POLL: Dining Benches - Yes or No?

9 years ago

Are you a fan of dining benches at the table, or are you more traditional with your dining room seating?

VOTE and tell us about it in the comments!

Mill Valley Bungalow · More Info

Yes - Benches are great.

No - I'll pass.

Other - Tell us below!

Featured Answer

hayleydaniels

9 years ago

The host and hostess should sit on the bench and give their guests the nice chairs if they're so fond of benches. They belong with picnic tables, not in a regular dining room.

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Comments (147)

ladytulip
9 years ago
No,no,no!
Bobbie
9 years ago
We have one at our dining room table and while I like the look
It's not as comfy nor easy to move without everyone getting up. So we sit there
And let our guests sit on the chairs. There are options such as putting a cushion
On it or makin sure it's pulled out at proper length before your guests sit on it.
Overall it's here to stay and we do enjoy looking out and not seeing all the chair backs
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iammommyof3
9 years ago
We use beaches at our table day to day and it works great for Turing our
Formal space into a study hall but when we have company we bring out nice
Dinning chairs from our old table and push the benches together
To make an oversized coffee table for serving appetizers and drinks.
mntflwr
9 years ago
wow what a pretty space. and the benches together is a good idea, that is cool that ur benches have a dual purpose.
mntflwr
9 years ago
Jenifer, i Love that bench!!
josullovan
9 years ago
I've used both. At the moment, our Arts & Crafts home features a lovely courtyard beyond the four atrium glass doors in our dining room. I would not think of denying most dinners for four or six that lovely evening view, so an upholstered bench without a stand-up back works perfectly. Now that we are retired, relaxed entertaining no longer includes long sessions at the dining room table. We have drinks on the large covered front porch that includes roaming the front garden, then dinner in the dining room (overflow gets the bench), then dessert in the living room by the fire in winter or on the large screened back porch in the other three seasons. When it's wind down time, I find the men settle out on the tree-top deck with the fire-ring and the women come back into the dining room for board games and gossip with elbows planted firmly on the table. I LOVE benches!
Robin Hawkins
9 years ago
I prefer the padded benches with padded backs...more like a pew I guess.
mntflwr
9 years ago
i would love to see a picture of what u are saying
Robin Hawkins
9 years ago
Normal benches, no but I want this in our breakfast nook.
Robin Hawkins
9 years ago
It's more like a booth at a diner but more elegant.
mntflwr
9 years ago
wow that is pretty!!
kylen2350
9 years ago
Pretty.......uncomfortable.
kylen2350
9 years ago
My ex husbands family was large....7 kids. In the family kitchen they would put a board on top of the radiator and...voila...a bench. Great in winter. But when mother made dumplings, my ex threw his behind the radiator.
kylen2350
9 years ago
If company is not welcome to linger over dessert and coffee, then by all means, give them a bench for seating. They'll be gone Ina flash. Eat and run?
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Springhouse Shop & Studio
9 years ago
We have some live-edge slab benches at our place (as well as these Maple beauties available) and I'm accusomed to them. They can be a bit difficult for less agile people but I love the idea of using them together as table, behind a sofa, or against a wall- versatility for other uses besides dining seating.
Momof5x
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
As much as I love the look- I love the bench table very much- but bench for sitting, no as I don't think it is convenient if someone want to leave the table! You have to have someone else get up and then slide along to get out haha. No thanks!
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Gilmans Kitchens and Baths
9 years ago
I love benches! They break up the look of your space and add extra seating.
-Angeline, GKB
Monique Barrow
9 years ago
Never. I find them very uncomfortable. Benches are fine for people who have the same length and weight. I always want to pull the table towards to me while the other person wants to have more distance to the table.
And if you want to stand up you always have to bother the other.
I think they're just fine for a pick-nick seating in the park.
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MJ Designs
9 years ago
I love the look especially when mixed with chairs on the other side of the table. Will work best if there are kids who can utilize the bench while older folks can use the seats with backs.
meganlspringle
9 years ago
I think benches work really well in casual settings, like in a breakfast nook. For formal dining rooms, I'm not a fan of them.
Preppy Kay
9 years ago
No to the benches....some nice high back leather chairs will make it pop color black or red
Jane
9 years ago
Yes in the kitchen, mine are booth style - counter behind one, wall behind the other. In the dining room chairs are a must, long meals, board games or cards to follow with coffee and dessert, backs need to relax against a chair.
jhatwich
9 years ago
I love having a bench in our dining room! We have a 3 and 5 year old and when they have friends for dinner they all just line up on the bench...seating up to 5 kids wonderfully!
pdk920
8 years ago
Love the casual look of benches, but as we age and develop arthritis, sciatica and other joint ailments they become not only hideously uncomfortable but virtually impossible to get in and out of. More than fifteen minutes and my legs are numb and my back is aching.
J J
8 years ago
I have bench seating and hate it!
iammommyof3
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

I love both benches and chairs but find the flexibility of benches more helpful both in entertaining and everyday life. We have used the benches that go with your 108 inch dinning table as seats at our table for children's birthday parties and casual gatherings or when using our dinning room as a study hall for our 3 children, then we push them together during the holidays and use them as a long coffee table replacing them with chairs.
ritting28
8 years ago
Hard on one's back, especially after age 40.
Ava Williams
8 years ago
Can't decide
bennnie
8 years ago
We used a bench when we couldn't find two additional matching chairs for our 6 seat table. We had 4 and it was fine, until we moved and needed 2 more chairs. We re-used an old picnic bench, painted it to coordinate with the accessories in the dining room and it works. Saves space, provides seating, cost nothing and looks fun/trendy. Is it ideal? No. But it will work for now.
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Valter and Anna fon Eynik
8 years ago
Benches are great!
Robbi
8 years ago
Benches are one of those pieces of furniture that fit a certain look, but no one wants to sit on. I have chairs with padded seats and wood backs which I will be replacing. My next chairs will have padded backs too, I like to be comfortable and have back support. Benches are for o.k. for picnics and quick bites but not suitable for relaxing dinners.
maggie200
8 years ago
No benches. Sitting long periods of time holding your back up without the support of chair backs is very painful for some adults. We are suppose o have support. I had a friend with kids who did the same thing and couldn't wait to get rid of the bench.
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Design Directives, LLC
8 years ago
Benches OK for picnic tables, but not for dining rooms!
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8 years ago
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kristinanadreau
8 years ago
I need a chair with a back for comfort. I provide the same for my guests. I love to have dinners where the guests discuss different cultures because they are from different cultures, and politics (USA and others) plus religions. These lively conversations go on for hours. my bum could not sit a bench or hard chair.
Merryl
8 years ago
Love the look but hate the feel. When we have people for dinner we can be sitting around the table for two hours or more. I would hate to be seated on a backless bench and would hate to have to decide which of my guesses would be stuck on that uncomfortable seat.
Lisa Williams
8 years ago
Such great comments! I love the look of benches and, in fact, have an upholstered faux leather bench and 2 faux leather chairs at my kitchen table. So the bench has been comfortable for casual dining. I'm in my late 40s and I don't avoid sitting there.

I also like the idea of using benches against a wall or in a corner with a round table where space may be tight, creating a banquette of sorts.

But I do agree about the back support, especially if hosting guests or for holiday dinners, where people want to linger and visit. When I had counter stools, I specifically chose a style that had an upholstered seat and had a back rest, otherwise I find those uncomfortable, as well.
M B
8 years ago
No on benches in a formal dining room. Formal living rooms are usually used when there are guests. No guest should have to slide onto a bench or step over one to sit at the table.

Yes on benches in the kitchen eat-in area. I was one of five kids growing up and my dad made a bench for our table. He put the bench against a wall and then placed two of the table legs against the bench so my three younger siblings didn't tip it over and they couldn't fall backwards off of it. That was about 50 years ago. My youngest sister has that bench in her kitchen and her small grandchildren sit on it during meals.
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S. Bumbera Glass Etching
8 years ago
I like benches. I the side of the table against the wall sits the bench and chairs on the ends and other side. Works great for us. Usually everyone has their own favorite spot. I do get the whole uncomfortable thing, so we have a old trolley bench with a butt print & a back. It also makes for a great conversation piece. Love it. Food, scratches... its all good
Benches · More Info
ArtWench .
8 years ago
Benches are so uncomfortable! Plus you have to either scoot in or climb over them to get seated. And how do you scootch closer to the table when your neighbor is a 250 lb linebacker?
katevine
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Maybe I am posting this years too late, but here's my take. In the words of the great philosopher Mick Jagger, you can't always get what you want. I grew up in a house with a "breakfast nook" for a family of 8. I was stuck in the back with my mean older sister. I spent years in therapy to overcome my hatred of confined spaces (especially at dinner time). LESSON: Don't put benches on the inside of your table. If guests want to get up and move around, put the bench on the outside of the table.)

Moving forward, I agree that benches suck if you have that Downton Abbey kind of entertaining style. We don't. We have a HUGE extended family and nobody is averse to sitting on the floor if that's what it takes to be in the same room together. So benches (and floor pillows) rule at our house. We hide them in the mudroom, hallway, etc., when not needed, and bring them out lickety-split as soon as the clan shows up. Nobody complains (although I will say that an unpadded bench which isn't at least 15" deep might be considered torture by the Geneva Convention).

As far as wanting to make people comfortable so they can hang around the table for 3+ hours after dinner .... Uh, I'm with the bartenders. Put the chairs on the tables and start mopping. Benjamin Franklin said that fish and company start to smell after 3 days. I would say 3 hours. If you arrive for cocktails an hour ahead of time, and you stick around at the table for 3 more hours after the meal is over you need to either move to the living room, or go home (or elsewhere). I want to go to bed!
Lisa Williams
6 years ago
We used to host lots of get-togethers and more formal dinners...they often culminated in several games of poker at the dining room table!
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it'sALLart
6 years ago
No to owning a bench. Possibly to sitting on one if it's well-padded.

Nothing says "I don't want you to stay very long" like an un-padded seat.
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ALLBRiGHT
6 years ago
They look gorgeous, but cause a few issues:

1. They can be uncomfortable to sit on if there's no padding

2. Lack of lumbar support can cause back pain.

3. If there are a few people sitting down, it makes standing up or sitting down awkward, since you have to collectively get everyone to help scoot out.

That's not to say I'm completely against it. My patio table has benches, but dining room table has chairs.
woodteam5
6 years ago
I barely want to sit in the middle of a couch with 2 other people, I definitely don't want to sit on a hard bench between them. (But I actually think they can look nice)
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New England Joinery
6 years ago
Obviously, we build custom furniture, so if one of our clients wants a bench.. a bench is what they get. Most people asking for a bench either have space restraints, or in some cases their dining table faces an awesome view which they do not want obstructed with chairs. Our benches are built like the rock of Gibralter !.. we understand how these will get used...Hard! The base is made of either Rock Maple or White Oak, the tops (seats) match each farm table wood. You can't find a better made bench.
SueBee
5 years ago
I don't like the way they look and none of them look comfortable. Fine for a picnic table outside!
Erica McA
5 years ago
I live in an old four square and we knocked down the wall between the Kitchen and dining room to make one big space. Our dining table does double duty as our daily kitchen and formal dining table. We have a bench at our table and the kids love it. I have some leather folding captains chairs for when we’re having a more formal dinner and the bench is easily stowed away or repurposed in another room during that time.
Paula Niedoba
2 years ago
Benches are fine for anyone under the age of 12. Personally they are impractical and uncomfortable. I prefer my own personal space at the dining table. So thumbs down 👎🏻
Kate
2 years ago
Don’t do a bench unless there are going to be kids around. It looks dated IMO.

POLL: Dining Benches - Yes or No?

Comments (147)

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