The back door of a Sydney terrace swings open onto three metres by three metres of pavers, a paling fence and a downpipe. Somebody will tell you a round outdoor dining table seats more people in a space that size. Somebody else swears by a rectangle pushed along the fence. Both are right, and sorting out which suits your courtyard takes ten minutes and a tape measure.
This post is the seating maths, not the style debate — for the look-and-feel comparison, read Round or Rectangular? Choosing Your Outdoor Dining Table Shape. Here we run the clearance numbers against the courtyard sizes most Australian homes actually have. Every table below sits in our outdoor dining tables range, with its real footprint listed.
The two numbers that decide everything
Nearly every outdoor seating question resolves to two measurements. The first is elbow room: allow about 60 cm of table edge per person for a plate, a glass and a set of shoulders. Below roughly 55 cm, people eat with their arms pinned to their sides.
The second is clearance, the gap between the table edge and whatever sits behind the chair. 75 cm is the minimum needed to push a chair back and stand up. 90 cm lets someone walk behind a seated guest without the shuffle and the apology. Use 90 cm on the main walking route and 75 cm against a fence nobody passes. If you would rather sidestep clearance altogether by pushing the table to the edge, our guide to small outdoor dining area layouts covers the wall-side and bench tactics that seat six in three metres.
Usable edge divided by 60 gives you seats. Courtyard dimension minus twice the clearance gives you the largest table that fits.
Measure the courtyard, then subtract
Measure the usable rectangle, not the title deed. Count only paving you can stand a chair leg on, then subtract the fixed obstacles: the arc of the back door, the downpipe, the condenser, the step down to the garden.
Now take clearance off both directions. A 3 x 3 m courtyard with 90 cm on all four sides leaves a table zone of 120 x 120 cm. Drop to 75 cm on the two sides facing fences and that zone grows to 150 x 150 cm. That decision moves the answer more than the shape does.
Run the same sum on a 4 x 3 m townhouse courtyard at 90 cm clearance and the zone comes out at 220 x 120 cm. That extra metre of length is where rectangles start to pull ahead.
How many people fit around a round outdoor dining table?
A round table's usable edge is its circumference: diameter multiplied by 3.14. A 120 cm round measures 377 cm around, which divides into six 60 cm settings on paper. In practice a pedestal or four splayed legs takes two of those away, so plan on four comfortably and five when everyone is friendly.
Rectangles get counted side by side. A 150 x 76 cm table takes two people along each long side, and the ends are too narrow for a proper setting, so four is the honest number. A 210 x 106 cm table takes three per side plus one at each end: eight.
| Usable courtyard | Table zone after clearance | Best round | Best square or rectangle | Seats more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 x 3 m, 90 cm all round | 120 x 120 cm | 120 cm round — 4 to 5 | 100 x 100 cm square — 4 | Round |
| 3 x 3 m, 75 cm at two fences | 150 x 150 cm | 150 cm round — 6 | 150 x 150 cm square — 8 | Square |
| 4 x 3 m, 90 cm all round | 220 x 120 cm | 120 cm round — 4 to 5 | 210 x 106 cm — 8 | Rectangle |
| 2.4 x 3 m strip | 150 x 75 cm | 75 cm round — 2 | 150 x 76 cm — 4 | Rectangle |
The rule underneath: round wins while the table stays small, because a circle wastes no corners. Once one direction of the zone passes about 150 cm, a rectangle turns length straight into seats.
Real tables and the footprints they need
For the tightest courtyards, the ones that are really a wide corridor, the Palmerston Bistro Table ($237) measures 60 cm across. It is a 5 mm tempered glass top over resin wicker on aluminium, leaving room to spare inside a 150 cm zone.
Step up and the Idris Table ($249) is a 75 cm round standing 70 cm high, in glass and UV-treated wicker over aluminium. At that width it is still a two-seater by the 60 cm rule.
When the courtyard runs long rather than square, the Bergen Table (from $350) maps onto it. The 152 x 76 cm size is built for the small-courtyard case, while 180 x 105 cm and 210 x 106 cm want a 4 x 3 m footprint. A 90 x 90 cm bar-height version at 94 cm is the other option, since stools tuck further under.
Want a square that grows with the space? The Teak Dining Tables range (from $697) offers squares at 80 x 80, 100 x 100 and 150 x 150 cm, plus rectangles to 240 x 100 cm. All are hand made from FSC certified plantation Indonesian teak, and the 100 x 100 is the safe four-seater for a 3 x 3 m courtyard.
Chairs count too: one with arms needs more room to tuck under than an armless chair, which quietly eats clearance. Our outdoor dining settings pair tables and chairs designed to fit together.
Sydney terraces and Melbourne townhouses
Terrace courtyards in Sydney's inner suburbs are as wide as the house and no wider, walled in brick and paved back to a rear lane. Brick stores heat all day and releases it after dark. Pleasant in September. By February a west-facing courtyard is an oven, and shade becomes the first purchase rather than the last.
Melbourne townhouse courtyards are more often the strip between the house and the garage, close to 4 x 3 m and frequently under a body corporate. Rules on fixing anything to a wall or slab vary between schemes, and council rules vary by state and local area. Ask both before you commit.
Two things catch people out. Courtyard paving is graded towards a drain, so a four-legged table on a sloped slab will rock — check with a spirit level. And measure the route the table travels, because a 210 cm top will not turn the corner in a narrow terrace hallway. For standard dimensions by seat count, our outdoor dining table size guide lists them all.
Small courtyard seating — frequently asked questions
Does a round outdoor dining table really seat more than a rectangular one?
Only while the table stays small. Under about 120 cm across, a round seats roughly one more person than the square filling the same zone, because a circle has no wasted corners. Past 150 cm the rectangles win, since every extra 60 cm of length is another seat.
How much clearance do I need around an outdoor dining table?
Allow 90 cm from the table edge to the nearest wall, fence or planter on any side people walk past. 75 cm is the minimum that still lets someone push a chair back and stand up. Below that, chairs hit the wall and those seats stop being used.
What size table fits a 3 x 3 metre courtyard?
A 120 cm round or a 100 x 100 cm square, seating four to five, is the comfortable answer at 90 cm clearance all round. If two sides face fences, accept 75 cm there and stretch to 150 cm across for six or eight seats.
Can two people eat properly at a 60 cm bistro table?
Yes — a 60 cm round gives each person about 94 cm of edge, more than the 60 cm rule asks for. It is tight for serving dishes, so it suits breakfast, coffee and plated meals rather than a shared spread.
Shop the range
Once the zone is measured the choice narrows fast, so browse the outdoor dining tables range by footprint. The Coke Cola Cafe Set ($498) pairs a 70 x 70 cm aluminium table with two chairs, about the smallest complete setting that still works for meals. We deliver Australia-wide, delivery is free over $100, and installation is available on request.
