We Got Benched
We’re pleased to announce that we’ve rearranged yet another room in our home (right after our video house tour of course- d’oh). This time it’s the living/dining room. See, we love that we were able to move our dining table into our jumbo living space right off of the new kitchen (the whole open living plan has always appealed to us) but once we removed an arm chair to make room for the table and scootched the couch and the remaining chair over, we realized that the “living” part of the room was a little compromised. In adding a table for six, we lost an arm chair, so our living room was down to seating for three (two on the couch and one on the chair).
Now we actually do all of our lounging and hanging out in the den (which thankfully isn’t short on seating) but due to my perfectionism (read: lunacy) I knew there had to be a little adjustment that would make the living/dining room function perfectly whether it came to dinner or lounging. And then I saw this picture (from here):
That’s when lightning struck (metaphorically speaking). I realized that if we had some sort of cushy banquette or bench seating at the dining table it could double as seating for the living space too. And that’s when I was inspired to drag our little mini-mud room bench from Target into the room.
Jackpot.
Of course we had to get another bench so that one could go back to living in our mini-mud room, but another bench meant even more under-bench storage. Hooray! And we actually found a slightly leggier version at Bed Bath & Beyond (the taller height was more comfy at the table) and the Target bench went back into the corner of the den where it so happily resided before. Victory.
Here’s what the living/dining room looked like pre-bench:
And here it is post-bench:
It’s our new favorite spot to eat dinner (there’s something romantic about sharing a seat) and can also be pulled out and used as living room seating too. Gotta love multi-tasking furniture. Now we’re back to having a U-shaped conversation area in the living room, and we can easily seat 5 peeps again. I knew there was a solution. And I’m sure John’s happy that it was a cheap one, too.
Here’s the new set up from a few other angles:
First image courtesy of MyHomeIdeas.
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Comments
great idea! multi-tasking anything is always nice to have.
recently stumbled upon your blog, and liked it so much I had to write about it on mine, hope you don’t mind. keep the inspiration coming!
Love it!! Your decorating style is so nice and crisp and clean. The bench idea is very clever, and really looks fresh, too. Keep up the great work!
Hey girls,
Glad you found us! Hopefully we can keep the fresh content a comin’. We’re always looking for opinions, advice, and affirmations, so thanks for the comments- keep ‘em coming.
xo
Sherry
p.s. Jennifer, thanks so much for the feature! We love your blog and have added it to our fav links.
p.p.s. Bryn, thanks so much for sending people our way on thenest.com. Your blog is super fantastico (the forth pic down in your Cottage Living post is one of my fav spaces they’ve ever featured) and we’ve also added your blog to our sidebar.
Looking great! :) I love that bench and we almost bought it… isn’t Target the best?
Would you share where you got your 3 white wall shelves (and their size?)? Love them! Thank you!
Amy
Sure thing, Amy.
Those shelves are from everyone’s favorite purveyor of allen wrenches: IKEA. They’re called Lack Wall Shelves and you can get them in 42″or 75″(ours are the latter). Check ‘em out here:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60103750
Pretty cheap and easy to install too. Let us know if you end up with any on your walls in the near future. We’d love to see the result.
-John
Love the bench! It’s amazing what it does for the whole style of the room! Quite an improvement. I would never have thougth of it!
Love your blog! I found it through the Nest and just adore your style. Loved the house tour – too cute! I’ve subscribed to your feed and can’t wait to see more.
Love the room post-bench…it’s amazing what such a small change can do to the look of a room!
Hey everyone,
Thanks so much for the positive feedback on the bench. A new arrangement always takes some getting used to, but hearing that you all adore it really helps the adjustment period! I wish I could have you all over for cupcakes or something and give everyone a turn to sit on the bench. Anyway, thanks again for being such great little commenters- your responses are what keep us going!
xo
Sherry
I just have to say I am obsessed with your house! I think I’ve shown it to my husband about 8 times! Thanks for all the inspiration :)You do beautiful work!
Thanks Kristy,
For the most part, we try to stick to budget-friendly design ideas, so hopefully your hubby can appreciate them! Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for lots more inspiration (we hope!) in the coming months.
xo,
Sherry
Hey Simplygrove,
Thanks for stopping in and for taking the time to give us some much appreciated kuddos. Stay tuned for more exciting before and afters…
xo,
Sherry
LOVE the bench!! So much multi-tasking in one little package. Would a bench work with a round table???
Hey Elizabeth,
I would guess that a bench would work with a round table as long as it’s not too long (if it doesn’t tuck under the table most of the way and sticks out on both sides it might look awkward). I’d love to see how a bench looks with your round table so feel free to send us some pics and we’ll put them up on the blog. It always helps to get other people’s opinions and ideas. Good luck!
xo,
Sherry
Hi Sherry, I’ve really enjoyed looking through your site and gotten some great ideas. My mother has had a bench at her kitchen table for as long as I can remember s it’s a natural choice for me and since we’re moving into a larger house (a ranch style – which makes finding your site even more timely) I had thought to use a bench at the 10 person rectangular table we’ll use in the “dining area” but I had thought to put the bench on the wall side so people sitting there could use the wall as a back rest if need be. (How’s that for a run on sentence?) I plan to have nothing between the table and the wall since we have more room at the end of the “area” for a sideboard and was going to hang our “currently used as a floor mirror”, horizontally on the wall to help extend the space. Looking at your photos I can see how the removal of the chairs really opened up the area and makes me wonder if I’m having one of those “wonderful in theory” ideas. Once we get moved in I’ll shoot you a photo and maybe you can give me your opinion.
Hey Sherry! I LOVE your idea for the dining room. It inspired me to do something similar with our own. We’ve had no chairs for the past 3 months in our dining room, we inherited my in-laws farmhouse table and this is the perfect solution. I’ve had a similar bench in my den (also from Target), it actually looks exactly the same, but the legs are different on mine (shorter and square). I was wondering if you had to switch the legs on the bench you found (if it’s the same as mine)? If not, do you have any recommendations on where I could get taller ottoman legs (they’re “screw” legs)?
Thanks a bunch!!
Hey Kristelle,
We actually got our bench at Bed Bath & Beyond after picking up the Target one that you described (but thanks to the shorter legs it was a bit low for the table so we did a quick return and headed out for a replacement). When we saw the taller legs on the BB&B bench we knew it would be perfect- and we’ve loved it ever since. You can also order wooden legs that screw in over the internet as well, just search for “wood furniture legs” and keep an eye out for something that will add the height and the leggy look that you’re going for. Happy hunting…
xo,
Sherry
i just discovered your blog and am so glad i did!! we are doing lots of updating to a 25 year old 80’s house with craftsman features. i’m about to order that CB2 drum pendant that we’re going to hardwire. where did you buy the chrome ceiling plate? again, i’m thrilled to have found you guys!!!!
Hey Sarah,
So glad you found our blog! The ceiling plate actually came from Home Depot and we remember it being super cheap. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry
LOL……….I am surfing thru your older posts. Got to ask……one of the chairs went to the guest room for your wrapping paper station, where did the other one end up?
It’s actually also in the third bedroom (against the right wall across from the frames that you can’t see in the pic). We have a blanket, a stack of books, and an alarm clock on there for our guests so it really does come in handy.
xo,
s
Hello! I found your blog while googling for the perfect dining table. Would you mind sharing where yours is from, pretty please?!
Hey Kim,
We got our table and chairs from… Target! And it was super affordable too. They might not have the exact same model anymore but keep an eye out for something chunky and simple with legs that aren’t too curvy to snag the same look. Hope it helps! So glad you found us!
xo,
s
Hi! I’ve been following your blog for a while now but have always been hesitant to comment. But not commenting sorta makes me feel like a virtual stalker. So here I am, commenting! Well, actually, asking a question…have you come across a bench similar to the one you use at your dining table in white or offwhite? Most of what I find is black or brown. I figured that you guys would be the ones to ask about all-things-white!
P.S. I absolutely love your blog, and your house! Thank you for sharing your ideas and your humor. :)
Hmm, maybe try target.com? We have seen a pretty white bench but it’s leggy without storage- still gorge though. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love your living/dining room!
Just wondering what you did with the other 2 dining room chairs? Couldn’t you have just turned the 2 chairs around to create 2 more seats in the living room?
Hey Lisa,
Good question! We could have just turned the chairs around but they would have looked like two backwards dining chairs and the view to the back wall would feel a lot less unobstructed and expansive with the extra chair backs in view. Instead, the cushier and plush low-profile bench creates a much more open and intentional look. As for where the extra chairs went, they’re in the third bedroom (one’s at the desk and one is next to the daybed with some books and and an extra blanket on it for our guests- so they totally got repurposed and we love that we always have them on hand.
xo,
s
Your bench looks great with your table. I’m considering the Target version for our apt. living room in place of a coffee table. I went to Target.com to look at reviews and saw that quite a few people had a problem with a chemical smell from both the cube and rectangular ottomans. Just curious if you ever noticed that and if it just went away after awhile? I love the way they look and the price is great. Thanks.
We purchased our bench from the store so it wasn’t packaged up and it never had a chemical smell. We did notice that our Target ottoman was too short for our table though, so one from Bed Bath and Beyond had small legs that made it a bit taller and perfect for our space. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thanks for your quick response. I’m glad to know there wasn’t any problem with it except for the height. I may wait until my Target store has the square ottomans (like yours) in stock again and give them a try to see what we like best. Thanks for all your great ideas.
The bench looks fantastic! I am starting a kitchen re-model next week (eek!) and am adding a bar. The seating in the bar will be in the breakfast room (@ 8′x8′ room). I want to update the table/chairs in there to accomodate 6 at the table, and there is room for 2-3 bar stools. My problem is, I don’t want it to look like a room full of chairs!! How would you solve that? I’m not a fan of matchy-matchy, but don’t want the room to look like a flea market. My kitchen will have espresso color shaker cabinets with white granite flecked with grays and silvers. Your eye is spot-on, so I know you’d do it fabulously!
And ps — your blog has been so inspiring, this morning my son said, “seems like everything in our house is changing now!” He helped me tape off his bathroom last night…adding stripes! :)
Hey Cassie,
So glad you’re enjoying our blog! And good luck with those bathroom stripes. As for your kitchen remodel we’re big fans of just bringing in a few options and seeing what works. Perhaps woven chairs (like the ones they sell at World Market) would be nice for the table and you could bring in metal stools for the island (they could be sprayed in a rich chocolate or oil-rubbed bronze color to coordinate with the dark legs of the woven chairs. They key is mixing materials and textures so they’re varied and interesting but using one unifying factor (like the dark brown color for example) to tie them together. You also could rely on the material tying everything together and go for plush wheat-colored upholstered chairs and deeper brown upholstered bar stools (you know the kinds that look like actual cushy chairs with legs?) so in that case the tone would be varied but the material would be the thing that ties them together. The lesson is just to shop around and bring things home and see how they work together (you can always return a stool or two if you want to bring home three options and decide which one looks best with your table set. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hey guys,
I just ordered the CB drum pendant, too, for our bedroom. It’s pre-wired for a light … but we’ve never attempted an electrical task before. Do you think my husband and I can handle it ourselves? What exactly do we have to do and buy (besides buying the plate for the ceiling)?
Thanks so much in advance …
Amanda
Hey Amanda,
Assuming it’s like our CB2 plug in fixture, you should be able to just cut the cord to expose two internal wires which can be hardwired with electrical caps to a ceiling fixture (the existing ceiling fixture should have those electrical caps already in place so all you’ll need is the ceiling plate as you mentioned). Of course be careful not to snip the wire too short (you want it to hang at the ideal height and not be dorky short). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thanks so much for the World Market woven chair tip!! I ended up with a clearanced out (i.e. cheap!) Paige table and chairs, and the banana leaf woven bar chairs (the legs match those of the table). It looks fantastic together!! I’m going to follow your tip on the bench too so the table can seat 6. Also, if you sign up for their member club (free), they send you a 10% off email coupon!
Of course I have to ask another question. Since we’ve added the bar, we have to scoot the table closer to the wall. This makes the pendant light no longer centered over the table, and a hazard! Suggestions for this?
Just use a ceiling plant hook to swag it over so it’s once again centered above the table. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’m trying to find some legs online for my leather bench – could you tell me how tall your bench legs are and the width at the top – if you have any spare time to measure.
Hey Karen,
The legs are 7″ from the bench to the floor, and the entire bench, from the floor to the top of the seat is 18.5.” Oh and the legs are 2″ deep (they’re square). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’m so in love with your home! I’ve searched and searched for the perfect “white” decor style, and you have it. I’m so glad I’ve found your blog, it’s skyrocketed to the top of my favorites. You have such great talent.
And I have to add – I’m also decorating-obsessed but works in advertising girl ;)