Bentley Round Table (0.9m): what 90cm seats and the space it needs

The Bentley Round Table (0.9m) is the smallest round table in the dining tables range, and it exists for rooms a rectangular table will not suit: a galley kitchen, a flat with one open living space, a bay window with a radiator under it. The listing gives a single size, ⌀90 x 75cm, which reads as 90cm across the top and 75cm from the floor to the top surface.

What the listing states, and what it does not

Four things are stated outright. The top is ceramic. The base is a pedestal and arrives flatpack for assembly. The base is offered in black or chrome, which is the choice you make on the product page. And the listing says the top comes in white or grey, although the product page offers no way to pick between the two, so ask the shop which top colour you would be getting.

What the listing does not give is a weight, a top thickness, any description of pattern or veining, or the tools the flatpack base needs. Top thickness in particular changes how a small table reads in a small room, so if it matters to you, ask the shop rather than judging it from a photograph.

How many people really fit around 90cm

A round table is easier to judge than a rectangular one, because you can measure the edge and divide it. A 90cm top has roughly 283cm of edge in total.

Four is the honest everyday number, and two or three if you want the table to feel roomy. Measure the widest point of the chairs you intend to use, not the seat, and compare it with the figures above. Chairs with arms rarely give you four places on a 90cm top.

Measuring the floor, not the table

The table is 90cm across; the thing that has to fit is the table plus chairs plus people. Two numbers do most of the work:

• Allow about 75cm out from the table edge for a chair that is being sat in. Ring the table with that and you need roughly a 240cm square of clear floor.
• Allow about 100cm on any side where somebody has to walk behind a seated person. On all four sides that is nearer a 290cm square, which is why most kitchens push one side of the table towards a wall.

The pedestal base helps here: with no legs at the corners, a chair can be slid in anywhere around the rim, and you can shuffle seats along rather than being fixed to four positions. Do check the spread of the pedestal foot on delivery against where your chairs land, because a wide foot is the one thing that stops a chair tucking fully under.

If 90cm turns out to be too small

Round tables scale quickly, and a step up buys more than it sounds. The BK-Milan Round Dining Table (1.1/1.3m) keeps the pedestal idea at 110cm or 130cm. The Chelsea Round Table (1.3m) is the same 130cm diameter with a marble top and a chrome frame. And if the room only occasionally needs to be bigger, the Lucca 1.1m Round Extending Dining Table starts at 110cm and opens out.

Before you order

Measure the clear floor, measure your chairs, decide between the black and the chrome base, and ask the shop anything the listing does not answer. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. When you are ready, the finishes and photographs are all on the Bentley Round Table (0.9m) page.