What a great nook with such nice big windows.

I like round tables--especially in smaller dining areas--but I think 36" in diameter would probably fit the best; 42" at the most. I believe a minimum 3 feet clearance around the table is recommended.

Mark it out with tape on the floor. A round table is a bit more forgiving size wise because there are no corners and the chairs can be placed anywhere around the perimeter to get the best fit.

36" is really only adequate for two people, so you would want at least 42". I think in a breakfast area you can get away with it being a little tight clearance wise for family meals. Other people aren't going to be walking around your table when you are at dinner.

It's difficult to advise you without knowing the dimensions of your nook but maybe these NKBA guidelines will help answer your question.

"Kitchen Planning Guideline 8: Traffic Clearance at Seating
Recommended: In a seating area where no traffic passes behind a seated diner, allow 32 inches of clearance from the counter/table edge to any wall or other obstruction behind the seating area.

If traffic passes behind the seated diner, allow at least 36 inches to edge past.

If traffic passes behind the seated diner, allow at least 44 inches to walk past."

Thanks benjesbride- we get tons of eastern morning light through those windows, great place to have morning coffee!

Palimpsest- great idea to mark it with tape. I think I was thinking of it, then forgot about it :)

lisa_a- the area is about 6 x 10, but it's all open with some angular counter/peninsula on both sides of the kitchen. Thanks for the guidelines.

We had a 52 inch round table in our small eat in kitchen and did not have enough room to easily navigate. But it was more important that we could stuff a lot of chairs around it so dd could have lots of friends. And we could read papers and spread out. We never have enough walk-around room but thats our small kitchen. priorities and trade-offs.

Thanks for the perspective westsider40!

I have a 48 inch round table in my breakfast nook. We can easily seat six - seven in a pinch. But most of the time it is just hubby and I so I keep it pushed back in the corner a bit - to avoid having to zig zag around it getting to the outside door, etc. For years it was our only table for a family of five as I had a grand piano in my dining room!

I like a minimum of 48 inches if you can make it work. Put your chairs on the diagonal. A lot of times, using smaller scale chairs help. You could buy a 36 or 42 inch table and the chairs may not fit under the table all the way. The chairs will be just as far out as if you had a larger table, so you might as well get a table and chairs that work together.

When in doubt mock it up. I would go one more than just tape on the floor. Get some cardboard and cut out a 48" circle (use multiple pieces of cardboard taped together if necessary). Then stick that on a side table with some books underneath to get the correct height. This will give you the best idea of the table being in the room. You may decide you like the heavyness and largeness of it or the opposite.

Since your current table is 50. i would angle that in the direction where it is going to be the tightest and leave it like that a few days to get an idea of how far out the chairs etc would be in the open area.

Thanks all!
mellyc123- good idea. and if I take the leaf out, it's 30 x 40, so can see how a smaller table might feel too if I move it around. good idea!

lenzai- that's a wonderful idea. I was toying with that, but it sounds like so much work :) But the only way to get a proper idea.

karenseb- I never thought of the chairs not fitting if it's a smaller table.

musicteacher- as long as it works, eh?

When we were trying to figure our table, I made a mockup out of newspaper sheets taped together. I used a pencil attached to string to make the circle after figuring out the radius. The paper was easy to cut and to move around to see different placements, and it really helped us realize what we were planning was too big.