Styling – Jono Fleming. Photo – Denise Braki.

When it comes to decking out a dining space, it's time everyone stopped going around in circles and started getting on board with round tables. We asked Senior Stylist Jono Fleming for some pointers to help us explain why...

Go with the flow

Whether you have a dining room in the traditional sense, or live in a more open plan environment – round tables are great for creating flow. "They let you move around the space easier," Jono says. By freeing up the area that would otherwise be occupied by the corners, you're essentially creating a racing line for the pathways around your table.

Nobody puts baby in the corner

Have you ever been seated on the far end of a rectangular table and felt out of the loop? Well, a round table works best on a conversational level because everyone has a clear line of sight to their fellow diners. Oh, and when it comes to sharing food, you can literally place everything in the middle of the table instead of endlessly passing plates and platters up and down.

Styling – Jono Fleming. Photo – Denise Braki.

Good things come in small spaces

Here's 4 words of wisdom probably worthy of a bumper sticker: keep your dearest nearest. And guess what – with a round table, that's easier too. When you opt for a circular shape, it generally has a smaller footprint than a rectangular one because the corners have been lopped off. Better yet, since anyone can sit anywhere on the perimeter, they tend to fit more people, and, as everyone's at a slightly different angle to the person beside them, it can feel a lot less crowded too.

Take to the floor

Jono suggests "emphasising a round table with a round accent rug to define the dining area". Still worried about space? The good news is that the rug doesn’t have to be significantly bigger than the table. "It’s alright if the chair legs come off the rug," he adds. In an open plan home, the double circle shape really helps the eye to hone in on the dining area as a zone.

Shop the Round Dining sale event here.