Making the choice between an oval shaped or rectangular dining table is easy when you list out the dimensions of the room, seating needs for now and the future, and think about safety for growing families. Aesthetically they serve different purposes and create different moods, and this is where shoppers normally get stuck.
If you’re trying to choose between the two shapes, we can help. Here’s what we share with our customers shopping for dining table sets to help ensure they get the right one for their current and future needs. We’ll start with a quick comparison table, then share more information about each feature below.
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Rectangle Dining Tables |
Oval Dining Tables |
|
|
Seats more people at the same length |
More |
Less depending on the shape of the oval |
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Effect the shape creates |
Grounding and focus |
Flow and ease |
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Room aesthetic |
Traditional, formal, maximalist |
Modern, contemporary, minimalist |
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Better for room size |
Larger |
Smaller |
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Kid friendly |
Less |
More |
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Surface area |
Larger |
Smaller |
Both rectangular and oval shaped dining tables can be elegant, sophisticated, modern, and stylish, it's more about the use of the table and the space than the shape when the shape doesn’t matter to you.
Seating Capacity and Surface Area for Hosting Large Meals
Rectangular dining tables will seat more people than ovular dining tables when the length of the oval has a shallow vs. a wide end. This is because the surface area is larger allowing for more place settings and a person at each end. If the dining table has wide ends and can seat a person easily, the curved sides of the oval may allow for more comfortable seating vs. having chairs directly against one another.
The surface area of the rectangular table is larger than the oval dining table allowing it to hold and display more food, and have more place settings without parts of a place mat being too close to an edge. This makes hosting larger dinners easy, especially when there are multiple smaller side dishes as an oval table will require them to be moved closer to the center and away from guests where there is more space.
Here’s how to calculate surface area if you plan on hosting large dinners. We’ll use a 72 inch long by 36 inch wide (6’ x 3’) dining table.
Rectangle
- Length x Width = Surface Area
- 72 in × 36 in = 2592 Square Inches
Oval
Calculating the surface are of the oval dining table takes multiple steps, so here’s the formula.
π (Pi) x Length/2 x Width/2 = Surface Area
- 3.1416 × (72÷2) × (36÷2) = Surface Area
- 3.1416 x 36 x 18
- 3.1416 × 648 = 2036.73 Square Inches
If we convert inches to feet, the rectangle shaped dining table has 18 square feet to set side dishes, decor, and place settings on, while the oval shaped dining table only has 14.15 making rectangular shaped dining tables better for hosting larger dinners.
Better for Smaller or Larger Spaces
The larger surface area also means less space to move around, so if the dining room or area is not spacious, an oval shaped dining table will allow people to move throughout more freely. There is less feeling claustrophobic as there is ample room for flow and movement (part of Feng Shui), and less bumping into people when someone gets up to go to the kitchen or use the rest room.
The curved sides without sharp corners also make oval shape dining tables more kid friendly as there are less chances for the children to get hurt if they’re running or playing in the room.
For large spaces and open floor plans, the strong linear sides of rectangular dining tables help bring eyes to the area and ground it. Matching it with a rectangular area rug can create a focal point in large ranch style homes and open floor plans, as the two shapes ground the area together.
The extra space is not needed as there is room on all sides, so the rectangle shaped dining set is better than oval shaped for large dining rooms and open spaces where grounding is important.
Design and Room Aesthetic
Curved sides are light, airy, and allow flow around the room so eyes can keep moving. They’re also more modern than a traditional and formal straight line that meets at right angles and creates defined beginnings and ends. This is how the two shapes impact design and room aesthetics.
Rectangular dining tables are perfect for formal, classical, country or farm house, and ranch style homes without dividing walls as they help center spaces and ground the seating area. They can be combined with modern or classical decor items, but the rectangular shape is not as easy as oval shapes to pair with modern art and lighting. It does go perfect with crystal chandeliers and balanced pendant lights in cylindrical or square and rectangular shapes.
Oval dining tables pair perfectly with modern, minimalist, and contemporary room aesthetics. They look great with glass bowls and curvy decor items, and pair perfectly with modern lighting and chandeliers. This includes spheres and art-deco glass pendant lights.
Choosing between oval and rectangle shaped dining tables is as easy as knowing how many people you’ll need to seat, if you need to ground an area for an open floor plan or keep space open for people to move around, and the aesthetic of the room now and in the future since dining tables are investment pieces.
