Everything You Need To Know About Dining Rooms - Your Guide To Getting The Scale Just Right
Lately I’ve been doing a ton of measuring, research, shopping, and even more measuring for a client’s dining room space. As I started to put everything together for a client, I figured—why not put everything in one post & share it with all of you? So here is my guide to measurements, best practices, and everything you need to know about dining rooms!
To be completely honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of formal dining rooms. I always felt like they were unnecessary if you had a casual eating area or large kitchen island, buuut I think with the right design, I could be convinced to change my mind.
So, Let’s Get The Tables Turning
The table is one of, if not the most important pieces in a dining room. It’s where your family and friends will gather to share food and laughs and stories. Since the table will be the main focal point of the room, it should fit in with your space and match your style.
Choose Your Style
Use a table that matches your design style. For example, if your design style is Hollywood Glam, don’t try to make a table with rustic, weathered wood work. It’s just never going to work. As you can tell from the images above, I honed in on what my personal design style is. Checkout my Pinterest to compare different design styles and get dining room inspiration ideas for your home.
Pick a Shape
Looking at the overall shape of your dining room can help a lot when it comes to choosing a table shape. Rectangular and oval tables work great in rectangular rooms. You’ll want to orient the table so that it follows the natural shape of the room. Round tables can work in almost any room and provide more of a relaxed, intimate seating arrangement. However, large round tables do make it harder to have a conversation across the table, so keep that in mind if you plan to seat a lot of people.
Check The Size
In a lot of homes today, there is no formal dining area. From new construction homes to apartment buildings, people are usually having their meals in a smaller, casual dining area attached to the kitchen, rather than a formal dining room. But regardless of which types of area you’re shopping for, the size of your dining table should be determined by two factors: the size of your room and how many people you need to seat.
Room Size
You should have at least 36” of space around the table. This will give you and your guests space to walk around the room comfortably and give you space for sliding your chairs in and out.
Seating
If you only have a casual dining area, I recommend getting a table that will fit the number of people that would typically be eating at the table, with a minimum of 2-4 seats. (Single person tables are just weird and sad looking). If you have space, I recommend an extendable dining table. These typically have a center leaf or additional pieces on the ends that can add seating space for 2+ people. They come in handy for larger gatherings and parties.
If you have casual and formal dining rooms, put a larger table in the formal one. This way you can still have a cozy setting for everyday, and use the larger table when you need to seat more people.
Okay, but still—how do I know what size table to buy?
You should allow for about 24” of space per person at the table. The elbow room will keep you and your guests comfortable. After all, you’re sharing a meal, but it shouldn’t feel like your literally sharing a meal. If you’re short on space, you can use a bench seat instead of chairs. Functional and on trend!
Rolling Out The Rug
Stick To Your Style
Just like with the table, make sure your rug matches the overall style that you’re going for. Choose a rug with a flat or low pile, nothing shag, thick, furry, etc. A smoother rug is better for moving chairs on, easier to clean, and won’t get food trapped in it for the rest of eternity.
Find the perfect size
Rugs are meant to add comfort and warmth to a space, but not to serve as wall to wall carpeting. Ideally, you should aim to leave at least 12” of floor showing around the rug. This will separate the eating area from the other furniture in the room and give it some space to breathe. The rug should also be at least 24-36” larger than the table on all sides so that chairs can slide in and out while still remaining on the rug. Because who likes that half on/half off feeling? Annoyinggg.
Before you buy a rug for your space, I always recommend making an outline of the rug on the floor with painter’s tape. This will help you visualize the actual footprint of the rug, saving you time & money on having to return one that’s the wrong size.
Let There Be Light
Hang In There
When hanging your chandelier, center it with the table, not the room. Nothing says “welp, I tried” more than a beautifully decorated dining room with an off centered chandelier.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
As I’m sure you’ve gathered from the post by now, size matters (ha!). But seriously, get a chandelier that gives off enough light for the room.
A good rule of thumb when finding the ideal sized chandelier, is that it should be about half the width of the table. Another great way to determine the approximate size of the chandelier, is to add the dimensions of the room together in feet. That number in feet is your approximate chandelier diameter. So if your room is 12’ x 15’, your ideal chandelier size would be 27”. (Shout out to Emily Henderson for that awesome trick!)
You should also aim to leave about 36” of space between the bottom of the light fixture and the top of the table. Low enough to illuminate the table, but high enough that your guest don’t feel like they’re in an interrogation room.
dine & design
So next time you’re eating dinner, take a look around your dining area and see if you can implement any of my tips to help spruce up your space. If you’re feeling like you’re ready for a full dining room redesign, book a consultation! I’ll have your dining room looking like a model home in no time!
