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!

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.

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.

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.

Benches are great!

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.

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.

Benches OK for picnic tables, but not for dining rooms!

Love the benches! It creates a fun atmosphere for the kitchen.

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.

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.

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.

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

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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!

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!

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.

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.

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)

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.

I don't like the way they look and none of them look comfortable. Fine for a picnic table outside!

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 👎🏻

Don’t do a bench unless there are going to be kids around. It looks dated IMO.