Thread: Table and seat heights - something between dining and workbench?

Hi all, hoping for some advice from folks that have some experience picking table and seat heights.

My dining table is doing my back in, as it sees a lot of use as a food prep and meat butchery surface. I plan to build a new one in the form of a large, heavy butcher's style bench, with a welded steel frame and some sticks of 8 x 4 redgum. My initial plan was to build it to 900mm high to match the stove and exisitng worktops, but that seems awfully high and I reckon I can come down by 50 or 100mm without any ill effects.

I don't have room for a separate dining table, so this will be the focal point of the house (it divides the open-plan kitchen and lounge) and it will be used for entertaining as well as all of my own meals and general day-to-day living.

My problem is chairs - I don't want to build them myself, as I don't think I can deal with the curves and geometry required for them to be truly comfortable for extended sitting. Which leaves me in the unenviable position of trying to find some comfy chairs that are somewhere between normal dining chairs and bar stools. I guess the default solution would be adjustable office drafting chairs, but it's a nice country cottage and those things are UGLY. So I've decided to try and solve the chair problem first, then build the table to suit.

So, is there a particular table height and chair style that already exists that I should consider conforming to? Bearing in mind that the table edge will be thick, around 100-150mm, so I'll probably need a bit more leg clearance than usual. Should I try and find some upholstered wooden bar stools (with backs and maybe armrests) and cut them down? What would be the maximum acceptable seat height without footrests? (I'm pretty tall but my guests come in assorted sizes).

Any advice would be appreciated!