Since I'm "old" I prefer the comfort of a chair with a back. For older kids and younger adults the bench is probably fine. I don't think it would be good for toddlers. I'd be afraid they would fall backwards.

What's nice about the pic above is that bench and chairs with backs were used together. Covers all the bases!

Since I'm "old" I prefer the comfort of a chair with a back. For older kids and younger adults the bench is probably fine. I don't think it would be good for toddlers. I'd be afraid they would fall backwards.

What's nice about the pic above is that bench and chairs with backs were used together. Covers all the bases!

Not a fan. Unless everyone on the bench is the same size, they will need to sit at different distances from the table to be comfortable. The bench hinders that. Also, it is very hard to get off and on a bench, especially if others are sitting there. Can you imagine asking a dinner guest wearing heels and a long dress to hike her leg over a bench to sit down????

They are only appropriate for outdoor bbq's and children.

My auntie had that (think your picture done in farmhouse style) when I was 6 and it was fine. I don't really care about the back since I don't lean back much, but I agree with lightlystarched about adjusting one's chair. Also getting in and out in a skirt. At six I didn't mind scrambling. Also, hard and flat isn't so easy on the bottom. A lot of the men in my family are practically tushless and they complain about sitting on hard surfaces.

The whole sofa or settee at the table trend is worse for comfort of getting in and out, though easier on the tush.

If it's mostly for itinerant grandkids then it looks spiffy and declutters the visual sphere above table height.

We have benches at our kitchen table and really like them. However, having two teenaged boys, we are all more or less the same size. I like that we can always squeeze "one more" in at supper time without finding another chair.

It is true, though, that it can be inconvenient for getting up to grab something during dinner. Ours has a "dead end" window seat at one end, so the people on the inside are stuck and the outside folks end up being "runners". We now bring the whole gallon of milk to the table and leave it there. (o:

We have one at our kitchen table and one at the dining table. They are great for small kids and grandmothers who want to sit very close to small grandkids. They are also great when you need space for a couple of extra kids. No adult sits at them (except the grandmothers). I have begun to wonder as my kids get older (and bigger) how much longer they will be practical but for now the kids love them so they are staying.

Hate them with a passion. It looks cool, but they're uncomfortable as hell for anyone over 6.

Love mine, but it's not in a formal setting like the one pictured. We have a bench on one side and 5 regular chairs on ends and other side. Much less cluttered visually, easier for the kids to get in and out of and can seat more kids than we could with just chairs. For us it works, but we are casual entertainers. We can always sub in other chairs if we are entertaining all adults and no kids, but most often we end up with lots of kids.