looks like the worst of both worlds to me–too small really for 4 people (48 round) and then 72" (bigger than my present one) for everything else.
I like round tables ( we have a small round one in the breakfast area) but for a dining room, I feel it gets too big (even with a lazy susan in the middle). Another thing when it’s big is that having just the central leg makes it less stable than an oval table.
I love round tables and we have a nice round table in the kitchen at our home in the south. It seats six comfortably but cozily. A larger round table could be good for eight but any more than that and you’re pushing the limits, in my opinion, as to distance across. You would also need a very large room in order to accomodate access issues. I have a rectangular table in both houses, one a bit larger than the other, that accomodates 10 comfortably. When the whole family, and extended family, get together, we obviously need a larger surface and usually add to it. That only happens on holidays and special occasions, okay, maybe more often than I think, but I don’t want a larger table than I have because I have other pieces of furniture in both dining rooms and I don’t want to have to relocate those.
We have friends in the south who have a very large dining room and they have two round tables in it. At first, I thought that looked odd but I’ve come to like it a lot. Not many people have a room that large, though, so it’s probably not going to work for most.
I love round tables! I don’t know what the huge objection is with adding a leaf and it become oval. An oval has many benefits of a round table. I can see that the lazy susan may not work with that situation. But, to have a “big enough” round table to seat 10+ adults would be quite large, I would think.
When we’re at weddings, I think the round tables that seat about 8 are 5 feet in diameter…does that sound right? IF they’re much bigger than that, then I think “cross table” conversations would almost be like shouting.
I love our round dining table. It’s much more conducive to conversation. We can seat 10 if we squeeze in a bit, but I will say that it’s a pretty large table. I still haven’t figured out what to put on it as a centerpiece.
@VeryHappy I really don’t remember; it’s been over ten years. The table we ended up with sells for a little $6K now. I’d guess the Swartzendruber table was in that neighborhood, maybe higher. I do remember that all their furniture was beautiful, really fine craftmanship and gorgeous wood.
A larger round table could be good for eight but any more than that and you’re pushing the limits, in my opinion, as to distance across. You would also need a very large room in order to accomodate access issues. I have a rectangular table in both houses, one a bit larger than the other, that accomodates 10 comfortably. When the whole family, and extended family, get together, we obviously need a larger surface and usually add to it. That only happens on holidays and special occasions, okay, maybe more often than I think, but I don’t want a larger table than I have because I have other pieces of furniture in both dining rooms and I don’t want to have to relocate those.