Lewis Dining Table: four sizes compared, from 1.2m to 2m

Few dining tables here are offered in four lengths. The Lewis Dining Table is, which makes it one of the easier pieces to fit a real room around. The listing describes four contemporary legs with a polished chrome frame and a choice of marble or ceramic top, and gives the sizes below. The decision is almost entirely about length, so start with the floor rather than the photographs.

The four sizes, exactly as listed

The figures are not labelled on the listing, so we have read them as length, width and height. The seat counts are our own rule of roughly 60cm of table edge per person, not a claim the listing makes. Note that the size selector on the product page shows the length and width only; the height is 75cm throughout.

How much floor each one wants

Add about 100cm on every side where somebody will sit. That is around 75cm to pull a chair back and sit down, plus room for a second person to pass behind. So the 1.2m table works in a clear area of about 320 x 280cm, the 1.5m about 350 x 290cm, the 1.8m about 380 x 290cm and the 2m about 400 x 300cm. Any side against a wall gives you 100cm back.

If the room is tight, the 120 x 80cm option is the one to look at. It is small enough for a kitchen end or a flat, and at 80cm deep it still takes a plate, a glass and a serving dish across the middle. Measure the route in as well: doorway widths, hall width and the turn at the top of a stair decide whether a 2m top can reach the room at all.

Four legs, and where chairs can sit

This is a four-legged table rather than a pedestal, and that affects seating. A leg at each corner means the end places are over or beside a leg, so the two ends are usually better for a chair pulled up occasionally than for a fixed setting. The long sides take chairs cleanly. At 75cm high, a dining chair with a seat around 45cm leaves roughly 30cm of knee room, which is the comfortable range.

Marble or ceramic, and what to ask

The listing offers both tops but gives no further detail on either: no thickness, no colour, no finish, and nothing on care. It also does not say whether the top material is chosen on the order form, which only lists sizes. So tell us which top you want when you order, and ask which are currently offered in the size you have picked.

• The listing describes the design as Italian. It does not state where the table is made, and we will not claim it.
• No weight is given for any size. Both top materials are heavy in a 2m panel, so plan the lift and have somebody with you on delivery day.
• Nothing is said about assembly or whether the frame arrives attached to the top. Ask rather than assume.

The rest of the Lewis range

For the same look in a round top, the Lewis Round Table (1.3m) is 130cm across on four tapered legs, and the Lewis Square Dining Table (1m) is the compact square version. The range also runs to a Lewis dark grey bench in three lengths, which is worth considering for the side against a wall. Everything else sits in Dining Tables.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. Once you know your length, the Lewis Dining Table page carries the photographs and all four sizes.