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A dining table is the one piece of furniture in a house that has to be right to the inch. It has to seat the number of people you actually feed, clear the chairs, clear the door, and leave room to walk behind someone who is sitting down. We make ours to order, which means the size is a decision rather than a compromise.
Every table below is built from scratch at our workshop in Mickfield, Suffolk. Choose a form, choose a timber, tell us the length and depth you need, and that is the table you get.
The forms we make
| Form | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Refectory | Planked top on a stretchered base, often a nominal 2in top | Long rooms, big gatherings |
| Farmhouse | Frame table, tapered or turned legs, usually with drawers | Kitchens and family dining |
| Drawleaf | Leaves stored under the top, drawn out level | Two sizes, nowhere to store a loose leaf |
| Gateleg | Hinged leaves supported by swinging gates | Small rooms, occasional extra covers |
| Monks’ | Settle-table: the back swings down to make a top | Halls and snugs |
| Cricket | Three-legged, usually round | Uneven floors, small kitchens, hallways |
| Pedestal and extending | Central column or columns, no corner legs | Legroom, formal dining |
How to choose
Start with the room, not the table. Mark out the largest rectangle you could live with, and work inwards.
Then decide whether you need one size or two. If you host at Christmas and eat as a four the rest of the year, a drawleaf beats a very long fixed table you only use one end of.
Finally, decide how much you want the table looked at. A refectory table in character oak is what people notice on the way in; a farmhouse table with two drawers is what they sit at without thinking.
Sizing guidance
These are general furniture-industry rules of thumb, and a good place to start a conversation.
Table per person. Allow roughly 24in (600mm) of table edge per place setting. A 72in table therefore seats three a side, or eight in total with one at each end.
Depth. A table 35in deep takes place settings facing each other with a little room down the middle; at 39in you have a comfortable centre channel for dishes, boards and candles. Below about 33in, facing diners compete for space.
Clearance. Allow about 36in (900mm) between the table edge and the nearest wall, so a chair can be pushed back and sat in, and 42–48in (1050–1200mm) where people walk behind a seated diner. If you cannot achieve that on every side, put the tight side against a wall or a bench.
Round tables. A 48in round seats four, a 54in round five or six. A pedestal base removes the corner legs that get in the way of knees. Standard dining height throughout is 30in.
Send us the room dimensions and we will tell you what will work, including whether the top will get through your door in one piece.
Timbers
Every table is made in oak, cherry, mahogany or walnut as standard. Oak is traditional for refectory and farmhouse forms; cherry darkens with age; mahogany and walnut suit the pedestal and Victorian forms.
Beyond the standard four, and quoted on application: character oak, with the knots and movement left in; pippy oak in light, medium and heavy grades, for tops; oak selected for medullary ray, the silver figure across quarter-sawn oak, specified within or without the timber; and clean timber with no knots at all.
Painted bases with a pippy or standard oak top are a signature treatment on the Pendleton and Georgian ranges. Finishes otherwise run from polished to limed, sand-blasted, rub-through paint and natural, or colour matched to a sample you send us.
Order free timber and finish samples first. Oak in a photograph and oak in your hand under your own light are two different materials.
Made to your size
Any table here can be made longer, shorter, deeper, narrower, higher or lower. Common changes: a heavier or lighter top; legs moved inboard so a bench fits underneath; a drawer at each end; a leaf added to a fixed-top design; a base from one pattern under a top from another.
If the change is large enough that it is really a new design, that is a one-off commission and our designers will draw it first. See bespoke and commissioning.
Prices
Quoted individually, because no two are the same size. Tell us the form, the size, the timber and the finish and we will give you a guide price. Special timbers and finishes are on application. Standard lead time is typically ten to twelve weeks; a one-off commission usually adds about four weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What size dining table do I need for eight people?
Allow 24in of table edge per person. Eight fit on a table around 72in long and 35–39in deep, three each side and one at each end. For eight down the sides alone, look at 96in upwards.
How much space do I need around a dining table?
About 36in between the table edge and the wall so chairs can be pushed back, and 42–48in where people walk behind a seated diner. Where space is tight, put that side against a wall or use a bench settle.
Which extending table is best if I have nowhere to store a leaf?
A drawleaf table. The leaves live under the top and draw out level in seconds, so there is nothing to carry to a spare room and nothing to lose.
Can you make a table to fit an awkward room?
Yes — it is the usual reason people commission one. Send the room dimensions, the door widths and a photograph, and we will work out what fits and how we get it in.
