Every room in your home has a purpose. The living room is where you spend quality time relaxing with your loved ones. It’s somewhere you can watch movies, read books, and play games together as a family. For this reason, it’s important that you create an engaging, entertaining social space in the living room. The bedroom can give you the same experience, but it has the added benefit of privacy. In the bedroom, you do not have to maintain the same public persona as you do when you are socializing with friends in the living room. A bedroom is a place for relaxation.
But What About The Dining Room?
The dining room is just as important as the living room or bedroom. Having an inviting dining space promotes healthy eating habits since you’re more likely to pay attention to your food and savor it while eating if you have a space dedicated to mealtimes. It also gives the family a natural place to bond and celebrate special occasions with a delicious meal. Without a functional dining room, there will not be a clear demarcation of purpose between rooms which can have devastating consequences on your family’s happiness at home. To prevent this from happening and create a functional dining room in your home.
In this guide, we are summarizing the different types of seating you can use in your dining room. While you may think that the dining table is the most important piece you need to purchase for your dining room, dining chairs control your comfort, so you need to take care to purchase the right type of seat for your space.
A dinner party will go a lot better if your guests are comfortable. If the seat you select is not pleasant to sit on, then subconsciously, your guests will want to leave earlier than they would have if they had been comfortable. If it is not aesthetically pleasing and it does not mesh well with your existing décor, then your guests may not feel welcome in your home from the moment they enter the dining room.
Here at Payless, we support our customers on every step of their furniture journey, and we want you to have all the information you need about the different types of seating for the dining room, so you can choose the type of seat that is right for your space. Keep reading to discover three different types of seating for your dining room, their pros and cons, and how to style the seat in your space.
The Bench
When you are looking for seating for your dining room, it’s likely that you are thinking about surrounding your dining table with individual chairs. This look has been the standard for hundreds of years, offering style versatility and giving you the ability to personalize each chair to a member of your household, taking into account their preferred comfort options, but you should consider purchasing a bench for your dining room.
Dining benches are a simple yet affordable way to update a tired space. Defined by its seat, the bench alters the classic silhouette of the traditional dining room through the removal of the backrest. This also increases conversation through the promotion of proper posture, which will make even the most boring of dinner parties fly by.
Dining benches are perfect for smaller spaces. Not only do the majority of dining benches have added storage space under the bench’s seat, meaning you can forgo the need for a bulky cabinet, but a bench can also be tucked away under the table, so you can make full use of your space when you are not eating. Moreover, since a bench that seats three people will take up the same amount of space as two single chairs, you can also seat more people around your dining table by purchasing a bench than you could if you were to fill your room with individual dining chairs. This means that the bench is the perfect seat for large families and those who entertain often. Simply “shuffle up a bit,” and you will be able to fit everyone on the bench, so you don’t have to limit your number of diners. Dining benches also have the added benefit of being much easier to move when you are cleaning or vacuuming under the table, making cleaning up after messy mealtimes with kids a cinch.
The dining bench is also incredibly versatile, able to provide additional seating or surfaces in other areas of the home in a pinch. So when the dinner party shifts to the living room after dessert, you can bring along your dining bench to give all of your guests a comfortable place to sit without moving a lot of chairs.
However, since the majority of benches have no backs on them, they cannot give you the same spinal support as a standard chair can, so this could mean that dinner parties get cut short to retire to more comfortable seating elsewhere in the house. The bench is also more difficult to get in and out of, especially for those sitting in the middle of the bench. So we do not recommend benches to anyone trying to create a formal atmosphere in their dining room.
If you decide that a bench is right for you, be sure to measure the height of the backrest to check that it fits under any paneling, radiators, or windowsills if you’re planning on positioning your bench parallel to the wall. We always tell our customers to calculate the total footprint of their room plan based on the bench when aligned with the edge of the table. Then you will know that everyone has enough room to get to their seat and move around the table when others are seated.
The Armed Chair
As we mentioned above, the dining chair has been part of the classic structure of the dining room for hundreds of years. There are two main types of dining chairs, the armed chair, and the armless chair. As its name would suggest, the armed chair has armrests for your arms. Although the frame style can alter the way the arms appear on the chair, the most common design structure attaches the arms to the back and seat via narrow pieces giving the armed chair a regal look. Typically, armed chairs are found at the head of the table, and the head of the household sits in it each evening as the family takes their meals. However, today anyone can sit in an armed chair, and homeowners often choose to surround their table with armed chairs to create a cohesive look in their dining room. Armed chairs are capable of adding depth and character to a space, allowing you to create a more formal look in your dining area with ease.
Since armed chairs can be fully upholstered or made of wood, wicker, or even metal, the design options are endless. Armed chairs can be used as statement pieces within your dining room if grouped with armless chairs, thanks to their structural differences. Moreover, when compared to bench seating, armed chairs are easy to get in and out of, even if you are circled by other chairs of the same type. And when you sit back and relax in the comfort of an armed chair, its built-in back support means that you can sit and chat for hours comfortably.
Still, armed chairs take up more room than benches meaning the number of people you can fit around your table will be limited to the number of chairs you have. Moreover, when you are cleaning, you may find it tiring to move each chair individually to clean properly. And while this may not be a deal-breaker for some, those with a large dining table surrounded by lots of chairs could find that this doubles their cleaning time.
The Armless Chair
The armless chair is similar in design to the armed chair, with one key difference, they lack armrests. Generally, this type of chair sits along the side of a dining table with an armed chair at its head. However, in more casual dining spaces, they can be found at the head of the table, setting the room’s tone. Like armed chairs, armless chairs can be made using almost any material, but they usually possess an upholstered seat and exposed legs.
This type of chair shares the same benefits and drawbacks as the armed chair, but since armless chairs lack armrests, they are easier to get in and out of when you line a table with them.
Armed and Armless Chair Types
If you decide that an armed or armless chair is right for you, you need to know the right terms to describe the chair you are looking for.
The High-Back Chair
This type of chair has an extended back, giving it a striking look perfect for formal dining events. The height of the back means that this type of chair provides its users with excellent back support, which older people should prioritize when shopping.
The Parsons Chair
This type of chair is suitable for modern, transitional, and traditionally styled rooms thanks to its clean lines and simple design. We recommend it to anyone looking for understated chairs to surround a statement table.
The Windsor Chair
The Windsor chair is classic in its structure, characterized by its romantic seat slab and ornately carved back slats. The majority of Windsor chairs are handcrafted, meaning the piece you receive will be unique. We recommend this type of chair to anyone furnishing a formal dining space. Whether it is used with a new chic dining table or an old weathered piece, it can adapt to your space and bring character to the room through its perfect imperfections.
Seat Material
Now that you know the different types of seats available for the dining room, you can refine your search further by considering what seat material you think best suits your space. The material you select for your seat defines how it feels when in use, how it looks when being displayed, and the overall atmosphere of your space, so we think that you should take as much care considering seat material as you did when considering seat type.
Upholstered
We think that upholstered seats are the most comfortable option. The soft texture and cushioned padding mean that you can enjoy your meals in true comfort. You will find some pieces with the seat and back upholstered and some with just an upholstered seat back, so it is easy to personalize your chair when you choose this type of seat. But keep in mind that you may have to clean this type of chair more often than a wooden chair.
Wood
This is the most common type of dining chair, partially due to the fact that it can blend well with all decor styles and largely due to its versatility. You can find plain chairs for a more direct, minimal look and some that sport a molded wood seat to elevate a room.
Leather
Leather dining seats are incredibly popular because they combine the comfort of the upholstered chair with the luxurious quality only afforded by leather.
If you are looking for dining room furniture in Great Falls, look no further than Payless Furniture. We carry a vast selection of furniture for the dining room, including all of the types of chairs we have mentioned above. Whether you are looking for a dining room bench, an armed chair, or an armless chair, our experienced, knowledgeable sales team will help you find the perfect piece for your space and give you all the information you need to care for your new item.
We service Great Falls, Black Eagle, Conrad, Choteau, Fairfield, and surrounding areas, so visit Payless Furniture and Mattress at 116 Central Ave West, Great Falls and find your next dining seat.