Tables for meeting rooms come in a variety of shapes and sizes, though they are often smaller and lighter than larger boardroom tables. This is because offices will often contain multiple meeting rooms, allowing several collaborative sessions to take place at the same time, whereas it is more traditional to contain just the one boardroom. This necessitates a simpler, more functional design that focuses on versatility and practicality.

When choosing a meeting room table for your office, a popular option is to choose modular, easily moveable designs that allow for different room configurations and uses. Folding and tilt-top meeting room tables are also great options.

Conference tables are generally intended for larger group meetings, presentations, and discussions, often involving participants from various departments. This means they tend to be larger than a standard meeting room table and are usually rectangular or oval-shaped to accommodate the maximum number of people.

In terms of design, conference tables need to balance functionality with a professional appearance. It is increasingly common to find modern conference tables with integrated power ports and cable management systems.

Boardroom tables tend to be specifically designed for high-level executive meetings, board meetings, and formal discussions involving key decision-makers. As such, they are typically larger and more imposing than meeting room and conference tables, though they otherwise share many of the same features.

Traditionally, boardroom tables are made of high-end materials and finishes, and as with conference tables, will usually feature some level of integrated technology. Emphasising elegance and sophistication, common materials include solid wood, glass, or metal.

When choosing a boardroom table, you don’t have to choose the traditional square shape you may be most familiar with. There are many different options to suit the look and style you require. Have you thought about oval, bow, dual curve, or elliptical tabletops? At BT office, our range has something to suit all spaces.

Similarly, there are just as many options when choosing the type of table leg. Popular options include wood, aluminium frame, or steel with silver, white, polished, and chrome finishes. Or alternatively, you can opt to have no legs at all, instead going for a solid base.

If you do choose a base for your meeting or boardroom table, there are five main types to choose from:

• Cantilever: Meeting room tables with a cantilever leg frame will usually need either a connecting vertical wood panel or central metal beam in order to provide extra support. Although cantilever legs provide a greater amount of leg room, the central support needed can cause issues if power or data cables are required in the centre of the table as this will clash with the support panel or beam.

• Pedestal: A pedestal leg is essentially a rectangular or square box leg. Sometimes the box leg will have a door or removable panel to provide access to power or data cables.

• Drum Base: A drum base is usually used on a circular table. The circular drum is located centrally to provide leg room around the entire circumference of the table. The drum base can also be used on rectangular tables but is more suited to circular or oval tables.

• Pillar Base: The pillar or trumpet style base usually consist of a vertical pole that connects to a flat base on the floor. The base is usually circular or square and this style of leg can be used on any shape of meeting room table. This style of leg provides excellent leg room around the entire meeting table.

There are several styles and finishes of meeting chairs to compliment your meeting room table. For example, chrome-frame cantilever or four-legged chairs compliment a meeting room table with a chrome trumpet, pillar, or post leg. On the other hand, a wood-frame cantilever can complement a more traditional meeting table with a drum or pedestal base.

Meeting chairs on swivel bases often have a memory return base which will return the chair to face the table when vacated. The finish and style of the upholstery is a very important factor when choosing: a mesh-back chair lends itself to a more modern style and finish of table, whilst also providing a supportive back rest that allows heat to escape through the back rest to improve comfort during longer meetings.

Leather, although traditionally used for meeting chairs, does get warm over a sustained period of use, which should be taken into account for meeting rooms without air conditioning. Most of our chairs at BT Office can be upholstered in a large selection of fabrics to suit modern or traditional meeting rooms.

As a general rule, meeting room tables are smaller than boardroom tables and conference tables. To help you calculate the size of table you need, bear in mind that you need to allow at least 600-700m per person to accommodate the width of a suitable chair. For instance, you can usually fit eight people around a 2.4m x 1.2m table, with three down each side and one at each end. If you need to seat 14 people, you will need a table of at least 4.2m x 1.2m.

Here at BT Office, we have meeting and boardroom tables available in many different dimensions that can seat anything from 4-24 people, or even more if needed. For more information on choosing the best size for your boardroom table, view our full guide here. If you are not sure what size table you will need, please call us.

For more information on all our meeting room and boardroom tables, get in touch today. You can reach us by calling 0800 298 7033 or by sending an email to [email protected].