Extension Tables: How to Seat Twelve at Christmas Without Losing Your Courtyard in March
There is a conversation we have every November, and it always goes the same way.
Someone has a courtyard that comfortably fits six people. On Christmas Day, eleven turn up. So they start shopping for a table that seats eleven — and then spend the following January to November walking sideways past a three-metre table to get to the barbecue.
It is the wrong trade. You should not have to furnish for the busiest day of the year and live with the consequences for the other three hundred and sixty-four.
That is the entire point of an extension table, and it is the most under-considered product in outdoor furniture.

What an extension table actually is
A table built in two footprints. The ends pull apart and a centre section fills the gap. Closed, it suits the way you actually live — two people, a coffee, a laptop. Open, it takes the crowd.
You are effectively buying two tables that occupy the floor space of one. In a Melbourne courtyard, that is not a nice-to-have. It is usually the difference between a space that works and a space you apologise for.
Auto or manual? The distinction worth understanding
This is the question we get asked most, and almost nobody explains it properly, so here it is.
Auto extension means the leaf lives inside the table. You pull the two ends apart and the centre section rises and locks into place on its own. One movement, one person, nothing to carry and nothing to store in the garage.
In our range, the Justin Ceramic Auto Extension Table (2030 closed, 2635 extended, 1000 deep) and the Imperial Auto Extension Table (1990 closed, 2620 extended, 1000 deep) both work this way. Both come in gunmetal and white.
Manual extension means you separate the ends and drop the leaf in yourself. It is one extra step — and in return you usually get a far bigger jump in size, because the leaf is not limited to what can fold away inside the frame.
The Justin Ceramic Extension Table in gunmetal is the clearest example: it runs from 2200mm to 3400mm. That is 1200mm of additional table, which is more length than any auto mechanism will give you.
The rule of thumb: if you will extend the table often — every second weekend, whenever the kids bring friends — go auto, because a mechanism you can operate in four seconds is a mechanism you will actually use. If you extend two or three times a year and you want the absolute maximum size when you do, go manual.

The range, and what each size realistically seats
Seat counts below are a guide based on allowing roughly 60cm of table edge per person, which is the figure we use for every setting we sell. Add about 10cm per person if your chairs have arms.
| Table | Closed | Extended | Seats closed | Seats extended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Ceramic Extension Table — gunmetal | 2200mm | 3400mm | 8 | 10–12 |
| Justin Ceramic Auto Extension Table (gunmetal / white) | 2030 × 1000 | 2635 × 1000 | 6 | 8 |
| Imperial Auto Extension Table (gunmetal / white) | 1990 × 1000 | 2620 × 1000 | 6 | 8 |
| Azura Extension Dining Table | 1950 × 1000 | 2550 × 1000 | 6 | 8 |
| Azura SQ Extension Dining Table — white | 1420 × 1420 | 2020 × 1420 | 6 | 8 |
| Azura Extension Table — charcoal | 1490 × 970 | 1490 × 1490 sq | 4 | 6 |
| Azura Balcony Extension Dining Table | 1490 × 750 | 1940 × 750 | 4 | 6 |
| Azura Balcony Extension Bar Table Top (950mm bar height) | 1490 × 750 | 1940 × 750 | 4 | 6 |
The one most people do not know exists: a balcony-sized extension table
Almost every extension table on the market starts at around two metres, because the assumption is that anyone extending a table has a backyard to extend it into.
Ours start at 1490mm. The Azura Balcony Extension Dining Table is 1490mm closed and 750mm deep — narrow enough to keep a walkway clear on an apartment balcony — and opens out to 1940mm when someone stays for dinner. There is a bar-height version of the same table at 950mm, which puts you at the right level to see over a balustrade rather than through it.
If you have been told a balcony cannot have a proper dining table, this is the product that argues otherwise.

Three measurements to take before you order
- Measure for the extended size, not the closed one. The table spends most of its life closed, but it has to work open or it is pointless. Allow at least 80cm of clearance around the table at full extension so chairs can be pulled out and people can get past behind them. Extended length plus 160cm is the space you need.
- Check what is at each end. Extension tables grow lengthways. A table that fits beautifully closed can, when opened, run straight into the barbecue, a pergola post, a downpipe or the step down to the lawn. Walk the extended length before you buy it.
- Measure the way in. The narrowest point on the delivery path — usually the side gate, sometimes an apartment lift, occasionally the turn at the top of a staircase. Measure the gate opening itself, not the fence panel.
Do not buy a box — build the setting
Most outdoor furniture is sold as a fixed package: this table, these chairs, take it or leave it. If the table suits your space and the chairs do not, that is your problem.
We sell extension tables the other way around. Every table in the range can be mixed and matched with any of our chair designs, so you choose the table that fits the space and then choose the chairs you actually want to sit in. The range runs in gunmetal and white, with the Azura Extension Table also available in charcoal.
If you would rather have it decided for you, complete settings are available too — the Hope 9pc Justin auto extension setting in gunmetal or white, the Hope 11pc Justin extension setting in gunmetal, and the Imperial 9pc and 11pc auto extension settings in both gunmetal and white.
A note on ceramic tops
The Justin extension tables — both the auto and the manual version — are ceramic-topped, and for a table that gets opened up for a long lunch that matters more than it sounds. Ceramic does not mark when someone puts a hot serving dish down, it does not show water rings, and it does not scratch the way a coated metal top does when a table is being slid apart and pushed back together several times a year.
If ceramic is what you are after more broadly, the full Ceramic Tables collection is worth a look.
See it extended, in your own space, before you buy
The hard part of an extension table is imagining the open version in a space you are currently standing in with a tape measure.
So do not imagine it. Photograph your deck, courtyard or balcony, upload it to our Visualiser, and place the real table into the real space — over 300 products, to scale, free to use, no appointment and no showroom trip.
→ Try the Visualiser: robcousens.com.au/visualiser
We are factory direct, with free delivery across Melbourne metro on orders over $1,000. If you would rather just tell someone your measurements and be told what fits, call 0408 522 202 or email sales@robcousens.com.au. We would far rather talk you into the right table than sell you the big one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an auto and a manual extension table?
An auto extension table has the leaf built into it — you pull the ends apart and the centre section rises and locks by itself. A manual extension table requires you to separate the ends and insert the leaf, but generally offers a larger extended size.
What size outdoor extension table seats twelve?
Allowing around 60cm of table edge per person, a table extending to about 3400mm will seat ten to twelve. In our range that is the Justin Ceramic Extension Table, which runs from 2200mm to 3400mm.
Can you get an extension table small enough for a balcony?
Yes. The Azura Balcony Extension Dining Table is 1490mm × 750mm closed and extends to 1940mm, with a bar-height version at 950mm.
Can I choose different chairs to go with the table?
Yes. Every extension table in our range can be mixed and matched with any of our chair designs, so you are not locked into a fixed package.
What colours are the extension tables available in?
Gunmetal and white across the range, with the Azura Extension Table also offered in charcoal.















