Double-Duty Dining Piece: The Bench

Benches, like the banquettes we blogged yesterday, have a lot of possible uses. Unlike a banquette, a bench is movable. It can serve different functions in different rooms: a footboard for a bed, an entryway piece, a coffee table, or...

...extra seating for a dinner party. This works especially well if you have an expandable rectangular dining table, but you don't have room to store a lot of extra chairs. Keep a bench on hand in your living room, bedroom, or hall and you've got instant seating for a group.

Photo: Wooden Chinese Bench from Wisteria, $199

Comments (3)

i love the look of it, but i was just watching hgtv's top 25 design mistakes, and this was one of them. merely because it's uncomfortable for guests to sit hunched over on a bench for 2-3 hours at a dinner party. on a block of wood.

posted by bprophs on November 4th 2008 at 2:43pm
view bprophs's profile

I made one in my woodworking class. I was skeptical about how useful it would be, but it has been great! Sitting hunched over isn't a problem if you put the bench very near, but not right against, a wall.

posted by matchbookhymnal on November 4th 2008 at 3:34pm
view matchbookhymnal's profile

I might not ask guests to sit on a bench at a formal dinner party, but I've been to LOTS of meals and group gatherings where 40 people ate in the living & dining rooms of small apartment, and sometimes you have to get creative. Benches, stools, the desk chairs from the kids' bedrooms, the piano bench, cushions around the coffee table on the floor... there are plenty of times when it's more important to be able to include everyone around the table than it is to have the table look perfect.

posted by mfarling on January 5th 2009 at 12:18am
view mfarling's profile