SG-Lewis Dining Table: which of the three lengths fits your room

The SG-Lewis Dining Table (1.5/1.8/2m) is listed in three lengths, and they suit genuinely different rooms. Below are the figures as the listing gives them, what each one seats, and the one thing about a four-legged table you should settle before ordering.

The three sizes, as listed

Note that the 150 and the 180 share the same 90cm depth, so going from one to the other costs you nothing across the room. The 2m is the only option that is also deeper, and that extra 10cm comes off the walkway on both long sides. If the room is tight across rather than along, the 180 is often the better table even when the 200 would physically go in.

What the listing states

The listing describes a four-leg frame finished in gold and a choice of a marble or a ceramic tabletop. It calls the styling contemporary Italian design; it does not say where the table is made, so if that matters to you it is a question for the shop rather than something to read into the wording.

The product page offers the size and nothing else, so the top material is not a basket choice. Ask which surface the length you want is supplied with. Also unstated: the top thickness, the weight, how far the legs are set in from the corners, and whether the frame arrives assembled.

Leg position is the figure that decides end seating

On a four-legged table the legs are usually set towards the corners, which can leave an end diner with a leg at each knee rather than clear space. The listing does not say where the legs sit or how far in they are set, so that is guesswork until you ask. If you intend to seat anyone at the ends, ask for the inset, and measure the width of your chairs against the clear gap between the legs along each side. It is a common reason a table that looked right on paper seats fewer people than expected.

What each size seats

Allow about 60cm of edge per place setting, and nearer 75cm for comfort.

• 150 x 90cm. Four comfortably, two to each long side at 75cm each. Six if you use the ends, which on a four-legged table needs the leg inset checked first.
• 180 x 90cm. Six is the natural number, three to a side at 60cm each. Eight with the ends in use, which suits occasional dinners more than everyday meals.
• 200 x 100cm. Six very comfortably, or eight at 50cm a side. The 100cm depth is what makes eight workable, because there is still room down the centre for dishes.

Clear floor for each option

• Allow about 75cm out from an edge for a chair in use, and about 100cm where someone walks behind a seated diner.
• 150 x 90cm needs roughly 300 x 240cm with chairs all round, or about 300 x 165cm against a wall.
• 180 x 90cm needs roughly 330 x 240cm, or about 330 x 165cm against a wall.
• 200 x 100cm needs roughly 350 x 250cm, or about 350 x 175cm against a wall.

Measure the route in too. A 200cm top is rigid and will not turn a tight stair landing, and the listing does not say whether the top ships separately from the frame.

Other shapes and frames to weigh up

For a round top in the same look, the SG-Lewis Round Table (1.3m) is 130cm across and seats about the same as the 180cm rectangle in a squarer room. If you want the long sides clear of legs altogether, the SG-London Dining Table (1.8/2m) uses a U-shaped pedestal in the two larger sizes, and the SG-Monaco Table (2m) does the same at 200 x 100cm only. The full dining tables range sits alongside the dining chairs, which are sold separately.

Before you order

Settle the depth first, then the length, then ask the shop about the leg inset and the top material. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. All three sizes are on the SG-Lewis Dining Table (1.5/1.8/2m) page.