How Do You Measure Space for Dining Table?

Measuring space for a dining table is a subtraction exercise, and doing it properly is the difference between a room that flows and one where somebody is always shuffling sideways. This guide walks through what to measure and why to do it twice, at floor level and at table height, since skirtings, chimney breasts and radiators change the usable width. We explain how to assign a different clearance to each of the four sides depending on whether it carries a walkway, seating or nothing at all, then work a real kitchen diner example through the arithmetic to show how the room itself tells you what shape of table it wants. There is guidance on matching the resulting footprint to the number of people you seat, a masking tape test worth doing before ordering, and a reminder to measure the delivery route as well as the room....