There are enough shapes, sizes, and types of conference tables out there to make a person nuts. How can you know which is the perfect one for you? I know that most often, people are concerned about the way the conference room table looks in their space. We all agree that’s crucial to conference presentation. What about making sure it fits your meeting space and gives enough seating for your attendees? That’s even more important.
Your modern conference table needs to allow seating space for the number of attendees your office meetings include on a regular basis. At the same time, it needs to be comfortable, and allow adequate space to negotiate around it (pun intended). The conference table width should usually be at least 36 inches across, to allow enough space for document transfer and other important meeting-room exchanges. A good rule of thumb: when the length of your conference table goes up, your table width should do the same. I will get into this in greater depth shortly. This information is important to know when you set out in search of your modern conference room table.
Carolina Modern Conference Table
Measure your Conference Room Wall-to-Wall
When you measure the conference space wall-to-wall, you can calculate backwards to identify the size of table that will comfortably fit your room size. Knowing your maximum table size will give you the greatest number of people your table will fit comfortably. Allowing 42"-48" in from each of the walls will give you the table’s largest size for your meeting space.
Deduct Space for Additional Furniture and Clearance
If you plan to put other furniture in your conference room, like a credenza or TV monitor on the wall, you will need to deduct that amount of space from the table size—after deducting for clearance. The average credenza depth is 24"D. The TV monitor spacing should be dictated by the size of the screen.
Cleveland Modern Conference Table
Visualizing Your Conference Room Table Space
Once you have measured and made all of your deductions, take blue tape and tape off the remaining space that your table will occupy. This will give you the perfect visual of the maximum conference table size that will comfortably fit your room. Make sure to use blue tape, or an alternative that is easily removable, so as not to get sticky stuff on your conference room floor.
Crevasse Modern Conference Table
Figuring Out “People Fit” for Your Conference Table
Each person in a meeting environment needs a minimum of 30" of free space, unless they are really friendly. For occasional situations in which you have more attendees, you can squeeze more in for shorter meetings (or cozier ones).
Round Meeting Table
Round Tables Can Work for Small Meeting Spaces.
Round conference tables can fit into tight spaces, and because they don’t have sharp, square corners to bump into, they can make for smoother, more unified meetings. Often, you will be able to fit more people around this shape of table because of the lack of corners. A center pedestal table will allow more space under the table for everyone’s legs.
Planning “People Fit” for a Round Conference Table
Here’s a formula you can keep in mind when calculating “people fit” for round conference tables. There may be different opinions out there from designers and office furniture producers regarding fit—however, try using this as a rule of thumb:
- 36" diameter with a pedestal base will seat 4
- 48" diameter with legs will seat 4
- 60" diameter with a pedestal base will seat 6
- 60" diameter with legs will seat 4
- 72" diameter with a pedestal base or legs will seat 8
- 84" diameter with a pedestal base or legs will seat 9
Something to be mindful of: large, round tables push meeting attendees further away, and can make communication more difficult and less intimate. Rectangular shapes for larger meetings often provide the best shape for communication.
Rectangular or Square?
The best fit for a rectangular room is, most often, a rectangular table. Rectangular conference tables seem to work best for rectangular meeting rooms, because they leave more room for traffic flow.
Seating Size for a Rectangular Table
Here’s a rule of thumb for getting the fit right using a rectangular conference table:
- 48" long table seats 4
- 60"-72" long table seats 6
- 84" long table seats 6-8
- 96"-102" long table seats 8-10
- 120"-132" long table seats 10-12
Going Square is Not Offensive
If you have a modern conference room that is square, using a square table may be the ticket. Although square conference tables are great for following the shape of the room and creating more unified meetings, when square tables get too large, the reverse happens: seating moves further apart, and meetings become less intimate.
Finding the Right-Sized Table
Obviously, conference rooms come in all different shapes and sizes. On top of that, each company has their own “people fit” requirements for their company. If that isn’t challenging enough, you also want your conference room to look great, modern, and up-to-date!
Finding a modern conference table that does all of that in one package is probably close to impossible. For this reason, 90 Degree Office Concepts created a business model that allows you to pick the design, color, size, and materials of your perfect table, so you don’t have to worry. Call us for answers to your questions.
