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Dining Chairs and Tables

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Dining Chairs and Tables

Sizing a table, chair comfort and height, materials and buying for a family

Dining furniture is bought for how it looks and lived with according to whether people can sit at it comfortably for two hours.

Sizing the table

Allow around sixty centimetres of table edge per person and a metre of clearance behind each chair so people can get past. A table that seats eight in theory seats six in comfort.

Round tables suit conversation and small rooms; rectangular ones seat more per square metre. Extending tables solve the occasional large gathering.

Chair height and comfort

Standard table height is around 75 centimetres and chair seats around 45, giving roughly 30 centimetres of clearance for legs. Check that against the apron under the table top, which is what catches thighs.

Seat depth, a slight back angle and some shaping matter far more than padding for sitting through a long meal.

Arms and stacking

Carver chairs with arms must fit under the table, which many do not. Stackable chairs suit small homes and are rarely comfortable for long.

Materials with a family

Upholstered seats stain, so look for removable washable covers or a wipeable fabric with a decent rub rating. Solid wood marks and can be sanded; veneer and laminate cannot.

Check the fire safety label on anything upholstered, which charities require to accept it later.

Stability

Sit and lean back. Chairs are the most commonly broken piece of furniture in a house, and the joints at the back legs are where they fail.

Chairs for children

Wipeable seats, no sharp corners, and a stable base that will not tip when a child leans back. Junior chairs and booster seats that strap to a dining chair suit the years between a highchair and a full-size chair.

Anchor anything tall in the room to the wall.

Buying second-hand

Solid wood dining furniture lasts decades and the used market is excellent. Check the joints at the back legs and whether a table has been refinished badly.

Extending tables

Butterfly, drop-leaf and pull-out mechanisms all work differently and some require the leaf to be stored separately. Check where that leaf will live and how heavy the mechanism is to operate alone.

Measure the extended footprint including chairs before assuming a room takes it.

Looking after upholstered seats

Vacuum into the crevices, deal with spills immediately, and check whether covers are removable and washable before buying rather than afterwards.

Rotate chairs around the table so wear is spread, since the same two seats get used every day.

Check the chair height against the table apron before ordering both separately.

Delivery

Measure the route in, including the diagonal of a table top through a doorway.

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