# Meeting Room Size Calculator: Room Dimensions from the Table

> A meeting room is sized from the table outwards. The number of seats along each side sets the table length, the clearance needed to pull a chair out and walk behind it sets the space around the table, and a zone at the screen end leaves room for the display. Add them up and you have the inside dimensions of the room.

## What it calculates

The calculator works out the inside dimensions of a meeting room or boardroom from the
number of people who need to sit at the table. It gives:

- the **table size**, from the seats on each long side and any seats at the ends;
- the **room length** and **room width**, inside wall to inside wall;
- the **floor area** in square metres and square feet;
- the **area for each seat**, a quick way to compare rooms of different sizes.

A breakdown shows how much of each dimension is table, clearance and display zone, so it is
easy to see which allowance is driving the size.

## Inputs

**Seats at the table** is the number of people who sit at the table itself. Chairs along the
wall for extra attendees are not counted.

**Seats at the table ends** can be none, one end or both ends. With a screen at one end, the
usual choice is none or one.

**Table width** is the depth of the table across, in millimetres. Narrower tables save room
width; wider ones give space for laptops and papers and keep people facing each other at a
comfortable distance.

The **assumptions** panel holds the width per seat along the table, the clearance from the
table edge to the wall behind the chairs, and the extra depth at the display wall.

## Method

The room is built up from the table:

1. Seats per long side = (seats − end seats) ÷ 2, rounded up.
2. Table length = seats per side × width per seat + 300 mm for each end seat.
3. Room length = table length + 2 × clearance + display depth.
4. Room width = table width + 2 × clearance.
5. Area = room length × room width.

The 300 mm for each end seat lengthens the table slightly so a chair at the end does not
collide with the chairs at the corners. When the number of side seats is odd, one side has a
seat fewer, and the table length is set by the fuller side.

The same clearance is used at both ends of the table as along the sides. At the display end,
the display depth is added on top, so the people nearest the screen are not sitting against
it.

## Assumptions

| Allowance | Default | What it covers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Width per seat | 600 mm | Elbow room for one person along the table |
| Table width | 1,200 mm | Comfortable for papers and laptops across the table |
| End seat extension | 300 mm per end seat | Keeps the end chair clear of the corner chairs |
| Clearance behind chairs | 1,200 mm | Push back and walk behind a seated person |
| Display wall zone | 600 mm | Screen, credenza or AV rack |

These are common space-planning allowances, not rules. They suit a typical meeting room
with task chairs. Larger executive chairs usually need a wider seat allowance and more
clearance; a stand-up or huddle room can be planned tighter.

## Limitations

- **Rectangular room, one table.** Boat-shaped, U-shaped, hollow-square and classroom layouts
  follow different geometry.
- **Inside dimensions only.** Wall thickness, columns, glazing mullions and door swings are
  not included. A door that opens into the room needs its own clear zone.
- **No back-row seating.** Chairs along the walls for extra attendees need more width.
- **No acoustic, lighting or AV design.** A room that is the right size can still be noisy,
  echoing or poorly lit for video calls. Those are designed separately.
- **Accessibility is not checked.** If a wheelchair user needs to reach a place at the table
  and move around the room, the designer checks the turning space and routes on the plan.

## Worked example

A ten-seat meeting room with no seats at the ends and a screen at one end, using the default
allowances:

| Step | Calculation | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seats per long side | (10 − 0) ÷ 2, rounded up | 5 |
| Table length | 5 × 600 + 0 × 300 | 3,000 mm |
| Table width | entered | 1,200 mm |
| Room length | 3,000 + 2 × 1,200 + 600 | 6,000 mm |
| Room width | 1,200 + 2 × 1,200 | 3,600 mm |
| Floor area | 6.0 × 3.6 | 21.6 m² (233 sq ft) |
| Area for each seat | 21.6 ÷ 10 | 2.16 m² (23.3 sq ft) |

So a ten-seat room with a 3,000 × 1,200 mm table needs a room of about 6.0 × 3.6 m. Adding a
seat at each end for twelve people (twelve seats, two at the ends) lengthens the table to
3,600 mm and the room to 6.6 m, giving 23.8 m² (256 sq ft).

The office space planner's default boardroom allowance of 300 sq ft is larger than this
result. The difference is room for a side credenza, a few chairs along a wall or a wider
table, which a boardroom often has.

## How engineers use it

An interior designer uses this calculation at the space-planning stage to decide how big each
meeting room needs to be before placing it on the floor plan. Rooms are then usually fitted
to the building grid: a room that needs 6.0 m in a building with a 1.5 m window module
might be drawn at exactly four modules, so partitions meet mullions cleanly.

Once rooms are placed, the size feeds the next round of design. The AV consultant checks the
viewing distance to the screen and the camera coverage. The acoustic design sets the wall
build-up, door and ceiling to suit the privacy the room needs. The lighting designer sets the
light levels and controls, and the HVAC engineer sizes air and cooling for the number of
people.

## When a professional design must replace it

Use the calculator to brief a designer, to compare rooms on a test fit, or to check whether a
room on an existing floor will take the table you have in mind. Replace it with a designer's
furniture layout before ordering a table or building the walls. The layout confirms the door
position, the access route around the table, the screen and camera positions, and how the
room sits on the building grid.

## Frequently asked questions

### What size meeting room do I need for 10 people?

With five seats on each long side at 600 mm per seat, a 1,200 mm wide table, 1,200 mm clearance behind the chairs and 600 mm at the display wall, the room is 6.0 × 3.6 m inside, or 21.6 m² (about 233 sq ft). Tighter allowances give a smaller room; executive chairs and a credenza need more.

### How much space should be left behind the chairs?

Enough for a seated person to push back and for someone else to walk behind them. This calculator starts at 1,200 mm from the table edge to the wall, a common space-planning allowance for a room people move around in. Small huddle rooms are sometimes planned tighter, and boardrooms with large chairs are often given more.

### Should anyone sit at the ends of the table?

In a room with a screen at one end, the display end is usually left free so nobody blocks the view. The far end can take a chair, often the chairperson's. Each end seat adds a short extension to the table so the end chair does not clash with the chairs at the corners.

### Why does the calculator add depth at the display wall?

A screen, a credenza or an AV rack takes up floor space at that end of the room, and the people nearest the screen need some distance from it. The default 600 mm allows for a low credenza or a wall-mounted screen with equipment below it. Set it to 0 for a room with no display.

### Does the result include space for video conferencing?

Only the floor space for a display at one end. Camera position, microphone coverage, viewing distance to the screen, lighting on faces and room acoustics all affect how well a video meeting works, and they are designed together with the AV consultant rather than sized from a formula.

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/calculators/meeting-room-size-calculator