How deep should a balcony be for a table and chairs?

A balcony needs 2 m (6 ft 7 in) of clear depth for two chairs to face each other across a small table, and 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) for a table of four to six. Those are the minimums New South Wales writes into its Apartment Design Guide, and the arithmetic of a 24 in (61 cm) bistro table agrees with them. The figure quoted more often, 1.5 m (59 in), is the legal minimum for new flats in London and Ireland, and it is a real number with a narrower meaning: it seats two side by side facing the view, or one at each end of the table, never face to face across the depth. The rest of outdoor room dimensions covers the patios and decks below.

Clear depth runs from the glass to the inside of the guard#

A balcony is sold by its slab and lived on by its clear depth. Measure from the face of the wall or door glass to the inside face of the balustrade, at the narrowest point. A top rail that oversails its posts, a planter trough or a column comes off the figure, because a chair leg stops at whichever is nearest.

The planning rules measure the same way. Ireland's 2025 guidelines want the 1.5 m "in one useable length to meet the minimum floor area", so an L that wraps a corner cannot make up the area with two thin arms. NSW goes further: "the minimum balcony depth to be counted as contributing to the balcony area is 1m", so a 600 mm (24 in) ledge along the side counts for nothing.

The guard sets the edge, not the depth. Under IRC R312.1 a balcony more than 30 in (762 mm) above the ground needs one 36 in (914 mm) high that a 4 in (102 mm) sphere cannot pass; the IBC and UK heights are in deck sizes and railing heights.

Four rulebooks, four minimum depths#

London's figure applies "where there are no higher local standards", so a borough plan can raise it. The Irish purpose comes from the 2015 edition (paragraph 3.25): the 1.5 m was there "to be useful from an amenity viewpoint, e.g. to accommodate chairs and a small table". The 2025 text keeps the depth and drops the reason. San Francisco's 3 ft is the lowest here; section 135(f)(1) was last amended by Ordinance 248-23, effective 14 January 2024. Indoor room minimums are gathered in room sizes.

Where 2 m comes from: 27 in a side and a 24 in table#

Take a balcony table: IKEA's ASKHOLMEN folds to 24 3/8 x 23 5/8 in (62 x 60 cm), TÄRNÖ is 21 5/8 x 21 1/4 in (55 x 54 cm). Call it 24 in (61 cm). The site's figures from dining clearances are an occupied chair projecting 20 in (51 cm) from the table edge, 30 in (76 cm) from table edge to wall as the absolute minimum with nobody passing, and 36 in (91 cm) as the comfortable minimum.

• Chairs facing across the depth, tight: 30 + 24 + 30 = 84 in (2.13 m).
• The same, comfortable: 36 + 24 + 36 = 96 in (2.44 m).
• At the NSW 2 m: 78.7 in less a 24 in table leaves 54.7 in, 27 in (69 cm) a side. That clears a seated diner's 20 in and falls 3 in short of the 30 in minimum, so nobody stands up without the chair touching the wall.
• At the NSW 2.4 m: 94.5 in less a 30 in (76 cm) four-seat table leaves 32 in (81 cm) a side.
• At 1.5 m: 59 in less 24 in leaves 35 in (89 cm), which is one chair zone, not two.

So 2 m is the true minimum for facing chairs, which NSW's figure note puts plainly: balconies "should be at least 2m deep to allow enough space for a small table". The comfortable 96 in is 8 ft (2.44 m), close to NSW's three-bedroom 2.4 m. Table sizes per cover are in outdoor dining table sizes and clearances.

Five layouts and the depth each one needs#

ASKHOLMEN's wall table folds out 17 3/8 in (44 cm) and is 27 1/2 in (70 cm) long. IKEA's balcony chairs run 15 3/4 to 22 7/8 in (40 to 58 cm) deep and 14 1/8 to 18 7/8 in (36 to 48 cm) wide, so two side by side take about 36 in. The 24 in behind a lounge chair is a squeeze, not a walkway; a real route is 30 to 36 in (76 to 91 cm) under walkway and circulation widths.

The chairs and tables behind those sums#

Chair depth spreads 7 in (18 cm), TÄRNÖ to ENSHOLM, and matters less than it looks: a seated person sits about 20 in from the table whatever the chair, so the sums use that projection, not the catalogue depth. Seat heights are in dining chair dimensions.

What takes depth back: doors, planters and storage#

The door. An outward-opening leaf sweeps a quarter circle as deep as the leaf is wide, 30 to 36 in (76 to 91 cm), and nothing can stand in it. On a 1.5 m balcony that is over half the depth. Inward-opening and sliding doors take nothing. Leaf sizes are in door sizes and swings.

Planters. IKEA's ASKHOLMEN flower box, 24 x 15 x 15 in (61 x 38 x 38 cm), set inside the rail of a 1.5 m balcony leaves 44 in (1.12 m), below the 47 3/8 in a wall table and one chair need. A rail-hung VITLÖK, 22 x 7 3/4 in (56 x 20 cm) and rated for 15 lb (7 kg), costs 7 3/4 in hung inside and nothing outside. NSW's guide asks that balcony detailing "avoids opportunities for climbing and falls", and a trough at the foot of a 36 in guard is a step; the child-height view of that is in kids room safety clearances.

Storage. NSW says "storage areas on balconies is additional to the minimum balcony size": a box or a drying rack on a minimum balcony leaves less than the minimum. A 31 1/2 x 15 3/4 in (80 x 40 cm) NÄMMARÖ storage box at the end wall costs 16 in of length, a third of the London door zone.

Loads and grills: 40 lb/ft² on a house, 60 on a flat#

The 2021 IRC sets one live load for "balconies (exterior) and decks": 40 lb/ft² (1.92 kPa), the same as the rooms inside. The IBC, which covers apartment buildings, sets balconies and decks at "1.5 times the live load for the area served, not required to exceed 100" lb/ft², and the private rooms of a multifamily dwelling are designed for 40, so a flat's balcony is designed for 60 lb/ft² (2.87 kPa). Soil is the load that breaks it: the arithmetic in planter and raised bed dimensions puts a 12 in (30 cm) bed of wet soil at 62 to 82 lb/ft² (3.0 to 3.9 kPa), above both, so a raised bed on a balcony is a question for whoever designed the slab.

Cooking has its own rule. IFC 308.1.4 says "charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet (3048 mm) of combustible construction". The three exceptions are one- and two-family dwellings, buildings and balconies "protected by an automatic sprinkler system", and LP-gas cookers on a cylinder of no more than 2 1/2 lb water capacity, the nominal 1 lb (0.45 kg) camping bottle. Garden grill clearances are in outdoor kitchen dimensions.

Loungers and lounge chairs need the length, not the depth#

Lounge seating is deeper and does not tuck under a table. IKEA's range runs from 28 in (71 cm) deep for the folding NÄMMARÖ reclining chair, through 30 5/8 in (78 cm) for the NÄMMARÖ lounge chair and 31 1/2 in (80 cm) for VIGGSÖ, to 33 1/2 in (85 cm) for the KLÖVEN deck chair. Facing out with a 24 in (61 cm) squeeze behind, the deepest needs 57 1/2 in (1.46 m), which a 1.5 m balcony holds with 1 1/2 in to spare and nothing else beside it.

The NÄMMARÖ chaise, 76 x 26 3/8 in (193 x 67 cm), goes along the balcony; at the London minimum it leaves 55 in of the 131 for the door and none for a table. A two-seat loveseat such as JOLPEN, 39 3/8 x 23 1/4 in (100 x 59 cm), is the largest sofa that leaves a route on a 1.5 m balcony: 23 1/4 in plus a 30 in (76 cm) route is 53 1/4 in. Deeper outdoor sofas, at 34 in (86 cm) and more, are what outdoor sofa, lounger and cushion dimensions rules out for any balcony under 70 in (178 cm) deep.

Where these numbers stop applying#

The planning figures are minimums for new flats that need permission, and London's yields to any higher borough standard. Ireland allows less where flats face major noise or pollution or sit on wind-exposed towers, with no more than half the units lacking direct access, and relaxes it for refurbishment and small infill sites. NSW names "consistently high wind speeds at 10 storeys and above" as a reason for a winter garden or Juliet balcony instead. None governs an existing balcony, and none is a building regulation; the guard, load and grill rules are, and they set no depth.

The furniture sums assume level decking and chairs that slide; where legs catch on slats, every layout needs more. For a ground-floor terrace, use patio sizes and layouts. Metric figures are converted, not rounded to a standard, as imperial and metric dimension systems explains; the unit converter does the rest, and the standards and codes page covers the codes cited here.