Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: dining room table size

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

Two observations:

For a standard size, 3x5 works well. This gives room for two people on 
each side, plus one on each end. With 6 people thus, everyone can be part 
of the same conversation. What seems to happen, in my observations, at 3+ 
people to a side is that one needs to choose what conversation to 
participate in, and it becomes a challenge to decide what to listen to. 
(make sure the table-leg arrangement is such that 6 people can all be 
comfortable and not have to dodge table legs)

I observed a room full of tables 3x5 at my daughter's boarding school, 
with 70 people eating together, and it worked well. Having the tables 
arranged on a diagonal with the walls made it seem less institutional. 

The difference of 2.5 vs 3 ft wide is really about how much room you have 
in the middle for "stuff" . A typical placemat is about 12" deep. So if 
you have 2 place settings across from one another, at 3 ft you have 12" 
in the center for serving dishes, condiments, napkin rack, whatever, 
which is plenty. With only six inches for that stuff, it could get 
crowded. 

Another observation is that it's nice to have some variety. It feels less 
institutional if there are some 3x3 tables, maybe a round table, so that 
there is some sense of choice. 

Lynn Nadeau
RoseWind Cohousing
Port Townsend WA