How to grace your Home with Benches?

A long platform seating where a couple of people can sit at a time is termed as a bench. A backrest and armrests are usually incorporated to provide support for comfortable seating. Some are also sans back and armrest facilitating its use from both sides. We are used to seeing benches in parks, public areas or outdoors but in modern times benches have found a place in the household. For benches, wood, iron, steel and other metals, and concrete are mostly used.

Where can the benches be placed?

Benches have various applications in commercial, residential interiors. Also benches are important feature in landscape architecture. They are also in administrative buildings like courtrooms and offices etc. More such places are mentioned below:

Lounge benches: This can be placed in dining room along with dining chairs to add some informal seating. Or use in the entrance foyer to make a space near a shoe cabinet where you can sit and wear footwear comfortably.

Rustic benches could be used in the open kitchen concept to make a cosy dining area. The rustic seating will give it a country or village feel.

Bedroom benches: Benches can be placed in the bedroom for added functionality and to make it look more vibrant and chic. Bedroom benches can be used to lay out important things, extra seating arrangement or storage solution.

Dressing benches: Benches with low seat height can be placed in the dressing area where they can be tucked in beneath the dresser in case its wall mounted. They can also be used for storage.

What type of bench should I choose?

Flat: If you need some extra space in a family room or living area add a lounge bench. Pair it with bright coloured mattress and some accent throwers and bolsters to pep up the décor.

Compartment: Use a bench with open compartments beneath the bench and keep it in the powder room. Use it to store extra toiletries and stuffs. Compartment benches do not have any back rest or arms. These can also be used to store footwear and can be kept at the entrance of the house.

Openable: A covered bench with a hinged top can be used to store extra pillows or sheets if they are placed in bedrooms. Finish the seat with suede or fabric in pastel colour to give soothing touch to the bedroom.

What material should be used?

Wood:  Benches made of oak, mahogany or teak wood is the most common option available in the market. They are easy to maintain and are quite sturdy to use in residential and commercial applications.

Concrete or stone: These benches are mostly used in gardens or patios, where you do not want to displace them from their position. They do not require any maintenance and do not get weathered in any climate.

Metal: Iron, steel or aluminium are some of the metals used with or without wood to make contemporary benches.

Other materials include fibreglass, recycled plastic and thermoplastic.

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Top 4 Tips to remember while shopping for Media Cabinets

With growing entertainment needs and rising popularity of digital media and gadgets, the need for storage exclusively for them is in great demand. Whether you are a movie addict, a game fanatic or love home entertainment in general you need a proper place to arrange your gadgets and associated stuff. Gadgets like gaming consoles, home theaters, DVD players tend to have a lot wiring which needs to be kept untangled. Media cabinets allow you to keep things organized and uncluttered all the while adding to the beauty of the decor. There are several options in the market for media cabinets to choose from but you need to carefully select one that fits your space, budget and style requirements.

So, to make things easy for you we discuss the points to look out for while you purchase a media cabinet.

1.  The right fit:

The most important deciding factor while buying a media storage cabinets or any piece of furniture is the kind of space you have. Take measurements of the wall or the area you intend to place your cabinet at. It helps to quickly narrow down your selection based on length, width and height itself. Once measurements are done with, chalk out any doors, windows or paths that are frequently used for movement within the space. You should do this to ensure that your new media storage does not block light, air and general movement. Often people don’t take this factor in account and it leads to disasters. Any media placed on such a storage item can easily fall off and get damaged by a person or a pet passing by if the space is not enough.

2.  The right style:

Media cabinets are available in different styles to compliment your current décor theme. However, this all depends on your personal taste and how you want it to be projected. If you want your new piece of storage to blend in with the environment, have a look at the current furniture or the paint scheme and decide accordingly. If you want it to be a stand out element, then go for something exotic looking or something completely different from the current theme. There are various style options to choose from such as rustic, antique or modern etc.

3.  Material:
Media units are available in a variety of materials like wood, mica, veneer, composites, metal, glass and plastic composites. Solid or engineered wood tends to be the most premium option due to its finish. Wooden media storage can be had in a number of finishes such as oak, mahogany, cherry, teak etc. Mica or veneer tend to be cheaper and can be a good alternative to wooden units. While metal units look very sleek, trendy and modern at the same time.

4.  Utility:

Media cabinets have different features such as open/closed shelves, drawers, concealed doors which help you place your TV and other accessories in different sections. TV unit and speaker towers are to be placed on the flat top while drawers can hold DVD’s. Game addicts can safely stow away their consoles behind concealed doors while shelves can show off the souvenirs.

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