Modern dining seats beckon and attract attention almost as much as the iconic chairs (if not more) that often cost hundreds upon hundreds of dollars that you could spend on an entire kitchen remodeling. Benches, settees, and all kinds of sofa hybrids do not only look sleek, modern, and designing but they also promote a close-knit, more intimate atmosphere in the dining room.
Dining Benches Aplenty
Dining benches are cool and as easily accessible as they are DIY-able. You can buy one or two in a set as well. Most designers mix and match chairs and benches to create a dynamic look. If you find non-upholstered benches too crude and naked, a few cushions and fur throws will make them instantly more decorated and inviting.
There is some undeniable charm about bench seats. Use them to create a more homey and inviting atmosphere, where everyone can seat closer together and exchange more than pleasantries in a conversation.
Rough wooden benches aren’t the only ones on the market. There are more elegant and polished designs you can choose from.
Dining Stools
Stools may not be the most popular of modern dining seats, but they can certainly have their own decor value. Some minimal designs can be pretty attractive. More elaborate variants also exist, but they definitely have one downside – no back. That may encourage you to hold your back straight, though.
Just like chairs, stools come in all kinds of styles from rustic to industrial. They, too, can be mixed with benches and couches.
If stools are too firm, you can swap them for poufs. These aren’t just for ladies’ boudoirs anymore, and they can look fresh and unexpected in the dining room.
Modern Dining Seats: Poufs
Poufs are more prominent in terms of size, and they are also softer. Printed upholstery or unusual shapes make poufs a more interesting option as well. While they may not have a back to lean on, they are more comfy seats than stools.
Combining properties of different types of furniture, designers come up with all sorts of hybrid designs. Take these wire seats, for instance. They look like poufs, but wire keeps them stiff and firm, which renders them as stools.
Settees are great because they are a middle ground between an armchair and a sofa. Only one person could fit the former, and the latter takes too much space at the table that usually seats two people per side.
Dining Settees Full of Drama
Settees solve this problem perfectly, but not without a scene. Each new design offers a whole different character. Bright tufted settees with big wings are among the most dramatic, and will definitely give your dining room that luxe social club look.
A simpler design doesn’t have to look plain, but it may be just the right fit for your contemporary home (see above).
If you want something in between, a tufted leather settee may work. It will look positively luxe and club-like, with the leather pushing it toward contemporaneity.
Built-ins and All That Jazz
Built-in furniture can be a real space saver, but it can also make a visual statement. Many modern dining seats work as built-ins because it’s simply convenient. Since most homes have an open plan kitchen, extending your kitchen cabinets with a built-in seat is a great way to introduce a dining area.
Built-ins can be multifunctional, so it’s a waste not to use that to your advantage, especially if your kitchen isn’t big or you have too much stuff lying around the house.
You can also take this opportunity to create that window seat you’ve always wanted by simply ending your cabinets with a bench near the window.
Between Upholstered Bench and a Tufted Spot
Upholstered benches make great dining seats because they are soft and more dynamic decor-wise, as prints and patterns tend to do that. They also may appear more luxurious and expensive, so if you want to add that feel to your dining area, tufted velvet and leather couches are a way to go.
Upholstered furniture often looks more sophisticated. Seize this opportunity to create a dining room of your dreams – elegant and luxe-looking.
Soft seats look more welcoming as well. Want to make your guests feel more at home? This is a way to do that, and keep it elegant.
Soft Seats
A few throws and pillows can make a wooden bench pliant, but there are seat designs that come that way to start with. Couches and upholstered bench-like seats can look more interesting than most elaborate chairs just because they are fresh and unexpected.
Rounded soft seats are a great match for round dining tables that often look plain and predictable. Throw a stripe print into the mix, and you’ll get a fashionable eating area, where you can hold business meetings.
Modern Chairs
Modern chairs never looked so different. There are contemporary quilted ones, and then there is a whole slew of designs made of Lucite and all sorts of materials that allows odd shapes and unique curvature.
Sill drawing inspiration from modernism by the tons, contemporary designers come up with more and more different and unique designs.
We’re talking glass-like shapes, unique materials, and cutting-edge constructions techniques.
Modern Dining Seats Alternatives
Dining seat alternatives don’t end on unique contemporary designs. There are ideas like these swinging cafe seats by Íris Cantante out there that make dining all the more cheerful affair.
What can be more impressive than a throne-like armchair with a high back? Well, two such armchairs. Or two settees. Your choice.
With a couple of unique modern dining seats, you won’t need a fancy dining table to impress your guests.
