What’s wrong with chairs, you ask? Obviously, there’s one major benefit to chairs: they have a backrest. So if you have the room and you’re planning regular lengthy 12-course meals in your dining room, you might think it makes more sense to go with chairs.
However, there are tons of benefits to styling a table with a bench (beyond the fact that some benches also have backrests) and I’m here to show you 6 of those reasons right now:
1. It perfectly complements an open-concept floor plan
What we love about open concept is how grandiose it makes even a small space look. But if you want to maintain that effect, you have to pick furniture that won’t clutter the view. Benches are a great solution in an open concept dining area because they don’t break the visual flow of a space.
2. It can make your dining room look bigger if you’re tight on space
This reason is a continuation of the first one: because a bench allows us to maintain a visual flow throughout a space, it also makes that space look bigger. And if you’re really tight on space, choose a bench that’s slightly more narrow than the table’s legs so that you can tuck the bench away underneath when not in use.
3. You can fit more people
If your guests are willing to squeeze a little, you’ll be able to fit more people around your table without having additional chairs taking up space somewhere else in your home.
4. Mixing and matching chairs is now much more affordable
A neat styling option for your dining room table is to mix and match different styles of chairs. Unfortunately, achieving the look can become costly and time consuming. Replacing a few chairs with a bench can help you curb those costs and save up some precious time.
5. It can add much-needed storage
This is probably my favorite design hack: if you need extra kitchen storage, get a bench that has drawers, doors or hidden storage under the seat for small appliances you only use once in a while.
6. It balances out the heaviness of a larger-scale table
Some tables have thick tops and legs, making them a heavy focal point in any room. Adding equally heavy or elaborate chairs is a surefire way to clutter a design, especially if you don’t have massive amounts of room. Bench seating can help balance the heaviness of massive tables by anchoring it closer to the ground.
Bonus! Matching a bench to a table is easy-peasy
When looking for the perfect bench to match your table, the main thing you need to look at (beyond style) is dimensions:
- The length: make sure the table’s legs don’t prevent you from sliding the bench comfortable under the table.
- The height: your bench should be just about the same height as the other chairs around the table.
- The width: a narrow bench can quickly become uncomfortable, so make sure there’s ample depth to accommodate an average-sized derrière.