I'd get a large round table. I love round dining tables, and I think one would look gorgeous in that room.

Round table! Love the shape of your sofas - good luck and have fun.

Round.

Agree 60 inch round.

My 60" round table in the kitchen does NOT seat 8 people. I can squeeze in a 7th chair, but it is only really comfortable with 6 chairs. My chairs are 22" wide.

Also make sure that the pedestal base you choose doesn't block the chairs from being pushed in as far as possible.

I am concerned that you are only talking about seating a maximun of 8...more times than I can think of there has been a reason to pull up another chair...either because of unexpected guests or because someone stopped over and wanted to share conversation....and a round table lends itself to "one more chair" lots more easily than a rectangular one does.
I have a 45 inch round one in the family room that I use for informal meals....never planning on seating more than 4.....but many times I have pulled up another chair or 2, added more pasta to the pot and seated 6.
With a 60 inch round, you could easily seat 10....even 12 in a pinch if you use a cloth

No way will she seat 10 with the chairs she wants to buy. 8 will be a very tight squeeze.

An 11' x 12' room should fit a 72" x 48" (6' x 4') table comfortably which will seat 8 and give you walking around room with people sitting down. 60" which is only 5', is too small to seat that many people.

Take your chairs and using the backs as the table edge, set them up to measure a space of 6' x 4' and see what you think.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'm surprised at the resounding "round"! I guess square is just for aesthetics but round more practical.

So 60" would be smallest but does 64" seem reasonable enough to a little more room? Or is that too monstrous for the room size? Should I just purchase 6 of the upholstered chairs and have that for everyday set up and pull in those wooden chairs I already have for extras as needed?.. And if keeping a regular 6-person setting should I only have the table made to 60" or 62"?

@chispa - thanks for helping give reference about yourexperience and chair size input too, that really helps give perspective :-)

@blfenton - my husband keeps pushing for rectangle for sake of adding in extra seats as necessary or getting that with extension insert but I was hoping for the slightly less traditional shape, esp to offset a little from our rectangle kitchen farmhouse table.

Thanks again, I'll update as I finalize!

We have a 60 inch round table in our breakfast nook. I had 6 similar chairs from Crate and Barrel. They fit fine, not sure another 2 would have fit. We pulled up a couple of odd wood chairs when we need more seating. However, be sure you sit for a while in the upholstered chairs. While mine looked beautiful with the table, they were just not that comfortable for sitting for any length of time. Ended up selling on CL and getting wood chairs with upholstered seats. This is our everyday dining area.

Just a note on your chairs. I had the Hudson chairs at one point. They clean up beautifully as far as the fabric goes, but they do not hold up structurally. Ours got very light use as part of the formal dining room, but within two years, the springs came through the bottom on several and the seats flattened out so much that they just weren't comfortable to sit in anymore. They were also quite heavy to pull in and out (for a small person like me). I got rid of them and went back to the antique wood chairs with caned seats and the two Windsors as chairs for the ends, all of which I had, happily, kept.

I would also make sure you have leaves made for whatever table you get.

I covet round dining room tables every time I see them! If I could start over, that's what I would get. I think they make round tables with leaves that you can add to the edges. We used to have a round 54" in our kitchen and the most we could squeeze around it was 7, partly because of the wide base of the chairs we had. If you have small "extra" chairs you might be able to fit more people around a 60", but 8 would be the absolute max. I've done that many around my outdoor table but when I do I use a tablecloth and the plates, napkins, etc. are close together. Lovely home!

Ok I'm convinced to a 60" round, hopefully with drop in leafs for extra seating. I spoke with the table maker today and he's on vaca until Saturday so we'll touch base early next week and finalize plan/start the actual build.

After all the recommendations I'm thinking too that I'll only purchase 6 of the chairs and use my existing wooden ones for extras. We aren't big entertainers and would mostly have just another couple to host but this will provide a slightly more cost effective solution for when we do entertain more.

@maggieq & @cyn427 @jjam - thanks for the chair info! Yikes about the experience with the Hudson chairs, esp for how pricey they are! I've heard such mixed reviews about the overall quality of RH, either wonderful or awful, but I've been coveting the Martine for so long that I'm cautiously willing to give them a try... And hope at worst I could have them brought to a re-upholsterer for future modification over buying fresh set at that time.

Thanks again everyone, this has been Hugely helpful! :-)

Why don't you take a look at Carrington Court Direct before you make up your mind on chairs. I have been considering ordering from them for awhile now and have heard nothing but positive feedback from posters on this board who have ordered from them. You would be able to send in your own fabric or choose one of theirs to get exactly what you want.

And even tho you've decided on a round table, I'll add my 2 cents and say I love round tables, especially for conversation in the dining room.

Just to confuse you more, there is also the option of getting a square table with drop down leaves on each side that when raised create a circle table. With good hinges, it's the best of both worlds. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hampton-Square-to-Round-Folding-Leaf-Gathering-Table/11194218/product.html

We have a 60 inch round table on our screened porch. We use old ladder back chairs...small profile....and we can seat 8 just fine. I use 90 inch round tablecloths in solid colors and then add a 70 inch round cloth on top. The top cloth is usually a print. I change the top cloth frequently and can keep the bottom cloth on longer.

My dining room is a similar size. Without a leaf, it is 56" x 58". It will seat 6. If I have more, I put in one leaf and can seat 8 max. It's tight and I never leave the leaf in afterwards. Small dining rooms are...well...small!

Because i said I'd post the final product, here are a couple pics of the table. I did go back to my original square table idea, it's a mammoth 64", and I love it!! Still have yet to buy new chairs but that'll come eventually. Thanks everyone for your insight :-)

64 x 64?? or 64 long?? Gorgeous though :-)

Beautiful table!