Dining tables: prices, sizes and shapes worth comparing

Sizing for the room you have

The simplest rule still holds: leave at least 90cm between the edge of the table and the nearest wall or piece of furniture, so a chair can slide back without scraping the skirting. A 140cm rectangular table seats four in real comfort, 180cm seats six, and 220cm seats eight. Round tables eat less floor space; a 120cm round seats four generously, a 150cm round will press eight in if guests don't bring elbows. If the dining area shares its floor with a sofa or a kitchen island, measure twice before falling in love with anything bigger than 180cm.

Rectangle, round, oval

Rectangles are the workhorse: they slot against walls, take leaf extensions, and cope with mismatched chairs without looking awkward. Round tables suit smaller rooms and the way conversation actually flows; nobody is stuck on the corner, and four people feel like a proper supper rather than an interview. Oval is the soft compromise, with the seating capacity of a rectangle and a less brutal silhouette in a busy room. If you have children who whip around table corners, oval will save a few bruises.

Timber, glass, marble, metal

Solid oak is the long-game British choice, heavy and the kind of grain that gets better with use. Pine costs less and dents more, so it suits a relaxed kitchen rather than a polished dining room. Walnut and ash sit between, with walnut darker and ash paler. Glass tops keep a small room feeling open and are easy to wipe down, but they show every fingerprint and chill a winter meal. Marble looks gorgeous and stains if you so much as look at red wine sideways; if you go marble, expect to seal it twice a year. Powder-coated steel bases under a wood top are quietly the best value for a hard-wearing modern table, and Cox and Cox and Habitat both do well-priced versions in this format.

Extending tables earn their place

A static six-seater that sits half-empty most weeknights is a less useful piece of furniture than a four-seater that opens to eight at Christmas. Extending tables with leaves stowed under the top (often called butterfly leaves) are the most elegant solution; bolt-on end leaves are cheaper and slightly clumsier. Dunelm, Oak Furnitureland and John Lewis all stock six-to-eight extenders for sub-£800. For a properly engineered extension mechanism, the sort that doesn't sag in the middle after a year of use, £900 upwards is a fairer benchmark.

Finish, and what it asks of you

An oiled or raw-wood finish ages with use, takes the odd water ring without drama, and can be sanded back if life gets messy. A lacquered finish wipes clean and looks newer for longer; but when it scratches, it scratches white. Glass and marble both want a soft cloth and a mild cleaner; never spritz a window cleaner straight onto a marble top. Match the finish to the household, not to the photograph. A busy young family lives more easily with oiled oak than with high-gloss lacquer.

Where the value sits

Sub-£500 buys a slim-frame veneer table that will do five honest years before the edges chip. £500 to £900 is the sweet spot for solid-wood-topped extenders from Habitat, Dunelm and Oak Furnitureland. Above £1,200 expect proper joinery, real hardwood throughout, and finishes that look hand-applied. Loaf and Heal's pitch above that line. Pick the bracket that suits the life the table will lead, not the life on the website.