There's no official count of how many types of indoor benches, but most furniture makers recognize about 13 distinct bench types once you combine room categories with design categories. Indoor benches alone cover 5 room types (dining, entryway, bedroom, living room, vanity) and 8 design types (backless, with back, upholstered, storage, banquette, corner, trestle, metal-frame).
Yet, in practice, you only need to choose between four types of indoor benches for a dining room: backless, with back, upholstered, or built-in. Let’s check more information below!
The Main Types of Indoor Benches
Different types of indoor benches fall into two overlapping groups.
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The first is by room: This category includes dining benches, entryway benches, bedroom (end-of-bed) benches, living room benches, and vanity or accent benches.
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The second is by design: Backless, with back, upholstered, storage, banquette or built-in, corner or L-shaped, and trestle or farmhouse.
Most benches belong to one from each group. A backless solid wood bench sitting at a dining table, for example, is both a "dining bench" and a "backless bench."
5 Different Types of Indoor Benches by Room
Here's a fast tour of the types of indoor benches by where they live (room). You can see how a dining bench differs from its cousins.
1. Dining Benches
Dining benches sit at a table and replace two to four chairs. They’re 17 to 20 inches tall and 42 to 84 inches long. Depth stays shallow, usually 14 to 18 inches, so the bench tucks under the table.
Dining benches dimension
Photo: Lumber Grand
2. Entryway Benches
Entryway benches go near the front door for shoes, bags, and keys. They're slightly lower (17 to 19 inches) and shorter (36 to 60 inches), and they often include a shoe shelf or cubbies underneath.
People place entryway benches near the front door for shoes, bags, and keys
Photo: Lumber Grand
Shop now: Wood Top Bench 23" - 72" for Modern Home Interiors – 201 Nova
3. Bedroom Benches
Bedroom benches, also called end-of-bed benches, are sized to the mattress. You want 45 to 65 inches for a queen and 55 to 65 inches for a king. Most are upholstered because people sit on them while dressing.
4. Living Room Benches
Living room benches double as extra seating or a coffee-table alternative. This is where you see the wildest shapes: curved, kidney, and low daybench styles. If you've been searching types of indoor benches for living room, the ottoman bench and the mid-century slat bench are the two you'll see most.
Living room types of indoor benches double as extra seating or a coffee-table alternative
Photo: Lumber Grand
Shop now: Bench 72" for Minimalist Living Rooms - 209 Fello
5. Vanity and Accent Benches
Vanity and accent benches are small, usually 24 to 36 inches, and mostly decorative. You could imagine a tufted stool at a dressing table or a little walnut bench in an empty hallway corner.
8 Types of Indoor Benches by Design (With Names)
Next is the listing of types of indoor benches with names, which you'll see on product pages, and what each one really means.
1. Backless Bench
This is the simplest bench design you’ll ever know. Just like its name, the backless bench has only a flat seat on legs, no backrest. It slides fully under the table when you're done eating, which is why it's the default for small dining rooms.
When it's tucked in, you get back about 18 to 24 inches of walkway that a row of chairs would eat up. The downside is obvious. You have no lumbar support. Long dinners get uncomfortable for some people, and older guests can find it harder to stand up.
Best for: small spaces, families with kids, tables against a wall.
2. Bench With Back
Add a backrest, and you get chair-level comfort with bench-level seating capacity. The catch is that it no longer tucks under the table, so you need 24 to 30 inches of clearance behind it at all times. High-back and spindle-back versions lean farmhouse; low, slatted backs lean mid-century.
Best for: dining rooms where people linger, or where the bench sits along a wall anyway.
3. Upholstered Bench
A padded seat (and sometimes back) wrapped in fabric or leather. Comfort goes way up. Cleanability goes down, unless you choose performance fabric or leather. Upholstered benches typically last 15 to 20 years before the cushion or fabric needs attention, compared with 20 to 25 years for a solid wood bench that just needs re-oiling.
Best for: adults-only households, formal dining rooms, and anyone who hates cold seats.
4. Storage Bench
A lift-top seat, drawers, or open cubbies underneath. Storage benches run deeper (16 to 20 inches) to make the compartment worthwhile, which means they rarely tuck under a table. At a dining table, they work best as the wall-side seat where nobody needs to get up mid-meal to open the lid.
Best for: apartments, breakfast nooks, homes short on linen or toy storage.
5. Banquette or Built-In Bench
A bench fixed to the wall, often with a back and cushions, wraps one or two sides of the table. Built-ins let you push the table right against the wall and still seat a crowd. Plan 18 to 20 inches of seat height and a seat depth of 18 to 20 inches if you're adding cushions, since the cushion eats a couple of inches.
Best for: kitchen nooks, bay windows, families who want restaurant-booth seating at home.
6. Corner or L-Shaped Bench
Two benches joined at a right angle. You gain a seat in the corner that would otherwise be dead space. The corner seat is the hardest to get in and out of, so it usually goes to whoever's staying put.
Best for: square rooms and corner-placed tables.
7. Trestle or Farmhouse Bench
A thick plank top on a trestle base or turned legs, usually 1.5 to 2 inches thick. This is the bench most people picture when they say "farmhouse dining." It pairs with trestle tables of the same style, and because the base sits inboard from the ends, it can be tricky to tuck under a table with legs at the corners. Check leg placement before you buy.
Best for: long tables, rustic and modern-farmhouse interiors.
8. Metal-Frame Bench
Steel or iron legs with a wood or cushioned top. Metal frames outlast wood (25+ years), clean easily, and give you that industrial look. The downside is they feel colder and can scratch floors if the feet aren't padded.
Dining Bench Dimensions: The Exact Numbers
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Measurement |
Standard Range |
Notes |
|
Seat height |
17–20 in |
Pair with a 28–30 in table; 24–26 in for counter height; 28–30 in for bar height |
|
Seat depth |
14–18 in |
12–14 in is narrow; over 20 in is too deep to reach the table comfortably |
|
Table-to-seat gap |
10–12 in |
Leg room; less than 10 in feels cramped |
|
Bench length vs. table |
3 in shorter on each end |
A 72 in table takes a 66 in bench |
|
Table overhang past bench |
2–5 in |
Looks balanced and lets the bench tuck |
|
Clearance behind bench |
24–30 in |
36–42 in if it's a walkway |
|
Clearance at the ends |
18 in minimum |
So people can slide in from the side |
Clearance behind bench
Photo: Lumber Grand
How many people fit on a bench? Give each adult 18 to 24 inches. Squeezed, you can get down to 16 to 18 inches, but only for kids or a short meal.
|
Bench Length |
Comfortable Capacity |
|
42–52 in |
2 adults |
|
53–60 in |
2–3 adults |
|
61–72 in |
3 adults (3–4 with kids) |
|
73–84 in |
3–4 adults |
Dining Bench vs Chairs: Which Should You Pick?
Since the whole point of this guide is to help you decide, here's the honest comparison.
A bench wins when:
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Your walkway is under 36 inches
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Your table sits against a wall
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You have kids who don't stay seated anyway
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You regularly need to squeeze in one more person.
It also wins on price. One 60-inch solid wood bench usually costs less than the two or three chairs it replaces.
Chairs win when:
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People sit for a long time
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The table doubles as a homework or work-from-home desk
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Older family members need arms to push up from
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Everyone needs to get up independently. The classic bench complaint is the "middle seat trap": whoever's in the center has to ask two people to move.
Plenty of our customers split the difference. Bench on the wall side, chairs on the open side. You get the space savings where you need them and the comfort where you'll notice it.
How to Choose the Right Type of Indoor Bench: A Five-Step Checklist
Measure your table length and subtract six inches. That's your maximum bench length. Then measure the clearance behind the bench. If it's under 30 inches, go backless.
Decide how long people sit at your table. Over an hour regularly means a back or upholstery. Pick a wood at 1,000 Janka or higher for a bare seat, and 1,290 or higher if you have kids.
Finally, check that the bench's legs sit inboard of your table's legs, or the tuck-under won't work.
Do those five things, and you'll skip about 90% of the returns we hear about.
FAQs
1. What are the Different Types of Benches?
By location, we can split benches into indoor and outdoor.
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Indoor benches include dining, entryway, bedroom (end-of-bed), living room, and vanity benches.
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Outdoor benches include park, garden, picnic, and porch benches.
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By design, the main types of benches names you'll see are backless, with back, upholstered, storage, banquette or built-in, corner or L-shaped, trestle or farmhouse, and metal-frame.
Most products combine one room type with one design type, like an "upholstered bedroom bench" or a "backless dining bench."
2. What are the Different Types of Sitting Benches?
Sitting benches, meaning benches built for people rather than workbenches or weight benches, come in four comfort levels. Backless wood benches are the simplest and tuck away fully. Benches with backs add lumbar support. Upholstered benches add a padded seat and sometimes a padded back. Banquettes are fixed to a wall with cushions and a back, giving booth-style comfort. Seat height stays at 17 to 20 inches across all four for dining, with counter (24 to 26 inches) and bar (28 to 30 inches) versions for taller tables.
3. What are the Different Types of Entryway Benches?
Entryway benches come in five main forms. Shoe-storage benches have an open shelf or cubbies underneath. Lift-top storage benches hide a compartment under the seat. Hall trees combine a bench with a coat rack and hooks above. Backless slim benches are for narrow hallways where depth is under 15 inches. And upholstered entry benches add a cushion for pulling boots on. Standard entryway bench sizes run 17 to 19 inches tall, 14 to 17 inches deep, and 36 to 60 inches long.
4. How Many Types of Benches are there?
There's no official count, but most furniture makers recognize about 15 to 20 distinct types once you combine room categories with design categories. Indoor benches alone cover five room types (dining, entryway, bedroom, living room, vanity) and eight design types (backless, with back, upholstered, storage, banquette, corner, trestle, metal-frame). Add park, garden, picnic, and porch benches for outdoors, and you're near 17. In practice, for a dining room, you only need to choose between four: backless, with back, upholstered, or built-in.
Types of Indoor Benches: Which One Will You Pick?
Picking between the types of indoor benches gets a lot easier once you stop thinking about looks first and start with your room. Measure the table, check the clearance behind it, and be honest about how long people actually sit there. Those 3 answers tell you whether you need a backless bench, one with a back, an upholstered seat, or a built-in banquette, and they narrow the field before style even comes into it.
Our team at Lumber Grand has built enough benches to know that the “wrong” one is almost always a sizing mistake, not a style mistake. Only when you get the numbers right, the rest is personal taste, which is the fun part.
That’s everything about types of indoor benches. Don’t forget to visit our blogs for helpful woodworking tips. Besides, if you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to contact us anytime. Thank you for reading.
