Gossip benches, telephone benches, telephone tables. Whatever you call them, these adorable seat-and-table combination pieces are more than just reminders of the era of rotary dialing. Multi-taskers with a small footprint, they work well in a variety of spaces. And I am completely and utterly obsessed!
Have you ever experienced love at first sight? That's the story of me and gossip benches. I didn't even know they existed until I saw Carly's Before & After of the sleek black & white chevron bench on Design*Sponge. My infatuation began.
In between bouts of obsessively checking Craigslist for my own future DIY project, I searched the Apartment Therapy House Tour archives and the depths of the internet for gossip bench inspiration. Here's what I found:
1. A charming white number from Natalie's Nob Hill studio. With only 285 square feet of space, it packs the one-two punch of extra seating and flat surface without crowding in an armchair and end table.
2. The one that started it all. Go check out the before pics at Design*Sponge — this is a major upcycle! The black! The chevron! The hardware! I love everything about it. This particular gossip bench gets around; I've seen 3 DIYs of this popular model in my searches.
3 & 4. I am having some serious gossip bench envy, because Christine & Vijay have two gossip benches in their Providence farmhouse! The first is in the entryway, gleaming walnut stain with a pop of color from the floral cushion. I'm partial to the one in the guest bedroom, though. A honeysuckle paint job and a bright, funky fabric win me over.
5. In Danny & Carlos' Chicago home, the gossip bench stands in for a pedestal. This one looks mostly unaltered from its original condition, which lends to its beauty.
6. Look at this retro refurb from Rouge! The piece itself is quite sculptural, so the classic black & white palette works nicely.
7. Though my preference is for vintage over new, this gossip bench from Jonathan Adler gives a mid-century nod to the original with this beautiful walnut and turquoise piece.
Until Boston Scavenger turns up the perfect one of these babies in my neck of the woods, I'll be pining away, wishing there were a gossip bench at the foot of my bed or in my entryway.
Do you have a gossip bench? What's your current furniture infatuation?
Images: as linked above
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Cute! Love the first one!
I really need to trust myself more! I've been seeing these sporadically on Craigslist in my area, but I start second-guessing myself that it may be "too grandma-y" or "too country" for my house. These examples are perfect for convincing me that I absolutely NEED one now! Haha, thanks for the constant inspiration!
I've been searching for one of these for about a year. I used to use one growing up to talk to friends all the time. This was, of course, before teens had cellphones glued to their ears.
OMG! My parents had a telephone bench in the hallway of our house while I was growing up, handed down to them by my grandparents. My Mom had it painted a black lacquer. Wonderful memory.
love the fourth one, but would have to paint it green, pink's not my favorite
Just picked up one for $15 on craigslist. It's all stuffy and has a huge glue spot on the drawer (someone tried to glue their lamp down!) but once I'm done with it it's gonna rock! It's my test dummy for my very first upholstery class! Now I just need a cool modern fabric to pair with the ornate show wood.
These are PERFECT for the landing strip!
I've always loved these but I had no idea what they were called.
Love! I didn't know about these until now either and I think they are absolutely adorable :)
My sister had one in her room the night she got married. I was SUPER-jealous of that one aspect of the room. That, and the view of the river.
These are adorable. I want one immediately! Makes me want an old rotary dial phone.
I know someone in the Boston area that has a cute one in her garage. It's painted a bright green but the seat still needs to be redone...I'll see if I can finally get her to post it on CL for you. ;)
I have a really boxy yellow vinyl one from the 60's that came with the house. it would be really hard to reupholster because its not soft... Im going to try to sell it on Craigslist now. maybe I should try to refurbish and then sell... Hmmm
The one in #3 looks almost exactly like the one my Granny had in her house since 1946.
(Of course, hers had old needlepoint upholstery)
I found one -- very mid-c in design -- being tossed in the basement of my apt building. It's a perfect fit for the little foyer when you first enter the apt -- and as someone said above, it's the perfect landing strip!
I troll my area's Kijiji every morning just waiting for the magical day I find one of these.
i love gossip benches and spent quite a while looking for one of my own. finally found it on ebay! so don't forget about that source if you're seeking.
Love love love! I love these. I didn't know that is what they're called. We used to have one in our family (with a rotary phone on it and the phone book underneath). x
I make reproductions of old furniture. I just finished a gossip bench identical to the first one. It's black with goldish patterned fabric. How many would you like?
These are super-cute, but I'd need one like the second-last; enough room to sit cross-legged. Otherwise it would be completely wasted on me, I'm tiny and almost never sit with my legs down to (or towards!) the floor...
I got one about 2 years ago at a thrift store for $10. I painted it black and covered the seat in a cute Amy Butler fabric. This post reminds me that with all the other changes happening in our house right now, it's time for the telephone table to go through it's second make-over!
There are always heaps of these in second hand and antique stores around here, I think they have fallen out of favour due to mobile and cordless phones.
I've always been tempted to buy one because it seems like the perfect thing to have near the entry. A nice spot for a key bowl and to sit down to put shoes on and off.
This makes me wish I had room for one of these...I see them on Craigslist all the time!
I've been in love with these forever!! I want one painted a punchy color like pink or green with cute fabric covering the seat! My great grandmother had one and it was my favorite spot to sit and read or draw as a child.
I can't believe I never heard the term "gossip bench" before now!
I've always been drawn to these- the first piece of furniture that I bought in order to make- over was a telephone table. I've never heard of them referred to as a 'gossip table' before. Now I think they're even cuter!
Thanks for including our chevron gossip table- it's in great company!!
I never heard of a gossip bench before 5 minutes ago. I saw one on craigslist, did some googling, and here I am. Beautiful collection!