About Dining Benches
If you're planning to buy kitchen and dining furniture for your home, the first pieces that come to mind are dining chairs. However, over the last few years more and more people are opting for dining room benches either as a replacement or complement to dining chairs. These simple two or three-seaters add plenty of functionality to your dining space and make it easier to accommodate extra guests comfortably. Benches can be used on the longer side of the dining tables and can be mixed and matched with the typical dining chairs.
Types of Dining Room Benches
Benches can be broadly categorized into the following types based on their shape, size, and usage:
Corner Dining Benches
Corner benches are an excellent choice for creating a cozy dining space. They are best suited for small dining rooms, or if you prefer eating in the kitchen. Corner dining benches are most suitable with a dining table with a pedestal base. You can always pair them with a dining table with legs instead but take extra care of the dimensions when doing so. In other words, make sure there is enough space to fit around the table legs, especially for the corner seat.
Something else to consider in a corner bench is whether it's a left-handed or a right-handed dining bench. This orientation is critical for the dimensions of your dining room and the corner where you want to place the table and corner bench.
Dining Benches with Backrests
Dining room benches with backrests provide a comfortable and versatile dining experience, and at the same time, add more visual impact to the dining room. Backrests offer more back support because you can lean back when seated. Another benefit of dining benches with backrests is that you can fit more people than with chairs alone.
Dining Banquette Benches
A dining banquette bench is an upholstered bench seat with a backrest, typically placed along a wall. If you have a breakfast nook that doesn't have 90-degree angles, you can use a round dining banquette seat instead of an angled bench. It will help to squeeze in more guests to the table while also adding a cozy vibe to your dining area.
You can use bold fabric upholstery for a more traditional look, or tufted leatherette banquettes for a more modern setting.
Backless Benches
Backless dining benches˜help open up the appearance of your dining space with a simplistic design that can be used in any position at the dining table. If the seat is smaller than the inside length of the table legs, you can easily tuck the bench under the table when not in use. Try to have about four- or five-inches clearance on both sides of the kitchen bench to prevent knocking it on the table legs when putting it away.
Curved Dining Room Benches
Curved benches are suitable for a round dining table or for dining nooks that don't have 90-degree angles. Curved benches are best suited for tables with a pedestal base.
Dining Bench Dimensions
We hope you find the answer to these questions helpful which are common while purchasing furniture for the kitchen and dining area.
What is the standard size of a dining bench?
The length of a dining bench will vary depending upon the number of people it is intended to seat. For example, a bench 42 inches long can typically seat two adults comfortably.
What is the best height for a dining bench seat?
The standard height of a dining table is 30 inches, and a matching dining seat is 18 inches high. Make sure there is a 12-inch space between the top of the seat and the bottom of the tabletop for maximum comfort.
What is the best width for a dining bench seat?
A dining bench with a backrest should have a seat measuring 24 inches across, and a backless bench should have a seat measuring at least 18 inches wide.
How far under the table should a dining bench be stored?
Dining benches do not need to be put away after every use, and often aren't designed to be moved at all. For those narrow enough to fit between the legs or that are used with a pedestal base, the tabletop can overlap the bench by three or four inches on each side.