Work from the room, not the headcount. Allow a minimum of 900 mm of clear space behind every chair so people can get in and out while a meeting is running, and 1,200 mm if the room has a credenza or the door swings inward. That leaves the table itself.Each seated person needs roughly 750 mm of table edge to work comfortably with a laptop and papers, and 600 mm at a squeeze. On a rectangular table with one person at each end, that gives a working guide:
- 6 people: 2,400 mm long
- 8 people: 3,000 mm long
- 10 people: 3,600 mm long
- 12 people: 4,200 mm long
- 14 to 16 people: 4,800 to 5,400 mm long
- 18 to 20 people: 6,000 mm long or longer, usually built in sections
Depth matters as much as length. A 1,200 mm deep table keeps people close enough to talk without raising their voices; 1,400 to 1,600 mm suits rooms where documents, monitors or a centre-line power spine take up the middle. The Meeting Table runs from 2,400 mm to 6,120 mm long in 1,200, 1,400 and 1,600 mm depths, which covers most of the sizes above from a single system.
Above 20 people, a single table stops working as a space for conversation. Consider a modular arrangement that can split into two or three smaller tables, or a hollow rectangle with a walk-in centre.
Table shapes: rectangular, barrel, boat and modular
Rectangular is the default because it is the most efficient use of a rectangular room and the easiest to specify. It suits hierarchical meetings with a chair at the head and presentations at one end. Barrel and boat-shaped tops are wider in the middle and taper toward the ends. The taper improves sightlines: people halfway down the table can see the ends, and everyone can see a screen mounted on the short wall. They cost more to make because the top is cut from a larger panel, and they take slightly more floor area for the same seat count.
Round and oval tables remove the head of the table altogether and work well for boards that meet as equals, or for rooms up to about 10 people. The Thonet S8000 Conference Table is available with either a rectangular or a round top on the same looped base.
Modular systems are built from repeating sections that bolt together. They are the answer for rooms that need to change layout, for tables over 5 m that would not fit through the door in one piece, and for organisations that expect to move office before the table wears out. The Sinetica Board Meeting Table and William Hands Omega are both configured this way.
