What size dining table do you need? (And when to order it for Christmas)

If you're hosting this Christmas, the table is the thing to sort first. It decides how many people you can sit down and how the whole room works. It's also usually the piece with the longest wait.

So here's how I'd work out how big it needs to be, and when to order it so it's with you in time.

Start with the room, not the table

Measure your dining space wall to wall, both ways. Take 180cm off each measurement. What's left is the biggest table your room can take.

That 180cm is 90cm on each side. It's roughly what a chair needs to slide back so someone can sit down and get up again without a shuffle. If people will be squeezing past behind the chairs to get to the kitchen, give that side 100 to 120cm instead.

A couple of examples. A 4m by 3m dining room takes a table up to 220cm by 120cm. A 3.2m by 3m kitchen-diner takes up to 140cm by 120cm, and a 120cm round table fits too.

One thing people forget: measure from the front of your sideboard or dresser, not the wall behind it. A 45cm deep sideboard takes 45cm straight off your space.

If you can't picture it, mark the table out on the floor with masking tape and walk round it with a chair pulled out. It takes two minutes and it's the most useful thing you'll do.

How many people fit which table

You'll often see 60cm of table edge per person quoted. That's tight. This is what we'd tell you in the showroom:

The end seats are the Christmas Day ones, so a 180cm table that seats four all year does six on the day.

Two things change the maths. The first is legs. A table with a leg at each corner loses space at the ends, while a pedestal, trestle or oval table lets people tuck in anywhere. The second is width. Go for 90cm or more if you can. Christmas dinner needs a strip down the middle for the turkey and the veg, and anything under 80cm gets crowded fast.

And if it's ten on the day but four the rest of the year, you don't have to live with a ten-seater. A bench down one side usually fits one more person than chairs would, more if it's children. Or bring in a second table and push them together, as long as both are around 75cm high.

Chairs: count them, then check the heights

Most dining tables are 75 to 76cm high. For that you want a seat height of about 43 to 48cm, which leaves roughly 30cm of knee room.

If you're mixing chairs, or adding carvers at the ends, check the arms clear the underside of the table. Otherwise they won't tuck in and you'll lose the space you measured for. There's plenty to choose from in our dining chairs.

The pieces around the table

Get the food off the table. A sideboard or drinks unit within reach gives serving dishes and bottles somewhere to go. Our Lennox black drinks unit has been one of our best sellers online this month, and I can see why at this time of year.

Hang a pendant light about 75 to 85cm above the tabletop, so it lights the table without anyone looking into the bulb. Put it on a dimmer if you can.

If there's a rug under the table, it wants to reach at least 60cm past the edge on every side. Any less and the chair legs catch it every time someone gets up.

When to order for Christmas

This is the bit that catches people out. Every product page on our site shows a delivery time. Across our dining tables right now that runs from three days to four weeks, depending on who makes the table and where it's coming from. Two tables the same size can have very different order-by dates.

Christmas Day is a Friday this year. I'd want furniture in by Friday 18 December, which leaves a week to spare if anything needs sorting. Working back from that, with a few extra days for the December rush:

If your chairs come from a different range to your table, they may have a different delivery time. Go by whichever is longest. I can't guarantee these dates, but they're the ones I'd work to myself. We'll always agree a delivery slot with you before we come.

If a new sofa's on the list too, I've written about sofa delivery times as well.

A few I'd start with

For six, round: the Industrial Round X Leg table in 150cm. It's 7 to 10 days.

For six: the Oban oval in 200cm. With oval ends, nobody gets stuck on a corner. It's 10 to 14 days.

For six to eight: our Oval Sunburst in 240cm, in reclaimed mango. It's been our best-selling big table online this month, and it's 7 to 10 days.

For eight, or ten at a squeeze: the Lantine 280 in black oak and brass from Tommy Franks, who we've just started stocking. Their dining tables are 7 to 10 days.

Or see everything in dining tables. If you'd rather see them in person first, the Tamworth showroom is open Monday to Friday 10 to 5, Saturday 10 to 4 and Sunday 10 to 3.

Not sure what fits? Send me your room measurements and how many you're feeding, and I'll tell you what I'd go for. Email info@xshowhome.com or call 0121 270 3390.

Love, Gemma x