SG-London Dining Table: why a U-shaped base changes the seating

The SG-London Dining Table (1.8/2m) comes in two sizes and sits on a U-shaped pedestal rather than four corner legs. That base is the reason to look at this table over a conventional one, so this post explains what it buys you and what the listing does not tell you.

The two sizes, as listed

The larger option is 20cm longer and also 10cm deeper. That extra depth is spent twice, once on each long side, so the 2m needs noticeably more floor across the room than the length difference implies. Both are 75cm high.

What the U-shaped base actually does

The listing describes a gold frame with a U-shaped pedestal base, and says it gives legroom and lets you seat people round the whole perimeter without obstruction. The mechanism is straightforward: with no leg at the corners, nothing fixes where a chair has to go. You can put four down one side and two at an end, or slide everybody along to make room for one more, which a four-legged table of the same size will not let you do.

Two things to check in return. A pedestal foot spreads across the floor, and a chair stops where the foot does, so look at the foot on delivery against where your chairs land. And the listing does not give the foot dimensions, the top thickness, the weight, or how the gold frame is finished, so put all of that in one question to the shop before ordering.

The listing also offers a choice of marble or ceramic for the top. The product page only lets you pick the size, so the surface is not a basket choice. Ask which one the size you want is supplied with.

What each size seats

Allow about 60cm of edge per place, and nearer 75cm if nobody should be touching elbows.

• 180 x 90cm. Six is the everyday number at 60cm a place, three to each side. Eight once you use the ends, and this is where the pedestal earns its keep, because the end diner has clear space rather than a leg at each knee.
• 200 x 100cm. Six at a generous 66cm each, or eight at 50cm a side with the 100cm depth leaving the middle free for dishes. Ten is edge-space possible and not worth doing.

Clear floor, and getting it through the door

• Allow about 75cm out from each edge for a chair in use, and about 100cm where someone has to walk behind a seated diner.
• 180 x 90cm needs roughly 330 x 240cm of clear floor with chairs on all sides, or about 330 x 165cm pushed to a wall.
• 200 x 100cm needs roughly 350 x 250cm, or about 350 x 175cm against a wall.
• Measure the narrowest doorway and any stair turn. A 200cm top is a single rigid piece, and the listing does not say whether it ships separately from the base.

Close alternatives worth a look

If you only want the 2m size and prefer a twin-pedestal look, the SG-Monaco Table (2m) is the same 200 x 100 x 75cm on two U-shaped legs. For the same two sizes on end legs with a supporting bar, compare the SG-Chelsea Dining Table (1.8/2m). And if 180cm is more table than the room wants, the SG-Lewis Dining Table (1.5/1.8/2m) starts at 150 x 90cm. Everything else is on the dining tables page, and chairs are listed under dining chairs.

Before you order

Work out the depth you can give up before you choose the length, measure your chairs, and ask the shop about the pedestal foot and the top material. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. Both sizes and the photographs are on the SG-London Dining Table (1.8/2m) page.