It is a convention. Most dining tables sit between 720 and 760 mm, and older tables are often 720 mm. Nothing breaks if a table is 730 mm, as long as the chairs beside it were chosen for that height.

Why is a desk a similar height?

Because the same body is doing both jobs. Desks often sit slightly lower, around 720 to 730 mm, because typing wants the forearms a little lower than eating does.

Can I cut a table down?

Usually yes on a four-legged table, with care and a jig so all four legs lose the same amount. On a column base it is a workshop job, because the column is structural and often tapered.

What height should a table be for children?

Match the chair. A child on a 300 mm seat wants a table around 560 mm. Putting a child on an adult chair with a booster at an adult table works too and costs nothing.

Sizing · 4 min read

Why Tables Are 740 mm High

The dining height convention, the gap it leaves above a chair, and when to break it.

740 mm is the number almost every dining table in Europe is built to, and like most conventions it is a compromise that works for enough people to have become invisible.

How the number is derived

Start from the seat. A dining chair is about 450 mm because that suits the floor-to-knee height of most adults, explained in seat height: why 450 mm is the default.

Then add the gap your legs need: 250 to 300 mm from the seat to the underside of the table. 450 plus 290 gives 740 mm of clearance under the top.

Then add the top itself. A 30 to 40 mm top on a frame that leaves full clearance gives an overall height of 740 mm, which is where the published figure comes from. The two numbers, 450 and 740, were set together and only make sense together.

What actually varies

Surface	Typical height
Older dining tables	700 to 720 mm
Modern dining tables	730 to 760 mm
Desks	720 to 740 mm
Kitchen counters	880 to 920 mm
Kitchen islands with a thick top	900 to 950 mm
Bars	1050 to 1100 mm

A 40 mm spread between a 720 mm table and a 760 mm one is enough that a chair comfortable at one is slightly wrong at the other. It is also the reason that mixing an inherited table with new chairs so often disappoints.

Where the clearance goes

Published height is the top of the surface. Your knees meet the underside. Between those two numbers sit the top thickness, any apron rail, and sometimes a corner bracket.

Top only, no apron: clearance equals height minus top thickness.
With a 60 mm apron: subtract another 60 mm.
Four legs at the corners: also check where the legs are relative to where people sit.

The Round Table is 740 mm overall on a folded steel column. A central column means the clearance under the top is the same everywhere around the table, which is not true of a four-legged table of the same height. That difference is worth a seat or two, as set out in what size round table seats six.

When to break the convention

Everyone in the household is tall. Two adults at 190 cm will be more comfortable at 760 to 780 mm with 470 to 490 mm seats. Build the pair together; raising only the table makes it worse.

Everyone is short. 700 to 720 mm with 420 mm seats, and the chairs matter more than the table.

It is a work surface as well. Standing work wants roughly 900 to 1000 mm depending on the task, which is why kitchen counters are where they are. A table that must do both jobs cannot, and the honest answer is two surfaces.

It is for children. Scale the pair. A 300 mm seat wants a 560 mm table. Alternatively keep the adult table and raise the child, which costs nothing and has an end date.

Checking before you buy

Measure your existing table to the top and to the underside. Write down both.
Measure your chair seats, compressed if cushioned.
Subtract. If you are between 250 and 300 mm, your current set is right and you should match it.
If you are outside that range, decide which piece you are replacing and work backwards from the one you are keeping.

Altering a table

Lowering is easier than raising. On a four-legged table, mark all four legs from the floor with the table standing level, cut with a jig rather than by eye, and expect to adjust feet afterwards. Taking more than 50 mm off starts to look wrong because the proportions of the leg change.

Raising means extending legs, which is a visible repair on any table where the legs are seen. Levelling feet give you 10 to 20 mm honestly and anything more needs a workshop.

On a column base, neither is a home job. The column is doing structural work and is often shaped along its length.

Reality check

740 mm exists because 450 mm does. The pair is the unit, not the table.
Published height is the top. Your knees care about the underside.
Old tables are often 720 mm, which is enough to notice.
Break the convention for the people who live there, but move the chairs with it.
One surface cannot be both a dining table and a standing work bench.

Common questions

Is 740 mm a rule?: It is a convention. Most dining tables sit between 720 and 760 mm, and older tables are often 720 mm. Nothing breaks if a table is 730 mm, as long as the chairs beside it were chosen for that height.
Why is a desk a similar height?: Because the same body is doing both jobs. Desks often sit slightly lower, around 720 to 730 mm, because typing wants the forearms a little lower than eating does.
Can I cut a table down?: Usually yes on a four-legged table, with care and a jig so all four legs lose the same amount. On a column base it is a workshop job, because the column is structural and often tapered.
What height should a table be for children?: Match the chair. A child on a 300 mm seat wants a table around 560 mm. Putting a child on an adult chair with a booster at an adult table works too and costs nothing.