Dining Room Furniture Guide | Tables, Chairs & Sideboards (Saudi)

Choosing a Dining Table, Chairs and Sideboard for Saudi Homes

In a Saudi home, the dining room carries the occasions that matter most: family lunches that stretch into the afternoon, Ramadan iftars, Eid gatherings, and the evenings when the guest list grows beyond the chairs you own. Dining room furniture has to do two opposite jobs - feel formal enough for those occasions and work comfortably on an ordinary Tuesday. Most dining rooms fail at one of the two because the pieces were chosen one at a time, in the wrong order.

This guide gives you the order: table first, chairs second, sideboard third, then light, rug and tableware — with the measurements that make a dining room host well in Jeddah, Riyadh and across Saudi Arabia. For marble tables specifically - sizes for 6, 8 and 10, finishes and care - see our dedicated Marble Dining Table Buying Guide; this guide covers the whole room.

Step 1: The table - size it for your real guest list

Choose your dining table for the largest gathering you host regularly, not for the biggest one you hosted once. A table for 10 that serves four people daily feels empty most of the year; a table for 6 with a plan for overflow hosts better.

• Allow about 60 cm of width per person - 70 cm where family-style serving dishes sit in the centre, as they do at most Saudi tables.
• Rectangular tables of 180–200 cm seat 6, 220–240 cm seat 8, and 280–300 cm seat 10. Round tables of 135–150 cm seat 6 and create the most social arrangement for smaller rooms.
• Keep at least 90 cm between the table edge and the wall or sideboard - 120 cm where people must pass behind seated guests carrying dishes

Start from the dining tables collection once your size is fixed. In Saudi dining rooms, marble and stone tables earn their popularity honestly: they take hot serving dishes, heavy use and daily wiping without complaint, and they hold the formal centre of the room for decades. Wood suits warmer, more relaxed rooms; glass lightens a small room but shows every fingerprint in a house where dust is a daily fact - choose it with open eyes.

Step 2: Chairs - comfort measured in hours, not minutes

Dining chairs are tested by time. A chair that feels fine for ten minutes in a showroom can become the reason guests drift away from the table after an hour. Saudi dining - where a lunch can become an afternoon - exposes weak chairs faster than any other kind.

What to check in the dining chairs collection:

• Seat height around 45–48 cm, leaving roughly 28–32 cm between the seat and the tabletop. Much less and knees crowd the table apron; much more and the table feels like a counter.
• A supportive, slightly angled back - upright enough for dining posture, relaxed enough for the conversation after the meal.
• Upholstery for long sittings: padded, upholstered chairs are the luxury standard for formal Saudi dining rooms and the reason guests stay at the table. Wipeable fabrics or leather-look finishes suit family dining with children.
• Armrests only if the room and table allow them: armchairs make superb head chairs, but arms must slide under the tabletop or apron - measure that clearance - and they take more width per seat, which can cost you a place setting on each side.
  

The designed way to compose a set: keep side chairs identical, and make the two head chairs slightly grander - larger, different fabric, or armrests. This host-and-guest composition looks intentional and luxurious, where ten identical chairs can read as a restaurant and ten different ones as an accident.

Overflow plan: buy two extra side chairs from the start and keep them in the majlis or a bedroom. Guest-list growth is a certainty in Saudi family life; matching chairs bought later may not exist.

Step 3: The sideboard - the piece that makes hosting work

If the table is the stage, the sideboard is the backstage that makes the performance possible. It holds serving dishes before they reach the table, stores dinnerware and linens where they are used, and gives coffee and dessert service a station that is not the table itself.

• Size: 140–200 cm long suits most dining rooms; keep its top at a comfortable serving height (roughly 80–90 cm) and leave that 90–120 cm working space between it and the table.
• Storage that matters: wide drawers for cutlery and linens, cupboards deep enough for serving platters - measure your largest platter before buying, it is the piece every sideboard is secretly designed around.
• Above it: a large mirror or a pair of artworks completes the wall and doubles candlelight in the evening. A sideboard with nothing above it always looks like storage; with a mirror, it looks like design.
  

Choose sideboards and consoles from the dining room collection in a material that answers the table - not necessarily matches it. Marble table with a warm wood sideboard, or wood table with a stone-topped console, gives the room its layered, collected feel.

Step 4: Lighting - one statement, centred on the table

Dining light has one job in the evening: make the food and the people look good, and everything
else recede

• Hang the main fitting centred on the table, not the room - in open-plan Saudi homes these are often different points, and the table wins.
• The bottom of the fitting should sit roughly 75–90 cm above the tabletop: low enough to feel intimate, high enough that seated guests see each other across the table.
• For a long rectangular table, consider two smaller pendants or a linear fitting instead of one central piece, so the ends of a 10-seat table are not dining in twilight.
• Keep the light warm, and put it on a dimmer if you can. Iftar at full brightness and coffee afterwards at half light should be a switch, not a compromise

Browse options in the lighting collection, and let the fitting's material repeat the room's metal - brass with brass chair legs or table base ties the ceiling to the floor in one glance.

Step 5: The rug - decide honestly

A rug under a dining table is a luxury choice with real conditions:

• It must extend 60–70 cm beyond the table on every side, so chair legs stay on the rug when guests pull out and sit down. A smaller rug is worse than none - it will catch chair legs all
  evening.
• Choose a flat, low-pile weave: chairs slide, crumbs clean, and serving trolleys roll.
• In family dining rooms with young children and daily use, many Saudi homes skip the rug and let a beautiful floor and a great table carry the room. That is a legitimate, elegant decision - a dining room does not owe anyone a rug.

If you do choose one, size it from the rugs collection after the table and chairs are placed.

Step 6: Tableware and the finishing layer

The final third of a dining room is what guests actually touch:

• Dinnerware and serving pieces scaled to your real hosting: a full set for your table’s maximum, plus serving platters and bowls that live in the sideboard, not in a kitchen cupboard across the house. The dinnerware and tableware collections are where to build this deliberately, in one style, rather than inheriting it piece by piece.
• A centrepiece that can stay: a low arrangement - a stone or glass vessel, candles, a tray grouping - that lives on the table daily and steps aside for serving dishes. Keep it below eye level across the table; conversation is the point.
• Candles and scent for the evening: candle holders on the sideboard rather than crowding the table, so the light is around the room, not only in its centre.
  

Formal dining room or open-plan dining? Two layouts that work

The formal Saudi dining room (separate room, villa layout): table centred, sideboard on the long wall, mirror above it, statement light centred on the table, curtains full-length. Furnish to the room’s maximum regular gathering, and keep the palette to the table material, one wood, one metal and one fabric colour.

Open-plan dining (apartments and modern villas): the dining set must define its own territory. Use the rug (sized by the rule above) or a change of lighting to draw the border, keep chair backs lower so sightlines to the living area stay open, and let the sideboard double as the visual divider between dining and living zones. Choose the whole arrangement from one furniture collection palette so open-plan reads as one room in two moods, not two rooms colliding.

5 dining room mistakes to avoid

1. A table sized for a once-a-year gathering - daily emptiness is the price. Size for regular hosting; solve overflow with chairs and, if needed, a folding table for the biggest nights.
2. Chairs chosen by photograph - sit in them for more than a minute; check seat height against your table’s apron before ordering a full set.
3. No serving surface - without a sideboard, every dish, tray and coffee pot lands on the table, and the table stops being a place to eat.
4. A pendant centred on the room instead of the table - the most common lighting error in open-plan homes, and the most visible one every evening.
5. A rug that ends where the chairs begin - if it cannot extend 60–70 cm past the table, leave the floor bare and spend the budget on chairs.

Frequently asked questions

What furniture does a dining room need?

A dining table sized to your regular guest list, comfortable chairs (with two spares stored elsewhere), a sideboard for serving and storage, a statement light centred over the table, and if it can be sized generously - a low-pile rug. Tableware and a low centrepiece finish the room.

How many dining chairs should I buy?

Buy chairs for every place at your table, plus two extra matching chairs stored in another room for larger gatherings. Make the two head chairs slightly grander if you want a designed, formal composition, and confirm the seat height leaves 28–32 cm to the tabletop.

What size sideboard do I need?

A sideboard of 140–200 cm suits most Saudi dining rooms. The deciding test is storage: it should hold your dinnerware, linens and largest serving platter, with 90 cm or more of working space between the sideboard and the table.

Should a dining table be marble, wood or glass?

Marble and stone are the most practical luxury for Saudi dining - heat-tolerant, hard-wearing and formal. Wood is warmer and suits relaxed, family-led rooms. Glass lightens small rooms but shows dust and marks most. Our marble guide compares stone types, finishes and care in full.

How high above a dining table should a light hang?

Hang the fitting so its lowest point is about 75–90 cm above the tabletop, centred on the table. For tables seating 8–10, two pendants or a linear fitting light the ends better than a single central piece.

What size dining table do I need for 8 people?

A rectangular table of 220–240 × 100–110 cm seats 8 comfortably — about 60 cm per person plus room for serving dishes in the centre. A round table needs 165–180 cm in diameter for 8. Leave at least 90 cm between the table and the walls or sideboard so chairs pull out and guests can pass behind seated diners.

How much space should I leave around a dining table?

At least 90 cm between the table edge and the wall or furniture — that is the minimum for pulling a chair out and sitting down. 110–120 cm is more comfortable, because someone can walk behind a seated guest. Measure the room with the chairs pulled out, not pushed in, before choosing the table size.

What is the standard height of a dining table and dining chairs?

A standard dining table is about 75 cm high, and a dining chair seat is about 45–48 cm high. The gap between the seat and the underside of the tabletop should be 28–32 cm for comfortable legs and crossed ankles during long meals. Always check armrests against the table's apron — arms that cannot slide under the table push diners too far from their plates.

Should dining chairs have armrests?

Armchairs at the two head positions add formality and comfort for long lunches, while armless side chairs save space and slide fully under the table. That mix — two armchairs, the rest armless — is the most practical arrangement for Saudi dining rooms. If all chairs have arms, choose a wider table and confirm the arms clear the table edge.

What size rug goes under a dining table?

The rug should extend at least 60–70 cm beyond the table on every side, so chairs stay on the rug even when pulled out. For a 220 cm table that means a rug of about 340 × 240 cm or larger. Choose a low-pile, easy-clean weave — dining rugs meet crumbs and coffee daily, and a deep pile makes both hard to remove.

How do I style a sideboard without cluttering it?

Keep the centre clear for serving — that is the sideboard's real job during a gathering. Style the ends instead: a lamp or a pair of candle holders on one side, a low stack of books or a tray on the other, and one mirror or artwork centred above. Groups of three, one palette, and empty space between them read as luxury; a full surface reads as storage.

What colours suit a dining room in Saudi Arabia?

Warm neutrals — cream, greige, sand — with one deep accent such as emerald, burgundy or navy is the most liveable luxury scheme in Saudi dining rooms: calm in strong daylight and forgiving between cleans. White or green marble, warm wood and brass details all sit naturally in that palette. Keep the strongest colour on chairs or art, not on the largest surfaces.

How do I protect a dining table during Ramadan and Eid gatherings?

Use placemats and coasters as the house rule, put a heat-proof mat under serving dishes straight from the oven, and wipe spills — especially coffee, tea and sauces — immediately. For marble, keep the seal renewed every 6–12 months. During the biggest gatherings, a table protector under a cloth preserves the top without hiding it for the rest of the year.

Where can I buy dining room furniture in Saudi Arabia?

You can build the full room at RIS: start with the dining collection, tables such as the RIS Vega Dining Table, and upholstered dining chairs like the Titanium Curved Back Modern Dining Chair — online at ris.co with delivery across Saudi Arabia, or in the RIS showroom in Jeddah. Confirm dimensions and delivery details on the product page before ordering.

Host the room, not just the meal

A great dining room is decided before the first guest arrives: a table sized with honesty, chairs that respect a long lunch, a sideboard that does the invisible work, and light that flatters everyone at the table. Build it in that order from RIS Home’s dining room collection, and check the best sellers for the tables and chairs Saudi homes chose most - then set the table, and let the room do the rest.