I never like benches at dining tables so IMO just chairs but the chairs in front of the wood stove woulf be pretty close to the stove if you go with a 40 x 72 table to seat 8 them you need 356” all around the table for movement of chirs IMO the best way is to tape off the table and chair spacing and see what you have left for chirs in front of the wood stoveO would run the table along the bottom space and then that would allow some room in front of the wood stove.I find it fun to draw the space to scale on grapg paper then cut out furniture to the same scale and see what works rember to allow 36” all around the table no matter where you place it.

Patricia, I am happy to hear that my "game pieces" (as my husband calls them) are used by professionals as well. :)

OP, I don't know if you have the room or not, or what the best configuration would be, but I don't think it's a stupid idea at all. I actually like the idea of having some comfy chairs by the fireplace. It would be a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee after dinner or chill out during a party.

Stick with chairs if you want people to be comfortable around a table. Unless everybody can have their own couch:-) Why? Recently I was seated at a small dining bench, not backless, with a much larger gentleman. The only way we could have both reached our plates comfortably would have been to put the darn bench at a very acute angle or for me to have perched so far forward he'd be at my back. That didn't happen but I did eat a couple desserts in comfort once we moved on to the den! Comfy chairs at that stove sounds great. I would find a narrow,long table that allowed for it if possible.

I think a bench can work well for informal and kitchen dining, but I'd stick to chairs if this is going to be a formal dining room.

hollybar, I would not use a bench at a dinner table, but for a breakfast nook where the eating is a lot less formal they can be a good small space solution.

Thanks for the input, folks. Does anyone have any thoughts on the actual space and whether things will fit? I know you can't see the dimensions of the room, but it's about 19' across the sliding glass door wall. Depth is a little less important, but I think it's about 18'. Here's a bigger picture of the plans. Master bedroom, bath, and closet are to the north of the "wine cellar." The space labeled "Dining" will be the TV room, and the nook is just that--a space for two chairs and a small table to cozy up by *that* fireplace (I know, I know. It's a long story, just bear with me) and converse with people in the kitchen. So, seeing it on a larger scale, does it seem like it would work to still have the big table in the center space?

Are you asking if you can put a dining table,dining chairs and a couple of upholstered items TBD in a room that is 19' by 18', I'll go with yes.

cut out some table, chair and couch shapes to scale and see how they fit

On the phone and cant blow up with clarity! You can have the Last Supper in the great room if that is what you're asking!

But I will be honest : Pick ONE function for the space. Don't mix diming and a seating group. Get a table that will expand to seat ten or twelve! Use a large rug. Add softness in upholstered chairs! Most of all? Make certain you are not designing for two or three times a year

Expanding my thinking based off Jan's comment, what if you have a couple upholstered chairs that you put by the fireplace most of the time, but can also be used at the dining table when you need the extra seating? You may need a footstool or ottoman to use with them to ensure they are comfortable to relax in.

Your space is enormous. I don't see a problem having a large dining table and chairs close to the kitchen and a sofa, armchair and coffee table grouping around the stove. You can put a console table/server behind the sofa to further delineate the spaces and you can use area and runner rugs for that too.

I don’t believe your dimensions (19 x 18) translate to real usable floor space. You need to account for what looks like a 3 1/2 foot wide walkway which spans the entire length of the room. That reduces your usable floor space by 3 1/2 feet to change 18 feet to 14 1/2 feet. And if those are builtins on either side of your wood stove, that also reduces your usable floor space going in the other direction by 2 feet so 19 feet becomes 17 feet.

Unfortunately for you , I am off the phone. Clarify your lifestyle please? Because unless this is Camp Comefordinner........ you have a home design with a huge amount of seating possibility in the great room, postage stamp size bedrooms, and a pantry that could BE a kitchen in a condo....... Thus my question as a very famous designer once said " Mrs So and so had twelve for dinner, and when dinner was cleared and over? They all went home for lack of anywhere to sit."

Ignore traffic lines above. You will have room all around a 48 x 120 to 144 table. Which WILL look like the last supper with no supper when not in use. : )

All the advice in the world will be lacking until you post the whole story and ALL the planned use of ALL the space. Don't make another post.

I live alone, all my siblings are now empty nesters, so typically we are only seating 1 or 2 people, but we are close and love to eat dinners as a family, so we have all found ways to seat 10-12 by getting tables that seat 6 and adding leaves when we have the additional people. When we include the kids it increases our numbers over 30. To accommodate 30 I can place tables in my living room and sitting room in addition to the table in my dining room. My siblings also just move a few things around when the whole family is getting together.

The key is that most days our homes work for the way we live day to day, not the way we live one evening every couple of months.

In your space you could have a good size table that runs parallel to the kitchen and still have a seating area on the other side of the room. When you don't need the extra seating the dining table could be without leaves. When you need to feed 8-10 people you just add the leaves and bring out some extra chairs. I have pairs of chairs or single chairs here and there in my home that are all actually dining room chairs that are serving a different purpose when not being used for dining. (2 in my living room, 2 in my sitting room, one in my bedroom and one in the foyer plus the 6 around my table and 2 that are in the corners of the dining room.)

Think about how you want to use the space every day, then consider what you want to do on special occasions when you need to create space.

There are some very interesting pieces of furniture that can transform into dining space and be used for other purposes when not needed.

https://www.danishteakclassics.com/shop-danish-teak/product/danish-modern-elevator-coffee-table/

https://www.etsy.com/listing/639209876/hvidt-nielsen-danish-modern-solid-teak?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=teak+gateleg+dropleaf+table&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/600552533/mahogany-drop-leaf-dining-table-gateleg?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=gateleg+drop+leaf+table&ref=sr_gallery-1-6&organic_search_click=1

Do you already have your woodstove picked out? I know with our woodstove it requires floor protection of 54.25"W x 50.5" D so be sure to figure that into your available space.

OK I have some comments to make in a minute when I'm done reading all of the comments, but I had to say that I burst out laughing, with a tiny bit of tears, when I got to:

"Unfortunately for you , I am off the phone. "

All right! I'm back. I'm no architect so I am having a hard time interpreting what I can see of your plan, but I'm pretty sure I see that there will be an island with seating in the room we are discussing. I might also see two stoves and I just gotta know the story there.

I'll tell you about my situation in the hopes that it helps you decide. Only with measurements of real furniture can we know the answer to the primary question "will it fit," but I will throw my voice in for changing the question to " does it need to fit". My kitchen has a very large island, it is primarily open to the dining room. The dining room has the only wood burning FP in the house, but the dining room is also open to a small living room with the gas FP. We are currently a family of six and we like to host dinners.

For reference, the dining area is about 17' from french doors to island edge x22' from FP to stair but it is a major pass through so let's call it 10x17. ( this is subtracting the space needed for the island seating and opening the French doors) if it weren't for the need to walk past the FP to get to the stairs, you could land a plane in there. We have a baby grand and a small every day dining table that seats eight often, we put a huge top over it for holidays and big meals and can seat at least 12 comfortably.

I also wanted seating by the wood fireplace because I just love wood fires. In my case, with the pass-through and the baby grand it made no sense. And it would've looked dumb! Plus we have a wood fire Max 1-2 days a week only during the coldest months. So I curl up in front of the gas fire most nights, but on the nights we have a fire in the fireplace I either pull a chair from the table up to it or, especially if we have guests, we all lounge around the table enjoying each other's company and the luxury of a fire in the dining room. The kids head to the TV room which is out of sight. What we never do is move into that living room because it's so nice having a big comfortable dining room with a cozy fire

So IMO: leave this space primarily for dining. No backless sofa, no double sided sofa. But do choose some nice wingbacks for the head of table seats to give you the flexibility to arrange them in front of the fire when you want, either every day or just when you have a fire, and at the table when that tickles your fancy. They could even go Against the wall on either side of the stove during the summer. Make the other chairs comfortable but with backs that are table height to provide a clean view of the wood stove from the kitchen if that is possible

Ha ha I just noticed in the first picture of my son is reading by the fire

If you want people to hang out at your dining table the only thing you need is comfortable chairs. I purchased the chairs linked below 18 (eighteen) years ago. I have reupholstered them once to match new decor when we moved. They are pricey, but will last for another 30+ years easily, so you get quality and durability for the price. I have 8 around the table.
https://www.coxmfg.com/products/1860-hostess-chair/

For my kitchen table I wanted something just as comfortable, but something better suited to everyday use at the kitchen. I had seen these many years ago, but finally bought them 7 years ago when we moved. Very comfortable and solid.
https://www.theodorealexander.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ItemID=e0956ab9-8aa4-4fb6-a557-cb7a19b6af1b

Buy a classic quality chair that is comfortable and it will last a lifetime. Never buy a chair without seeing it and testing for comfort, quality and durability

Both chair styles are also comfortable enough to be pulled into living rooms when you need to seat a large group of people for several hours.

Sorry to be late in responding, pesky work got in the way! Thanks for all the input. Greenfish--your insight and photos were particularly helpful. Your home looks cozy, comfortable, and elegant.

Since you asked--you do, indeed, see a wood stove and a gas fireplace. The wood stove is to appease my DH, who loves the sound and smell of a real wood fire, and he thinks he also wants to "cook" or something on top of it. Which is interesting, because I do the majority of the cooking, but anyway... I know the improbability, not to mention the mess, of that, but if I wanted to stay married (I kid, I kid), the stove had to stay. So I created my "nook" with the easy-peasy flip-a-switch on and off gas fireplace which, because we live in the PNW, I will use 3/4 of the year. I would have put it in the bedroom, but (as you'll see by the supposed "postage stamp" sized bedrooms) I don't actually like to spend all my time camped out in palatial sleeping areas, nor do my guests.

I am interested in what you use as a top for your table for when you entertain? We certainly don't need to seat 12 year-round, but it would have been handy last night for our solstice party instead of having to stifle a gasp every time one of my guests balanced a slice of plum tart on their bowl of chili and searched in vain for a place to sit down in our woefully lacking dining/living room.

Chispa, thanks for the dining chair suggestions. I think you're right, along with greenfish, that if I have comfortable chairs, we'll find ourselves hanging out around the table longer, with less need to move into a proper "conversation area."

Thanks Mcothic! Glad to have helped. Sounds like a great party, chili and plum tart! Our table is the family table from my childhood so it is best up but perfect for our busy family. If I bought a nice new extension table I would have to freak out about wine stains and glitter glue and pencil impressions, etc, so while we sometimes need more seating I didn't want another table. My husband made a great overlay (mind you the base table is very stout and sturdy) from a standard 4x8 sheet of laminated plywood, with a, idk, wrap? Fit to go around the smaller table top made from 2x4 so that it fits snugly over it. I have a huge white cotton tablecloth that covers it (soaking it and napkins in hot water and oxyclean in the tub after the meal has kept it pristine for years). I don't think I would do this with a nicer or less sturdy table, but there are lots of good extension tables out there!

Re: the question about the stoves, I meant in the kitchen: the plans seem to show two stove tops?

were you planning on putting one of those old cast iron ovens in the DR? I love those. My family has an old farm in NH with one. It is definitely good for some bacon and eggs, occasionally some bread :)