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10 Best Round Dining Tables

Because you have been asking. And because I may not necessarily be one for doing what I am told, but I do try to be obliging where possible. So, ten best round dining tables coming up. Because they’re better in small rooms. Because a rectangular table for six or eight means that you are definitely breaking up the conversation into two or three smaller parts – Arthur didn’t have a round table for nothing you know. But we need to talk about size. A table, of any shape,  needs at least three feet, or one metre, between it and the walls for the chairs to pull out and for people to be able to walk around. If you have a rectangle room and more than two people to feed you will probably need a rectangle table. But round tables are better for conversation. Also everyone can reach the potatoes. If you need four people then it needs to be about a metre in diameter (less is doable but tight, more is better). If you can’t fit that then think about an extending table that can become an oval. Ain’t no-one in the UK got room for a square table so we can forget about those (sits back and waits for flood of emails).

EBBE GEHL

£499

John Lewis

round ebbe gehl dining table for four from john lewis
the round ebbe gehl dining table for four from john lewis is 110cm in diameter

Starting off with that most reliable of high street stores, good old Jean Louis as it is sometimes known. This one is 110cm in diameter and you can see from the picture how four chairs would comfortably fit. Note also that with four legs in this position everyone can sit without having to straddle one of the legs. If needed you probably could squeeze a couple of extras in but you wouldn’t want to do that all the time. This was made by an award- winning Danish designer so you would expect it to function as beautifully as it looks.

SAARINEN TULIP TABLE 

£4,646.40

Clippings

saarinen tulip table from clippings
saarinen tulip table from clippings

The classic. That’s probably all we need to say really. Designed by Finnish-American Eero Saarinen in 1956 for Knoll, this is still a much admired, and much desired, table. It’s massively popular and will blend perfectly into an interior style. It’s prevented from becoming a design cliche mainly by the price. I have only ever seen one in a shop, never in an actual real person’s home. But perhaps I move in the wrong circles. There are matching chairs as you can see, but personally I would add wooden ones to mix it up a little and stop the whole matchy matchy thing. It also comes in a lower coffee table version too.

MID CENTURY ROUND DINING TABLE 

£509

Westelm

mid century round dining table from westelm
mid century round dining table from westelm

Sticking with the mid-century style, this, from westelm, is probably better for two as the legs won’t be as comfortable for the other two at the table. But if that’s not a problem for you this is a great table and, conversely, this arrangement stops there being a forest of chair and table legs which can look really messy. Tip? Try taking the John Lewis styling route and choosing chairs in plastic or metal to avoid this.

LOLA ROUND TABLE

£890

Perch and Parrow

lola round dining table from perch and parrow
lola round dining table from perch and parrow

This rather simple and elegant table measures 130cm in diameter and seats six. The legs are thin and elegant and while the sixth person might have to sit with legs astride you can also think about buying slightly narrower chairs to offset this. Unless you are mostly four and like to be roomy. As with all large purchases you just need to take a few moments to consider who is going to be using it most? Large adults and small kids or mainly adults? It’s all to easy to get seduced by the style of the thing and not think through the practicalities.

GUBI ROUND DINING TABLE

£1,089

Houseology

gubi round dining table from houseology
gubi round dining table from houseology

Another Danish one, this time by Gubi who make all sorts of gorgeous furniture. My favourite is the Beetle chair but at around £800 a pop it’s unlikely any of those will be gracing The Mad House any time soon. Ever. This one has gently flared legs but look more importantly at the chairs that have been styled with it. Thin metal legs which go as they are lso black but bring a little more refinement and prevent the wooden forest that I mentioned earlier.

BONALDO HULAHOOP

from £2,040

go modern

bonaldo hulahoop table from gomodern
bonaldo hulahoop table from gomodern

Yes it’s expensive but you can have the base in a variety of different colours from brass or copper to black, green, burgundy and yellow. The glass top can be black glass as shown above or clear or white. This is how you get away from the leg issue. With a single pedestal no-one will be uncomfortable and this brings a decorative note to the room.

SILHOUETTE PEDESTAL

£899

westelm

round dining table with marble top and brass base from westelm
round dining table with marble top and brass base from westelm

Another single pedestal but look at this beauty. Marble top, brass leg and I love the shape of leg and how it flares out. It might be a fashionable combination at the moment but both are classic materials so as long as you know yourself and are confident that you won’t go off either of them then it’s a style that will last for ever and always look good. The blue chair is a daring choice that I rather like but you could also choose something more traditional.

PEDESTAL TABLE ONE

£1,740

Another Country

pedestal table one from another country
pedestal table one from another country

Simple, classic and beautifully made, this wooden table by Another Country is perfect for two although bags not sit on the stool. If you want a small table for a corner of a small kitchen that isn’t going to shout then this is the one. It’s properly crafted – hence the price tag – but will last for ever. It’s 100cm diameter so could be used as a large side table if it needed to move rooms or if you moved to a bigger kitchen.

NORDIC ROUND EXTENDING TABLE

£850

Rose & Grey

nordic round extending table from rose & grey
nordic round extending table from rose & grey

Simple in form but this has a hidden advantage – it’s extendable so this might be more useful to many of you. I also rather like the subtle flare of the legs too.

METAL CAGE ROUND TABLE 

£760

The Orchard Furniture 

metal cage round dining table from the orchard furniture
metal cage round dining table from the orchard furniture

Last one and we’re going a little bit more industrial for those that like that sort of thing. We try to cater to all types here you know. At least I hope we do so from design classic to refined elegance with traditional and a little bit of industrial, I hope you will find something that appeals. I’d have the brass and marble myself. Or perhaps the Gubi. Although I’m also partial to the Perch and Parrow. Which one do you like?

And that’s the end of the August updates and revisits. I’ll see you all back here at 7am tomorrow morning to check out the pick of the property market with The Househunter. See you then….

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

5 Comments

  1. Your blog is so timely. I’m planning a move to a circular table but my head has been turned by the Knoll Platner glass table and nothing now compares. Can I justify the price?!

    1. I have the coffee table version of that – it’s gorgeous. So here’s the thing – will you use it every day? Perhaps more than once? Will it make your heart sing when you walk past the room and see it sitting there? Will your heart sink a little if you buy something different and look at it every day wishing you had bought Platner? Are you a committed and faithful shopper and will you love it for ever? If you won’t will you solemnly undertake to sell it so that you can recoup some of the cost? If you can answer yes to all of those then yes I think you can justify the price. If not then buy something else.

  2. Yes that gave me a much needed chuckle this morning too! Size apart it’s a nice table and I love the chairs, they look like Philippe Starck Masters chairs but I didn’t know JL sold them. I’d probably pick the Nordic extending table but not the matching chairs, I don’t do matching….

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