A bench is simply a long seat designed to fit several people. The simplicity of this handy piece of furniture belies its powers as a highly flexible design element.
Bedrooms are a great place to introduce a bench. Something fully upholstered will add another textural layer to your existing collection of bed linen. There’s something so soothing about beautiful textiles in the bedroom.
In a smaller bedroom your bench can sit at the end of your bed. In a larger bedroom, like shown in the first image, it can become part of a separate seating area.
When is a bench not a bench? When it also functions as a coffee table with the useful addition of a tray.
Of course benches come in all sorts of different materials. The addition of a rustic timber bench will bring in warmth and depth to an otherwise contemporary space.
If you want benches that also double as great storage, it may be time to consider having a bench seat built in as cabinetry. It will make the most of every centimetre of your space and is particularly helpful in entrance areas to contain the shoes, bags and other miscellanea that can quickly accumulate.
A bench is also a fantastic design tool to ‘ground’ an artwork or gallery of artworks. Something magic happens when you group artworks above a bench. Suddenly the whole area turns into a stylish vignette!
If you have any ‘restless corners’* perhaps a bench is what you need. Have a look around your home and see if there are any areas where a bench could work. It’s these extra pieces of furniture, like the simple bench, that transform a home from OK to fabulous.
*One of my lovely Interior Design lecturers used this term for any area in a home that hadn’t been fully resolved design-wise.
More info on the designers of these four rooms via the links below.
1. + 2. Amber Interior Design
3. Brett Mickan