Dining Room Floor Plan
A dining room floor plan starts from the table: how many people sit at it, and how much space they need to pull out a chair and get past each other. This page gives room sizes for four, six and eight seats, the spacing to leave around the table and where it fits in an open-plan home. The example seats six around a 160 × 90 cm (5′ 3″ × 2′ 11″) table in a 3.6 × 4.2 m (12 × 14 ft) room.
A dining room for six
Drawn to scale. The links open this room with the same furniture, ready for you to add doors and windows and resize anything.
Typical dining room sizes
| Metric (typical) | Imperial (typical) | Fits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 seats | 2.7 × 3.0 m to 3.0 × 3.3 m | 9 × 10 ft to 10 × 11 ft | Square or small rectangular table |
| 6 seats | 3.3 × 3.9 m to 3.6 × 4.2 m | 11 × 13 ft to 12 × 14 ft | Table about 160–180 cm (5′ 3″–6′) long |
| 8 seats | 3.9 × 4.8 m and up | 13 × 16 ft and up | Table about 200–240 cm (6′ 7″–8′) long, a sideboard |
How to size a dining room from the table
Take the table size and add the clear space on every side. A 180 × 90 cm (6 × 3 ft) table with 90 cm (3 ft) all round needs a room of about 3.6 × 2.7 m (12 × 9 ft) of clear floor; allow more on the sides people walk behind.
For the table itself, common guidance gives each person about 60 cm (24 in) of table edge. Round tables seat six at roughly 135–150 cm (54–60 in) across and suit square rooms.
Dining room layouts
Table in the middle
Even space on every side, so every chair can be pulled out. The example plan uses this layout.
Bench against a wall
A bench on one long side saves about the depth of a chair and suits narrow rooms.
Dining in the kitchen or living room
In open-plan homes, the table sits between the kitchen and the seating, with a walkway on the kitchen side.
Round table in a square room
Fits more people in a square room than a rectangular table and has no awkward corners.
Doors, windows and the table
Line the table up with the room, or with a light fitting if it is fixed, and keep doors out of the zone where chairs are pulled back. A dining room with doors to both the kitchen and the living room has a route between them; keep that route along one side of the table rather than across a corner.
A window beside the table gives daylight at meals. A sideboard or cabinet usually goes on the longest wall without a door, where it does not narrow the walkway.
Space around the table
Commonly used guidance leaves about 90 cm (36 in) from the table edge to a wall or other furniture so a chair can be pulled out, and around 1.1–1.2 m (42–48 in) where people need to walk behind someone who is seated.
In the example room there is about 1.6 m (5 ft) beside the long sides of the table and a little over 90 cm (3 ft) at the ends.
Dining furniture in the library
Default library sizes; resize the table for a different number of seats.
Dining table
160 × 90 cm (5′ 3″ × 2′ 11″). Seats six; lengthen it for eight.
Chair
48 × 50 cm (1′ 7″ × 1′ 8″). Copy and paste to set them out; rotate each to face the table.
Sideboard
180 × 50 cm (5′ 11″ × 1′ 8″). Along a wall clear of the chairs; the library also has a Buffet and a China cabinet.
Rug
200 × 140 cm (6′ 7″ × 4′ 7″). Make it large enough that chairs stay on it when pulled out.
Dining next to the kitchen and living room
Give a dining room a short, clear route to the kitchen: you carry dishes that way several times every meal. In many homes the dining area is the link between kitchen and living room, which is why open-plan layouts put it in the middle.
Storage for crockery, linen and glasses often lives in a sideboard here. Allow for its depth, about 45 cm (18 in), plus the room to open its doors.
Common dining room mistakes
Chair space on the long sides only
People sit at the ends too. Leave room to pull out the end chairs and to walk round them.
A table too big for the room
An extending table is drawn at its everyday size; check the extended size on the plan as well.
Doors that open into the chairs
A door that swings into the space behind a chair turns every meal into a shuffle.
Route through the middle
If the kitchen and living room doors face across the table, people walk between the diners.
Plan your dining room in the editor
Size the room
Open the example or draw your room; type the wall lengths you measured.
Place the table
Resize the dining table to yours and center it, or line it up with a light fitting.
Set out the chairs
Place one chair, then copy and paste it and rotate each copy to face the table.
Check the walkway
Measure from the table edge to the walls, especially on the side people walk.
Dining templates and tools
- 3-bedroom template with dining roomA separate dining room next to the kitchen.
- Open-plan apartment templateA dining table between the kitchen run and the sofa.
- Restaurant templateA dining room set out for 32 seats.
- Space to pass behind dining chairsClearances around the table and the rest of the furniture, room by room.
- Room dimension calculatorA width and length for the floor area you are aiming for.
Frequently asked questions
How big should a dining room be for 6 people?
Around 3.3 × 3.9 m (11 × 13 ft) to 3.6 × 4.2 m (12 × 14 ft) fits a table for six with room to pull out chairs and walk behind them.
How much space do I need around a dining table?
About 90 cm (36 in) from the table edge to a wall lets chairs pull out; around 1.1–1.2 m (42–48 in) lets people walk behind someone seated.
What size table seats eight?
A rectangular table of about 200–240 cm (6′ 7″–8 ft) long, giving each person roughly 60 cm (2 ft) of edge, with two at the ends.
Is a round or rectangular table better for a small room?
In a square room, a round table seats the same number in less space and has no corners to walk round. In a narrow room, a rectangular table with a bench on one side usually fits better.
Is there a round table in the library?
Yes. The Dining & Office section has a Round dining table (120 cm, 4 ft) and round tables for 4 (90 cm, 3 ft) and 6 people (120 cm); select one and type your own diameter.