Take him to look at Koala and other brands first. That gives him ideas on what you need. Then I'd say the 4X6 idea is great. Mine is too big. By that I mean I didn't need much table on the right side of my machine. I should have made it smaller. Seems all I do is pile things there. The important thing is to have room on the left of the machine and behind for a quilt. I heard a tip to put the quilt in one of those plant stands with wheels and as you quilt it will roll around on top of the table and not get hung up or fall over the edges. Hope that helps.