Built in bench, kitchen / diner

[Tobuyornot99]

Has anyone got one? Have become a bit obsessed since seeing a few online, but wondered how practical they actually are, if they save much space, or if you wish you didn't bother.

Brownie points for anyone brave enough to share a picture of theirs to give me more inspiration

I'm interested in this too.

I think it depends on how you use your space and whether you ever need to move furniture around. Or is it the only way of getting a dining/seating area in your kitchen diner? I think they look great, but I prefer having the flexibility (when we entertain large groups, have lots of family over) where you want to juggle the furniture a little to accommodate everyone. We have a large dining habitat table with benches on either side (not fixed) which works well.

I've been thinking about getting one of these, but wondering whether to get a taller bar stool type, or a lower one in a booth style.

I love ours, purely because it's in a small kitchen so it's the difference between table or no table. Also the storage underneath is massive. Bulk bought cat food, huge cat feeder thing, family size cool box, camping gear, dust sheets, kids' craft sets, spare kitchen roll... I have no idea where else we'd keep all this stuff.

Also you can squeeze a surprisingly enormous number of children round one small table with an L shaped built in bench.

However it isn't the easiest to get in and out of, and I think that will get more annoying as the children get bigger. A pedestal or refectory style table helps, otherwise corner legs really get in the way of people getting in and out, especially if you're in a confined space. I have yet to find my perfect rectangular pedestal table. Also I would recommend that the table and any extra chairs are light ones, because you need to move them about to clean and manouevre people in.

Thanks all! Hadn't thought about moving the table at all, and as mine is a solid wood extravaganza of extendable-ness it weighs a bloody tonne. I just find it such a faff to hoover / mop between all the legs regularly, so thought a bench may take some of that away too. I'll keep researching. The built in storage element sound's amazing!

Maybe the lightness is just us, but with a table with corner legs it needs to be pushed hard against the bench for my children (8 and 10) to sit comfortably and not drop their soup in their laps. Obviously we can't move the bench, so either we move the table out to let them in or they climb round the table leg. Climbing through is getting harder now - eldest is 10. I'm hoping that a pedestal table would solve it, or when they get bigger we won't need to push the table so hard against the bench.

Oh, and visiting DC never stay upright. Even the most angelic always end up lying down at the table at some point, sprawled over the cushions. I take that as a compliment :)