A dining nook against the wall can still seat four

The dream of a round table in the middle of the room assumes a room that can take the orbit of four pulled-out chairs. Many kitchens cannot.

Park a rectangular table against the wall with a bench on the wall side and two chairs on the room side. You lose a little ceremony. You gain the ability to sit down without asking someone to stand up.

Check the bench length against the table in the studio. A bench that is shorter than the top looks timid; one that overruns it collects hips and bags.

If you only host four twice a year, a 90 cm table and a fold-out extra is more honest than a 150 cm slab that turns every breakfast into an expedition.