At a Glance:
Does a Dining Bench Have to Match Chairs?
How to Match Your Dining Bench and Chairs
6 Dining Benches and Matching Chairs
Why Match Your Dining Bench and Chairs
Say goodbye to stuffy, formal dining rooms and hello to a fresh, stylish combination of a dining bench and chairs! This nontraditional choice can help you create an inviting, casual, and family-friendly dining room. The question is, does a dining bench have to match your chairs?
In this guide to choosing dining room seating, you’ll learn how to coordinate your dining bench and chairs to create a cohesive dining room design. We’ll explain how to match your seating, answer frequently asked questions, and recommend 6 dining benches with matching chairs from Walker Furniture for every design style.
Unlock Style Fusion with Dining Benches and Chairs
Uncover the power of style and fusion in your dining room! Walker Furniture has the ideal combo of benches and matching chairs. Elevate your living room today!
Shop Dining Room SeatingDoes a Dining Bench Have to Match Chairs?
Dining benches are a great addition to the dining room. They’re a unique choice with plenty of benefits. A dining table with a bench is great when you want to…
- Maximize space efficiency: Dining benches typically take up less floor space than individual chairs. This can be especially advantageous in smaller dining areas where optimizing space is essential.
- Increase seating flexibility: Benches can accommodate more people in less space compared to chairs. They are a practical choice for large gatherings or families with children, allowing you to squeeze in extra diners when needed.
- Make your dining room casual and cozy: Benches create a casual and cozy atmosphere, making your dining area feel more inviting and relaxed. They encourage social interaction and a sense of togetherness, as people can sit close to one another.
- Choose easy-to-clean furnishings: Dining benches with no upholstery or with easy-to-clean materials can be simpler to maintain. Spills and crumbs are easy to wipe or sweep off, which can be especially beneficial for families with young children.
When you’re using a bench and chairs, you’re already mixing and matching seating types. You don’t want your room to be too busy or visually overwhelming. To avoid too much mixing and matching, it can be helpful to match your dining bench and chairs in terms of material, color palette, wood tone, scale, and design style.
So, what’s the verdict? Your dining bench and chairs don’t have to match perfectly, but coordinating them can give your dining space a more cohesive feel.
How to Match Your Dining Bench and Chairs
When it comes to matching your dining chairs and dining bench table, here are some factors to consider to create a cohesive look without being overly matchy-matchy or cookie-cutter:
- Materials: Choose a dining bench and chairs that are made of the same materials. You may opt for finishes like natural wood, distressed wood, whitewashed wood, or upholstery. Some of our recommendations pair upholstered chairs with wood benches, but they’re still coordinated in terms of scale and design style. They complement each other, even if they don’t match perfectly.
- Color Palette or Wood Tone: Choose harmonious colors and wood tones. You may want a modern look with grey or black. Farmhouse or coastal designs will often incorporate ivory, oatmeal, and other light neutrals. Mid century modern design favors warm wood tones whereas traditional and contemporary designs favor darker wood tones. Just like materials, you want to mindfully coordinate and curate your color palette and range of wood tones.
- Scale: There are plenty of dimensions to keep in mind when choosing a dining bench, chairs, and table. For example, one element of scale is whether the lines of a piece are thin or chunky. A thin, sleek dining table next to a chunky or heavy chair will look odd and unbalanced. You’ll also need to consider the height of your dining table. Do you have a standard, counter height, or bar height table? This is critical knowledge when choosing your seating. As a general rule of thumb, there should be 10 to 12 inches between the seat of your chair and your table to allow for comfortable legroom.
- Design Style: Your favorite design style will help inform the materials, color palette, and wood tones you choose. It will also influence the scale and silhouette of your dining room seating. Knowing your favorite design style–whether it’s modern, coastal, or glam–can help you narrow your search for the perfect dining bench and chair set.
As you’re shopping, you can find dining room sets with benches, or you can buy each piece individually. The same tips apply if you’re shopping for a dining table with a matching bench.
→ Learn more: Counter Height Table - Pros & Cons
6 Dining Benches and Matching Chairs
Keep reading for our 6 favorite dining benches and matching chairs from Walker Furniture.
Spring Dining Bench and Matching Chair
Shop Spring Counter Height Side Chair
The Spring Grey Dining Bench and Spring Grey Side Chair offer an elegant example of how you can coordinate your dining chairs without matching them perfectly. Both pieces have an artistic, modern, and sculptural feel. The grey color palette with metal accents is perfect for a modern or contemporary dining room space.
→ Learn more: Essential Tips for Styling a Modern Dining Room
Lynn Dining Bench and Matching Chair
The Lynn Dining Bench and Lynn Side Chair offer an ideal pairing for a chic farmhouse dining room. All of the farmhouse style’s signature finishes are here: hardwood, foam cushion, and neutral upholstery. The bench adds a casual touch to your dining room while the chairs add coziness and comfort; yet, this set looks sophisticated and classy. This would also be a great set for a coastal dining room as well.
Denver Dining Bench and Matching Chair
With the Denver Dining Bench and Denver Side Chair, you can create a warm and rustic dining room. The upholstered dining bench adds comfort and perfectly complements the rustic wood and metal accents. The upholstery is easy to wipe down, making this an ideal set for families with young kids.
Glean Dining Bench and Matching Chair
The Glean Dining Bench and Glean Side Chair offer a study of the beauty of simplicity. This light wood bench dining table and chair pairing is sleek and warm at the same time. Whether you love Scandinavian, boho, or minimalist style, this set is an excellent choice.
Pepper Dining Bench and Matching Chair
The weathered gray look of this Pepper Dining Bench and Pepper Side Chair is perfect for a shabby chic or rustic farmhouse dining room. The dining table bench and chair seat feature tan performance fabric that is easy to clean. The neutral color palette allows you to incorporate your favorite accent colors throughout the rest of the room and pair well with almost any color.
Landen Dining Bench and matching Chair
Shop Brown Landen Dining Bench
If you want dark, moody, and elegant, look no further than the Landen Dining Bench (Brown) and Landen Side Chair (Brown). This set has a more formal look than our other recommendations, so it’s perfect if you want to create a traditional dining room space. The tufting on the upholstered bench for the dining table adds to the traditional feel as does the rich stained wood.
Why Match Your Dining Bench and Chairs
Whether you prefer strictly matching your dining bench and chairs or more creative coordination, here are some pros and cons of matching your seating:
✅ Pros
- Aesthetically Pleasing: Matching chairs and benches can create a visually pleasing and cohesive look in your dining space, giving it a sense of unity and symmetry.
- Easier Coordination: It's often simpler to coordinate colors, styles, and materials when you choose matching furniture pieces. This can help create a harmonious design.
- Formal and Traditional: Matching chairs and benches are often associated with a more formal and traditional dining room design, which may be preferred in some settings.
- Consistency: If you have other matching furniture in the room, such as a dining table and a buffet, matching chairs and benches can enhance the overall consistency of the decor.
❎ Cons
- Lack of Variety: A set of matching chairs and a bench may lack the diversity and character that can come from mixing and matching different styles, colors, or materials. This can make the space feel less personalized. If you love eclectic style, this may not be the way to go for you, but it works well with most other design styles.
- Trend Dependence: If you choose to match your furniture, it may become more reliant on current design trends, potentially making it feel outdated as those trends change. Mixing and matching can allow you to incorporate timeless or unique pieces. If you choose to match, make sure you love the style because trends change.
At Walker Furniture, Las Vegas shoppers can find the best selection of dining benches and chairs to create the dining room of their dreams. Whether you are a devotee of modern, contemporary, farmhouse, or traditional design, you can find a dining set that suits your style and budget from Walker Furniture.
FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about dining benches and chairs:
Are dining benches out of style?
No! Dining benches are a unique and versatile seating option for your dining room. From benches to banquettes, unconventional seating options are very popular.
How high should a dining bench be?
The height of your dining bench depends on the height of your table. Whether you have a standard, counter height, or bar height table, there should be 10 to 12 inches between the seat of your chair and your table to allow for comfortable legroom.
How to match dining bench and chairs?
Consider materials, color palette, wood tone, scale, and design style preferences to balance mixing and matching dining room seating.
What size should dining bench be?
In terms of length, your dining bench should be shorter than your dining table with enough clearance to push it under your table. In terms of height, your dining bench should allow for at least 10 inches between the bench seat and the bottom of the table.
Why Trust Walker Furniture & Mattress?
Walker Furniture and Mattress has been providing incredible customer service and top furniture expertise to the Las Vegas area for over 67 years. This locally owned furniture store has a humble beginning as a mattress builder in the Chicago area since the 1900’s which blossomed into a booming legacy of selling furniture and mattresses. in 1973, Deanne and Oscar Alterwitz purchased Walker Furniture from original owners, Ruth and George Walker.
Walker Furniture helps Las Vegas and Henderson homeowners and renters find the best living room, dining, and bedroom furniture selections to complete their homes. Complete with mattresses, living room furniture, dining room furniture, home office furniture, and more! We invite you to see all that Walker Furniture has to offer for yourself!
Shop Dining Room Seating at Walker Furniture & Mattress
Stop by any of our 3 Las Vegas furniture locations or our Henderson, NV furniture store to see what a difference buying locally with an experienced staff can make. Or shop dining room seating online! Our friendly experts are always happy to help you mix and match dining benches and chairs to suit your style— whether you call us at 702-384-9300, use our online chat feature, or visit us in person.
→ Learn more: 6 Best Wood Dining Tables Perfect for Holiday Gatherings