How to Arrange Dining Room Chairs

Featured Pro: Carter Oosterhouse
Category: Home Décor
Time: 3:12


CARTER OOSTERHOUSE: Hey, I’m Carter Oosterhouse, and this is your next GMC Trade Secret.

Now, conversation is a key element to consider when preparing for any dinner party. So I’m going to show you how to arrange the seating in your dining room in a conversation-friendly way.

Now, we’re going to start out with chairs. And you can see the first chair that we have here is somewhat of a larger chair. It’s really comfortable, not ideal for seating a lot of people around a table, but it definitely takes up a lot of space. You can see it has a high back, has a rounded back. It has armrests, which makes it a little bit wider, a little bit bulkier. And it’s a pretty wide chair and a pretty heavy chair. So like I said, if you want to get a lot of people around a table, this might not be the right one.

Now, the next chair that we’re showing is a little bit dated, but again, it has a high back. It does have a rounded back and it does have a rounded seat. Now, you could put a pad on it, but alone with the wood, it’s really not that comfortable. But still, it takes up a lot of space. So a general note: If you’re trying to fit a lot of people around a table, don’t use a chair that has soft corners. You want to use right-angled corners or sharp corners, because then you’ll fit a lot more people. This one probably, again, not ideal for putting a lot of people around a table.

Now, the next chair is ideal for storage. You can see it collapses. It’s really light. These are perfect to have around your house and if you want to add people to a table. See, it unfolds. It doesn’t really have a high back. You can see there’s not a whole lot to it, but it really has these nice right angles, so it’s perfect for adding a lot of chairs and a lot of people around a table. It’s just not that comfortable.

Now, the next chair is my personal favorite. You can see this one has a great look to it, has a nice high back. It’s really not that wide on the back, nor is it that wide on the seat. And you can pretty much get a lot of chairs around a table with one like this. And it also has a cushion on the seat, so it’s pretty comfortable.

This is definitely the chair of choice. Now let’s talk about the spacing of these chairs.

Here’s the example of too many chairs stuffed into a small space. You can see we only have about 20 inches center on center. Here your guests are probably going to be rubbing elbows. So with four chairs this side, it feels pretty cramped. This, it’s probably a little too close, don’t you think?

Now, these chairs are about right. You want to place them close enough that guests can carry on a conversation, but you don’t want to have them too close so that way they’re rubbing elbows all night long. Now, I think about 24 to 30 inches on center is pretty much the perfect placement. And if you can, move the chairs at least 48 inches from the wall. This is so much better – a little breathing room.

Now, if you still want to get a lot of guests around a dinner table and have them be comfortable, try using a bench. It not only looks great, but it definitely serves the purpose. And if you have kids, this bench works fantastic.

So now you know the type of seating you can use and the appropriate spacing. Use these little things at home and your dinner parties will be fantastic.

I’m Carter Oosterhouse, and this is your GMC Trade Secret.