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Dining room has the distinction of being a multipurpose space for most 2 to 3 bed room apartments in India. You often find house hold members occupying the space for various activities all day long. From cutting & dry preparation of food to studying, reading news paper, watching TV, playing cards, pressing, mending clothes…and of course eating. There are a few who have the luxury of having a independent dining room while most have a living or a drawing room combined with the dining room. Some houses combine their entrance lobby with the dining room. In most joint families you would find the elder of the house occupying a seat in the center of the house be it a lobby or a dining table. They enjoy watching the daily affairs of the house.

What is a good Dining room size?

Size of dining room depends on -

a) Total number of occupants…also design and size of table for how many people?

b) If the room is shared with another activity or independent.

c) Requirement for any other furniture, other than the dining table. For example - crockery cabinet, serving shelf and so on.

How do you calculate the room size for a six seater dining table?

Round table for 6 seats [1100mm -1200mm or] say 3 feet 9 inches diameter of table and another [minimum] 3 feet 9 inches around the table for service movement and seating. So a square room of 11 feet by 11 feet [120 square foot area] would just about do the job. This room size will increase if you want to add any crockery storage furniture pieces etc. Rectangle table for 6 seats [900mm to 1000mm wide x 1650mm to 1800mm long or] say 3 feet wide x 6 feet long placed with its length parallel to one wall would need about 4 feet on either head of the table side while you could do with 3 feet 3 inches between wall and table and slightly more space on the other side for serving…say 3 feet 9inches to 4 feet. This would give you a room size of about 10 feet wide by 14 feet long [140 square foot area] How high should the dining table or seat of the chairs be? Most dining tables follow the convention of 30 inches [or 2 feet 6 inches] height while the seat of the chair is about 18 inches [or 1 feet 6 inches] high. The lower the height of the chair and the table the more our legs tend to spread further away from us or buckle up and compress our stomachs.

Should one use glass top tables?

There is a mixed opinion here. As long as one can eliminate the problem of transparency in glass by either treating the glass or by placing table mats, translucent table cloth etc such that legs of the occupants are not seen we see no reason why one should not use glass as a table top. Its easy to clean and maintain. The other problem of cold glass surface to touch can also be eliminated in similar fashion. In case you don’t like to cover and hide the table top and hate the feel of cold glass then there is nothing better natural warm touch of smooth wooden table top.

Recommended wall surface finish for dining room?

Washable wall paper scores way above painted surfaces with similar features here. Rich texture and patterns hide even the hardiest of stains. Recommended floor surface for dining room? Stone or tiles both do well here. Laminated wooden flooring is also fine. Carpets and natural wood parquet flooring that requires frequent maintenance are highly avoidable.