1.5m/60in. is a minimum for 8 armless chairs. 1.6m/63in. would be unnecessary in round. The options I'm thinking of need info on how often 8 is common. A 1.2m/48in. wide by 1.5m/60in. rectangular or oval table with the length running back towards the kitchen seems doable with armless chairs. A bench at one or both ends creates more clearance with the island. Might work if less than 8 is the more common use. The beachfront window height can be a consideration. If they don't go to the floor a banquet bottom on the window end is similar to a bench for 2. A good cushion with latex for comfort.

I work out the feel by using cardboard full scale props to test clearances. That would be my next step.

Thanks for your thoughts Dan1888. It is 8 diners probably half of the time. The beach view window is floor to ceiling. wi. widow

Sorry having trouble with this comments section….with preference not to use benches.

Thanks Small Space Living. This is the way I think we will go, but as you and Dan suggested we will get the cardboard out. Thanks to you and Dan for taking the time to help me out. Suzy

What I'm seeing is an oval table on the narrow side as needed with 2 leaves. Perpendicular to the full height window.

I'd have a rectangular table, have narrower dining chairs and and pay a lot of attention to where the legs are. This is particularly important if you get an expandable table.

You notice these chairs

Design by Carolina Design Associates · More Info

are much narrower than these

Herb River Drive · More Info

This table has thin legs, not likely to be a problem in seating

Large walnut dining table with three wishbone legs · More Info

This one has big, bulky legs limiting seating space

Hingham Shipyard Home · More Info

Of the drawn options, I would favor the 180 × 120 cm soft oval. It keeps eight chair positions while the plan shows 1.3 m and 1 m front-to-back clearances, compared with 1.15 m and 0.75 m around the 160 cm round table. Its curved corners should also make the highlighted side pinch points feel less abrupt than those of a rectangle, while retaining much of a round table’s conversational quality.


A 150 cm round would be very tight for eight: it provides only about 59 cm of perimeter per person before accounting for how the chairs meet around the circle. The 160 cm round is more sociable, but its footprint presses harder on the passage in your drawing. The soft oval therefore looks like the best balance of capacity, circulation and visual lightness. I would mark out its full footprint on the floor and place eight chairs around it before committing, because the chair backs and occupied seats—not just the tabletop—will determine whether those side routes work comfortably.


Here's a sculptural dining table design from our GREYGE.com collection, just as a visual reference. KAI uses a rounded-square geometry and can be custom-sized, illustrating another middle ground between round sociability and rectangular capacity: https://www.greyge.com/product/kai-living-room-table/. Its capacity for eight is not documented, so it should not be treated as a proven fit for that requirement.

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