To measure your room for a butterfly extending table, record the length and width of the dining area, subtract at least 90cm on every side for chair clearance and walkways, and check that the table fits in its fully extended length, not just when closed. Then confirm door widths, obstacles such as radiators and the position of your lighting. Those checks, broken down into the ten steps below, will tell you exactly which table sizes will work.
Butterfly tables are popular in British homes because the extra leaf folds away inside the table, so there is nothing extra to store. That convenience only pays off if the table fits comfortably in both positions. Here is how to measure properly.
Gather a metal tape measure of at least five metres, a notepad or phone for recording figures, masking tape, and ideally a second person to hold the other end of the tape. A simple sketch of the room, even a rough one, makes it much easier to keep track of doors, windows and furniture.
Start by measuring the length and width of the entire room from wall to wall, at floor level. Skirting boards can take a centimetre or two from each side, so measure from the face of the skirting rather than the plaster above it. Write both figures down and add them to your sketch.
If the room is irregular, such as an L shape or a room with a chimney breast, measure each section separately. Many terraced houses have chimney breasts and alcoves that reduce usable width in part of the room.
In a dedicated dining room, the dining zone may be most of the floor. In an open plan kitchen or living space, it will be a portion of the room. Decide where the table will sit and measure that area specifically. Consider where people naturally walk through the space, and keep those routes clear.
This is the step people most often underestimate. Chairs need space to be pulled out, and people need space to sit down and stand up. Allow at least 75cm between the table edge and a wall where chairs will be placed, and 90cm or more if people will also need to walk behind seated guests.
Subtract this clearance from each relevant side of your dining zone. The figures left over give you the maximum length and width the table itself can occupy.
A butterfly table might be 120cm or 150cm closed, but it could extend to 160cm, 180cm or longer. Check your available length against the extended size, including chair clearance at both ends. If the extended table only fits when it is pushed tight against a wall or blocks a doorway, it will be frustrating to use.
Where space is very tight, one option is to use the table extended only on occasions when you can move other furniture temporarily. Be realistic about whether you will actually do this.
Mark on your sketch where each door opens and in which direction, and measure the arc the door sweeps. Note radiators, low windowsills, French doors and any built in cupboards. Chairs pushed back against a radiator are uncomfortable, and a table that prevents a door from opening fully will quickly become an irritation.
Also check the swing of any kitchen appliance doors if the table is near the kitchen, such as a dishwasher or oven.
Table width matters as much as length. A width of around 80cm is workable for a compact table, while 90cm to 100cm gives more room for serving dishes in the middle. Narrower tables can suit slim rooms, but make sure there is still space for place settings on both sides.
As a guide, allow around 60cm of table edge per person along the sides. This lets you calculate seating in both positions: for example, a 180cm extended length usually seats six comfortably, with two chairs along each side and one at each end, depending on leg placement.
Butterfly tables are made with legs at the corners, set slightly in, or on a central base. Corner legs allow chairs to be placed at the ends easily, while set in legs can restrict how many chairs fit along each side. Check the gap between the legs in the specification and compare it with the width of the chairs you plan to use. Our wooden extending dining tables UK and other extending ranges list dimensions clearly, which makes this comparison easier.
If you already own chairs, measure their width, depth and seat height. Wide upholstered chairs or carvers with arms take up more room than slim side chairs. Check that arms will slide under the tabletop, which usually requires around 65 to 70cm of clearance from the floor to the underside of the table apron.
If you are buying new chairs as well, a matching set removes much of the guesswork. Our high gloss extending dining table sets UK sale pair tables with chairs chosen to fit their proportions.
A table that fits the room is only useful if it can get there. Measure the width and height of the front door, hallways, any tight turns and the dining room doorway. On stairs, measure the narrowest point and the height at any low ceilings or landings.
Most butterfly tables arrive with legs detached, but the top usually travels in one piece. Compare your narrowest measurement with the packaged dimensions shown on the product page.
Finally, use masking tape to mark the closed and extended footprints of the table on the floor. Place a couple of existing chairs at the edges to simulate seating. Walk around the space, open doors, and sit in the chairs. Leave the tape down for a day or two and use the room as normal.
This simple exercise often reveals problems that numbers alone do not. You might find the extended size feels cramped but the closed size is comfortable, or that shifting the table 20cm to one side improves the flow around the room considerably.
Once the table size is clear, consider how it relates to other pieces. A sideboard along one wall needs its own clearance: allow at least 90cm between the sideboard front and the table edge so doors and drawers open with chairs in place. Our modern sideboard furniture UK range includes slim depth designs that suit narrower dining rooms.
Lighting should be centred above the table in its most commonly used position. If the table will be closed most of the time, centre the pendant over the closed length rather than the extended one.
Not every room is a neat rectangle. British homes are full of quirks: chimney breasts, alcoves, bay windows, sloping ceilings in loft conversions and kitchen diners that narrow at one end. In these rooms, the usable footprint for a table is often smaller than the overall dimensions suggest.
For a room with a chimney breast, measure the width at its narrowest point, between the front of the chimney breast and the opposite wall. This is the figure that limits how wide the table and chairs can be at that end of the room. In a bay window, measure the depth of the bay and the width across its opening. A round or oval closed table can sit neatly in a bay, with the butterfly leaf used to extend it into the main room when needed.
In a narrow galley style kitchen diner, consider whether the table could sit against a wall with a bench along one side. This saves the clearance a row of chairs would need and can make an extending table workable in a room that would otherwise feel too tight.
Keep all your figures in one place, ideally on the sketch itself, and photograph it on your phone so you have it to hand when browsing. Note the date you measured and write down both the maximum closed and extended sizes you can accommodate. When you compare tables, check each against these limits rather than relying on memory.
Taking the time to avoid these makes the difference between a table that works and one that feels slightly wrong every day. At Furniture in Fashion, we list full dimensions for every table, so once you have your measurements you can compare options with confidence.
Leave at least 75cm between the table and a wall behind chairs, and 90cm or more where people need to walk behind seated guests. Check this with the table fully extended.
Both. The table should sit comfortably when closed for everyday use, and there must be enough room for chairs and movement when it is extended.
Yes, and it is often a good choice, since there is no separate leaf to store. Choose a compact closed size and check that the extended length still leaves adequate clearance.
Compare the gap between the legs, listed in the product specification, with the width of your chairs. Allow a few centimetres either side so chairs can be moved easily.
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