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Ooooooh Modernests!! I LOVE the sheepskin over the bench! We had originally looked at a crate&barrel dining table that had a bench as well, but I wasn't sold on the dark wood & we found a great deal elsewhere. We'd have had to get chairs though- my husband doesn't like benches at dining tables.

modernestS- love your dining room! are those painted gilbert chairs? how did you paint them?

My thoughts on benches in dining areas:

They're uncomfortable and don't inspire lingering at the table - Perfect if you hate your dinner guests.

The chairs for the hosts are better than what the guests get to sit on - not exactly hospitable.

They conjure memories of school lunch - When flicking peas corn across the table, making rude observations of what doesn't happen to corn inside you, blowing bubbles in our milk until it exploded from the carton, and sticking soggy french fries up our nostrils seemed like a really good idea.

Seems to me that a bench at a kitchen/dining table is totally impractical if more than one person is sitting on it. If one person needs to leave the table, does the other person have to move, too?

CozyLittleCave, Thank you. When we got the bench it was darker than our chocolate brown table, so the sheepskin makes it seem like they actually match.

erinpearce, They are indeed painted gilbert chairs. I just spray painted them on my balcony. I didn't even use a seal coat and they have held up wonderfully. Two years now. The original chairs were the medium brown color from IKEA.

As far as comfort, I have to say that I really love the bend. I tend to put my feet up on the bench and sometimes half lay on it and sometimes sit up straight. I've found that my guests do tend to linger on it well after dinner and chat under the candle light. I find the bench more comfortable than chairs. But then I think a cushion or some sheepskin is really important for that added comfort.

Why would you want a bench at the dining table? It's like sitting at a booth in a restaurant. Pardon me, excuse me, sorry, just have to get up one more time. And if the person you are sitting next to is fidgety....forget it.

I have benches for my dining table and receive nothing but compliments on them! We have family and friends over and they enjoy it, it's something different and they have no problem lingering that's for sure....:)

Our home has a very loft-style layout so from the kitchen it's one big open space from there to the opposite wall and having no chairs allows for a nice view from the kitchen, no break in the view. Having chairs as the only option for dining room seating is overrated!