Ideally allow at least 3 feet for each chair (2' chair depth + 1' to get in and out). So if you have a 12' space, 6' might be taken up by chairs. That means you can fit a 72" round but wouldn't have a lot of extra space. The leaf would make it really tight. I'm all for extra space, but I fell in love with a round table, so I will deal. I have an 8x8 space plus walk room on one side, and I picked out a 48" round table. I have no extra room on some sides but the roundness helps. There are a lot of options. I would go into a showroom and ask the sales associate for help. There are convertible tables, thin pedestals, variable tabletops, exterior and interior legs, 3 legged tables in addition to leafs. Sorry that was probably not much help. I went into a crate and barrel showroom and asked for help and I was able to figure out what I wanted through the process of elimination. They have enough different configurations that you can get an idea of what will and will not work in your space. I would optimize floor space for your family and only add the extra tabletop space when you absolutely have to. The chairs make a big difference in how much space you have around the table when not in use. You can choose uncomfortable chairs that fit tightly against the table (if the table allows) or comfy upholstered chairs that take up more space when pushed in as much as possible. If you go rectangular, you have the option of benches. They have upholstered benches too. Every inch matters. If you can trim a few inches off the chairs or table edges or scooch the chair under the table a bit more, you may be able to come up with another 6-8" around the table. This one says it will fit 6-8, but I wonder if you could get more kids around it if you use benches. (It's not the most attractive IMO.) Table goes from 34x57 to 57x68.

Dianne -- yes, I would not want to linger over a meal on stools. But a quick breakfast on a stool isn't that bad. As I said it's where you "eat" rather than "dine". We have an interesting story about this work island. We got it from the Scottish Rite in our town when they closed and auctioned everything off. This very table was where we prepped DD's wedding dinner (as we rented the Scottish Rite kitchen for our wedding kitchen because it was right across the street from the reception venue) so it has memories. But I think you'd be happier with a rectangle especially if it is in the middle of the room. As far as "old" rectangular tables -- they're popular now so there should be a lot to chose from -- real antiques as well as those that are made to look like antiques.

I have a relatively small dining area. After considering options I opted for a so-called racetrack shape. This enables me to seat six very comfortably if need be and I could probably seat eight in a pinch. Because it is a racetrack shape it doesn't have the width that a round table would have and because it is a pedestal instead of having legs at each end, people can sit comfortable at any edge of the table. I only opted for four dining chairs but I have some nice folding chairs stacked in my hall closet in the event I want to seat more than four at a meal. Here is a picture of my table - because of the angle of the shot, it looks much more squished against the wall but the table is actual equip-distant. Because of the need to have a walk way into the kitchen from the living room, the width of the table was actually more important than the length and a 48" round table would have been too wide.

Hi lell- I do not favor round tables because when you want to expand them, you end up with a lot of dead space in the middle of the table in which it is is hard to pass things across without a lazy susan. And I am not sure I want that. Furthermore, the diameter of the table ends up getting quite large and makes it difficult for people to talk to each other across that distance. I favor rectangles, and you can get a table with leaves for when you want to add people, and you can get extra chairs too. Question though, is that area really the dining area? It seems odd that one would have to carry the food through the living room to get to the dining area. Isn't there a dining area closer to the kitchen?