Round or Oval Rattan Dining Set: Matching the Table Shape to Your Patio

Most people choosing a rattan dining set start with colour, then the number of chairs, and only think about the shape of the table near the end. That’s usually the wrong way round. The shape decides whether the set fits your patio comfortably or just about squeezes in, whether people can get past it to the back door, and whether a meal for six feels relaxed or crowded.

Our rattan dining sets come in two table shapes: a 150cm round table and a 220cm by 140cm oval. This guide walks through how to match one of them to the space you have, step by step, using the measurements from our own product pages.

You’ll need a tape measure, and ideally some string or chalk. It takes about half an hour, and it’s much easier than sending back a set that doesn’t fit.

What we’re comparing

There are four sets, two of each shape.

The Round Garden Table Set has a 150cm round table, 72cm high, with six armchairs, two of which recline. It’s grey rattan with dark grey cushions and costs £1,499. The product page says it needs a floor space of 2.5m by 2.5m.

The Rattan Firepit Set Luxury Edition has the same size of round table, 150cm and 72cm high, with a stainless steel gas fire pit built into it and auto ignition. It comes with six high-backed, winged armchairs, two of them reclining, each 60cm by 76cm by 101cm. It’s also grey with dark grey cushions, also needs 2.5m by 2.5m, and costs £1,799.

The Premium Oval Dining Set has an oval table measuring 220cm by 140cm, 72cm high, with a ceramic tile top and eight armchairs. It’s grey with dark grey cushions and costs £1,799.

The Premium Oval Dining Set in cream has the same 220cm by 140cm ceramic-topped table with eight armchairs, two reclining and six standard. It’s cream rattan with cream cushions, costs £1,999, and its page gives a floor space of 3.2m by 2.5m.

All four share a few things. The rattan is a woven high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin wicker on a powder-coated aluminium frame. Each table has a Lazy Susan and a 38mm parasol hole through the table and the Lazy Susan. The armchairs on the round set and both oval sets measure 60cm by 62cm by 88cm.

Step 1: Measure the space you actually have

Measure the paved or decked area where the set will stand, not the whole garden. Then take away anything that has to stay clear: the line from a back door or patio door, a path to the side gate, a drain cover you need to reach, a step down onto the lawn.

What’s left is the space the set has to fit in. Write down two numbers, the length and the width, and note which way the longer side runs.

If the patio isn’t a neat rectangle, measure the largest rectangle you can draw inside it. A set placed half on paving and half on grass rarely works, because chair legs sink and catch on the edge.

Then mark it out. A tape measure on a plan tells you whether a set fits. Marking it on the ground tells you whether you’ll like it. Use four garden canes and some string, or a line of chalk on the paving, and mark out 2.5m by 2.5m for a round set, or 3.2m by 2.5m for an oval. Bring out a few kitchen chairs and put them where the armchairs would go.

Leave it there for a day. Walk out of the back door, go round to the bins, bring the washing in. If you find yourself stepping over the string or squeezing past a chair, you’ve learned something a measurement on paper wouldn’t have shown you.

Step 2: Compare it with the floor space each set needs

Our product pages give the floor space each set needs with the chairs in use:

• The round set and the firepit set: 2.5m by 2.5m.
• The cream oval set: 3.2m by 2.5m.

The grey oval set’s page doesn’t give a floor space figure, but it lists the same table and chair sizes as the cream set, so plan on the same 3.2m by 2.5m.

Put those side by side and the difference is simple. Both shapes need the same 2.5m in one direction. The oval needs 70cm more in the other. That 70cm is the whole decision for many patios.

If your space is at least 3.2m by 2.5m, either shape will fit, and you can choose on how you’ll use the set. If it’s 2.5m or a little more in both directions but well short of 3.2m in either, the round sets are the ones that fit.

Step 3: Look at the shape of the space, not just its size

Two patios with the same area can suit different tables. Here are some common patio layouts, and how each shape copes with them.

A square or nearly square patio

Round tables suit square spaces. A 2.5m by 2.5m footprint sits in a square patio with the same clearance on every side, so there’s no awkward corner where chairs bunch up. An oval in a square space leaves two strips of unused paving along its sides and can feel cramped at the ends.

A long, narrow patio along the back of the house

This is a typical layout behind terraced and semi-detached houses: a strip of paving running the width of the house, deeper than a path but not deep enough to be square. An oval set placed lengthways along the strip uses that shape well. A round set needs the full 2.5m of depth, and a strip that is long but shallow may not have it.

If the strip is less than 2.5m deep, neither set will fit comfortably with chairs in use, and it’s worth measuring again before ordering anything.

A patio with a door opening onto it

If people walk straight from the kitchen onto the patio, the table sits in the way of that route. A round table has no corners, so it’s easier to walk round, and people coming out of the door don’t catch a hip on the end of the table. An oval is better than a rectangle here because its ends are curved, but it still takes up more of the walking line.

A raised deck with edges and steps

On decking with an edge or a step down, chairs pushed back can tip a back leg over the edge. The firepit chairs are 76cm deep and the others are 62cm deep. Wherever your patio has a drop, leave at least a chair’s depth plus room to stand up between the table and the edge.

A corner against two walls

Round tables are easier to tuck towards a corner, because the curve sits away from both walls and the chairs fan out naturally. Push an oval into a corner and the long side ends up against one wall, which loses you two or three places at the table.

Step 4: Work out the elbow room

Area tells you whether a set fits. Table edge tells you whether it’s comfortable to sit at.

The round table is 150cm across, so its edge measures about 471cm all the way round. Shared between six chairs, that’s around 78cm each.

The oval table is 220cm by 140cm. Its edge measures about 572cm all the way round, which gives about 72cm each for eight chairs.

Both are generous. As a guide, we work on 60cm of table edge per person, the figure used in our guide to how much space a garden furniture set needs. Our armchairs are 60cm wide, so on both tables the chairs fit round the edge with room between them.

The round set feels a little roomier per person. Six people round 150cm can lean back, spread out plates and serving dishes, and still reach the Lazy Susan in the middle.

That spare edge matters on the day someone brings a friend. Divide the round table’s 471cm between seven people and each gets about 67cm, still above our 60cm guide. So a seventh chair, perhaps one from the kitchen, fits round the round table without anyone being squashed.

The oval has a little slack too. Nine people round 572cm get about 64cm each, which works for a meal. Ten people would get about 57cm each, which is below 60cm and starts to feel tight, especially with armchairs.

A borrowed chair won’t match the set, and it may sit at a different height to the armchairs. For one meal it doesn’t matter. If you regularly find yourself adding chairs, buy the set with more seats.

Step 5: Decide how you’ll use the table

Shape changes how a meal feels, not just how it fits.

Conversation. Round tables are good for talking. Everyone faces the middle and nobody is stuck at the far end. If your outdoor meals are long and sociable, a round table for six is hard to beat.

Numbers. If you regularly seat eight, the oval is the only choice of the two shapes. Its extra 70cm of length is what makes room for two more chairs.

Evenings. The firepit set is a round table with a gas fire pit built into the middle and high-backed winged chairs. It’s built for people who sit outside after dark in spring and autumn as well as summer. Our post on firepit rattan furniture for winter evenings covers that side of it.

Sitting back after the meal. Every set except the grey oval has two reclining chairs. If you like to stay at the table after eating with a drink, reclining chairs make that more comfortable.

Serving. All four tables have a Lazy Susan. On a round table everyone can reach it. On the oval, people at the two ends are further from the middle, so a Lazy Susan matters more there, because it brings dishes within reach of everyone.

Step 6: Think about shade before you buy

Each of these tables has a 38mm parasol hole through the table and the Lazy Susan, so a centre-pole parasol can stand in the middle. The important number is 38mm. A parasol pole has to be narrower than that to pass through. Our teak parasols have 48mm poles, so they won’t fit through these tables. Check the pole diameter of any parasol before ordering it for a rattan set.

The shape of the table also changes what a parasol has to cover. A round table with six chairs is a compact circle, which a round canopy shades evenly. An oval table with eight chairs is longer than it is wide, so the people at the two ends sit furthest from the pole and are the first to lose the shade.

Our guide to choosing the right garden parasol covers canopy sizes. If you’d rather keep the table clear, read our comparison of cantilever and centre-pole parasols. A cantilever parasol sits beside the table, so pole size doesn’t matter, but its base needs floor space of its own.

Step 7: Plan for winter now

A rattan set needs looking after over winter, and the table shape decides which cover fits.

For the round set, we sell a Deluxe Round Furniture Cover for a 6-seater rattan set at £129, made from heavy-duty polypropylene and supplied with a storage bag. For the oval sets, there’s a Rattan Garden Furniture Cover designed for the 8-seater oval set, measuring 280cm by 210cm by 90cm, also £129.

Think about storage too. The armchairs come fully assembled and don’t stack, so if you plan to bring them indoors over winter, you’ll need room for six or eight full-size armchairs. Our guide to looking after rattan garden furniture in winter goes through the choices.

Step 8: Check the way in

A set that fits the patio still has to get there. Delivery is by a two-person team, free to mainland England, Wales and southern Scotland. Northern Scotland, Northern Ireland and offshore islands are charged a flat rate.

The armchairs arrive fully assembled, so each one has to fit through your house or side gate at its full size. The round set and grey oval chairs are 60cm by 62cm by 88cm, and the firepit chairs are 60cm by 76cm by 101cm. Most doorways will take them, but a narrow side passage with a bin store or a tight turn at a gate is worth checking before delivery day.

The tables come in parts. The cream oval’s product page says the table needs partial assembly, and offers unwrapping and packaging removal for £48, or assembly and packaging removal for £120. The firepit set’s page says unboxing and assembly aren’t offered for that set. Check the page for the set you choose, so you know whether you’ll be putting the table together yourself.

Plan where the packaging goes too. Eight armchairs and an oval table make a lot of cardboard.

Grey or cream

Only the oval set comes in both colours, so for most buyers this is a choice that only arises once the oval is chosen.

Grey rattan with dark grey cushions is the more forgiving of the two. Garden dirt, pollen and the odd spill show less on it. Cream gives a lighter look that suits patios with pale stone or render. It’s also £200 more, at £1,999 against £1,799, and the cream set is the one with two reclining chairs.

Compared per seat, the grey oval is the cheapest of the four sets at about £225 per chair. The cream oval and the round set both come to about £250 per chair. The firepit set works out at about £300 per chair, which pays for the built-in fire pit and the larger high-backed chairs.

A quick way to decide

If you’ve worked through the steps, the answer is usually clear. If it isn’t, these rules of thumb cover most cases:

• Square space, around 2.5m each way:the round set, or the firepit set if you’ll use it after dark.
• Long, narrow space at least 3.2m long and 2.5m deep:the oval set.
• A door or main path crossing the patio:round, because there are no ends to walk round.
• You regularly seat eight:oval, as the only one of the two shapes that takes eight chairs.
• You want more room per person: It gives six people about 78cm of table edge each.
• You sit outside after dark in spring and autumn:the firepit set, which has the same footprint as the standard round set.
• You still can’t decide:mark out both footprints on the patio, leave them for a day, and see which one you keep tripping over.

Whichever shape suits your patio, you can compare all four sets in our rattan outdoor dining sets range. Delivery is free to mainland England, Wales and southern Scotland, by a two-person team. If your patio is an awkward shape and you’d like a second opinion, call us on 020 7871 3842 with your measurements.