So just to be clear, the blue area is the dining table and the 24” gap is what we are planning to reserve for the chairs on the wall side. The black lines indicates wall. The open area is about 32” and then we have our kitchen and all on the left side of the open area.

The minimum spacing from a table edge to an obstruction is 36”. 24” will not have room for people. This space can not be a dining space.It is too small for anything but a bistro table.

This is kitchen dining area? Do you also have formal dining area or an island with seating? How many do you need to seat daily or will table be used daily? See prior questions. I’m sure there’s a workable solution but really more info on useage & all dining options in home needed before those solutions can be suggested. Do you already have this 36” wide table & if so, are you willing to part with it?

These are great questions.

• No, we do not have any dining table right now. But a quick shopping research shows that 36” is the most commonly available minimum depth.
• We do have an island that can sit 4 people.
• No, we do not have any formal dining room. This is all that we have :(
• This is a part of an open layout.

Okay - have better picture but still need more info. I think you’ll get more useful suggestions if you post a drawing of the space with all wall lengths, windows & doorways marked & show what’s on the other side of the 32” walkway you note.

Your layout is very similar to mine. Open floor plan, no dining room, 4 seats at eat at island & narrrow space for dining table. In my house it’s only the 2 of us & we eat at bar always. With guests we use our 34” wide x 49” long table & add 1 or 2 of the additional 12” each leaves as needed. We always have 6 chairs at table that all slide completely under - the seat part - when no one sitting there. My dining floor space is 190.5” long x 114” wide. Width includes walk space between table & island counter start so the walk space is also used by 1 of the chairs at my angled island which is large - 10’ outside end to end & length includes space needed for door swing for patio door. I do have table sitting a tiny bit more than 2’ from the back wall (with windows) when no one using table & pull it towards kitchen & island a bit when guests seated at table. This works for the 2 of us & I do this to keep walkway width open. I can get into my kitchen at either end of the angled island so that helps. There are narrower tables than 36” which you need. But how many do you need to seat daily if any? You’ll need a table with leg positions allow the chairs to slide completely under with backs up to top of table - no sticking out when not in use. The key info to consider - how many to seat daily & secondary factor - how many + occasional guests? Drawing please!

My niece has her table like this and usually nobody sits in the middle on the wall side. If there are more people she pulls it out and splits the difference and it's a bit tight all around with 8 or ten people seated and sometimes someone will have to get up to let someone seated in the middle get out.

But guess what, it's a social occasion and people know each other. You aren't asking a stranger or your bitterest enemy to get out of the way.

What are you supposed to do? Not use the room at all? Tear down the house and build a bigger one? Really haven't the people who freak out over ideal clearances ever eaten in a crowded restaurant or been to the theater where squeezing past people is typical?

I don't know, maybe not. Or maybe they are the kind or person who gets in an altercation when someone accidentally brushes against them.

There are more narrow dining tables. I had one that was 32", google pulled up a 30" one. Just realize that placemats will be close together and there is no middle room for decor/dishes etc when you are using it. A custom table might be worth it for you.

Post the whole layout. This has the feeling of a kitchen expansion that ate the dining room.

And are there any windows?
A shorter table, allowing more room on the ends, will help. A trestle table will also help with legroom.

You may be able to get a slightly narrower table but this is a trade off too. It has to be wide enough for people's plates and wide enough for serving dishes or people will really have to get up a lot. We actually have a small table for every day and a folding banquet table for when we want 6-8.

@HomeSweet Home I’m waiting for you to post a floorplan / sketch of your space as I & now another has suggested. But, I’m wondering about use of that top right corner of the layout you have shown us. For everyday use, I wonder if a round table would work there? This table would need extension leaves that would turn it into an oval & create seating for at least 4 more guests. For that to work depends on what’s going on at that end of room. The traditional hanging dining light would also need to be revised to higher, closer to ceiling lighting that could be still centered in room or not. I don’t know if my idea is a workable solution or not without having a better idea of your layout. As @palimpsest suggests, there are options out there! Creativity abounds here!

How many need to use this area for daily eating? Or do you eat at the Island? Might be worth some shopping at local secondhand shops or antique places for a nice "drop leaf" table. It would fit against that wall and you could seat 2- 3 with leaf up when desired/needed. Get creative. Maybe two bistro type tables? An ideal would be for a "banquette" with an oval pedestal table. But that would be more costly.

Here are several ideas. Try putting your table up to island and see how that works. An extension of your island concept. Then you might add small table with two chairs if only 2 sit down for meals daily.

Opps. Here idea board.

I like what this couple has done with their kitchen table. It might give you some ideas. My kitchen table and chairs does not meet clearance guidelines either and we get along fine. Oak Park Kitchen https://www.hummingbirdsoapstone.com/soapstone-videos.html

Thank you all so much. Here are the actual pictures as well as a few pictures that I took using “View it in your space” feature of a virtual dining table I am potentially thinking of buying.

These are the picture of a virtual dining table I’ve placed in the same space.

I fully understand that the place towards the wall will be tight. But at any point, we are four people max who sit together for food. The rest of the seating will be only when we have guests. We do have an island seating too.

My initial thought is to go with a table with smaller depth (< 36”) and pull the table out when we are using seating towards the wall. This table has 37” depth and is 86” wide.

We are hoping that because we have the open walkway, we should temporarily be able to pull the table out to let people sit towards the wall.

What do you all say?

I think that table unfortunately looks too big and heavy in that space.

I think a booth or banquette set up is going to be your best option.

Some more virtual placement picture.

Agreed. We may buy a sleek dining table and opt for a banquet seating or upholstered bench with support towards the wall side.

Are there going to be a lot of people up and circulating when the table is full? You may be able to keep it pulled out a little more, because with the chairs pushed in you can still get by even if you don't have 36". This is a private residence not a place of public accommodation and unless you have someone in a wheelchair or using a walker, you don't need the ideal if it's not available, and you shift things around or buy a narrower table when that time comes. My assumption is that at meals people are going to be seated and there is not going to be a whole different group of people walking around the house?

When I was a kid we had a very tight dining space. The dining table was pushed against the wall almost all the time and the 5 of us sat on the three open sides (yes, this was tight). When we had guests, the dining table came out from the wall and we sat on four sides with virtually no room for anybody to pass. This was very very tight.

A booth or banquette is a good idea, or at least bench seating for the wall side. But you have to have a table with center support (trestle or pedestal) rather than legs at the corner to make that work, since you need to slide in from the ends and the legs get in the way.

I agree that particular table is too big & heavy. It overwhelms the space now & will only increase once room finished. I don’t agree a booth or banquette set up is best option because those have a huge loss of flexibility for moving around for different situations. So - that table - the simple style is great - like a Parsons table. I searched & Parsons tables with extensions are out there in all price ranges & qualities & wood types. Just search ”extendable narrow Parsons table” My vote is your best bet is an extendable & narrow Parsons table. Gives much more flexiblity & available to fit the space.

The table style is critical. A pedestal style is a must. Leg and chair room gets really squished with any leg style.

Maybe an extendable pedestal table that's racetrack or oval would suit the room best.

They table you show is much too beefy and leggy for your space.

This looks like new construction. How on earth was this not designed to minimum standards from the beginning?

Is there any option to use your island space differently for seating, with a dining banquette behind it like below? If you post a floor plan showing more of your space, it might help people come up with different ideas. If not, I think an expandable table as others have mentioned is your best option.

I asked about this concept earlier. It seems like a good way to use the space but I need a floor plan to do a scale drawing to see what can work in this odd space. If you post a drawing with dimensions I can help you figure out sizes and locations quite easily. 😊

@dewayne, it was supposed to be 8ft x 10ft. But we discovered a lot of plumbing pipes in the wall, where we have the opening to other rooms. Therefore, we had to cut down the opening from 42” to 36” and move the opening towards right side, taking away 3’ from the dining.

We won’t be able to do banquet seating. So far, I totally agree that the dining table I have chosen is not the right one. It’s too bulky. Here’s what I’m thinking I’ll do:

• I’ll look around for a sleek dining table with 36” depth.
• I’ll put three chairs towards the wall
• I’ll push my dining table towards the wall for daily use, keeping those chairs as standby when hosting formal dinner
• For daily use, we’ll have five chairs, which are more than enough
• When hosting dinner, I will pull the table out, to let use the other three chairs and use some of the walkway too.
• We do have an island on the left side of the walkway

If you have a bench (a moveable bench, not built in) on the wall side, it can probably tuck under the table when you push it to the wall.