7 ways to seat everyone in a small dining area

Not all of us can afford the square footage to dedicate an entire room for having meals, so we often settle for a small dining area in our home.

But what happens if you want to have meals together with everybody at home or if you are looking to host a dinner party? Where will everyone sit? This guide shows you how to seat more people even with a small dining area.

1. Combine your dining table with your kitchen island

Locating your dining area with your kitchen island means you can use the latter as an extra table when you need to seat more people. You don't even need to have them both at the same height. Plus, it makes serving meals and clean-up so much more efficient.

2. Go with banquette seating

Take advantage of a corner or an unwanted wall space by setting up a banquette dining booth. The design doesn't take up too much room, seats more people and provides extra storage underneath the banquette seats. Win-win-win, I'll say.

3. Make your dining table multipurpose

When you can double up your dining table for another use, size matters a lot less since you are effectively using the space for two. One way is to turn your workstation into a dining area.

Get wheels on it so you can easily manoeuvre it around the home to accommodate everyone. Alternatively, go for a lift-top coffee table that can transform your living area into a dining zone by elevating the tabletop to dining height.

4. Keep things extendable or concealed

Getting an extended dining table is an obvious solution. Just extend the extra segment when you need to seat more people. Consider also concealing your entire dining area completely. That way, it won't eat into your floor estate when you are not having meals.

5. Use a pedestal table and armless chairs

When shopping for a dining table for a small space, you want to get a table with a single pedestal base rather than a conventional one with four legs. With chairs, go armless. These will save you more legroom and arm room, allowing you to put up more seats on the table.

6. Reinterpret the idea of what your dining chairs should look like

Think beyond what a dining chair should be. You could use that side table or ottoman lying about. Or that shoe bench you keep at the foyer.

Consider also your sofa (get a taller one with visible legs!) by the living room. Pull them up whenever you need to seat plenty. Mixing and matching gives a casual, eclectic look that will also make everyone feel right at home.

7. Ditch the conventional dining setup

Who says you need to eat by a conventional dining area? Alternative setups that are just as comfy include going Muji style with zaisu (legless chairs) and a low dining table that hides into the platform when not in use.

Or adopt a cosy bohemian flair with floor pillows or poufs around a coffee table.

This article was first published in Renonation.