How To Style a Bench - Three Ways
I have really enjoyed writing all the interiors posts I've been popping up on the blog recently, I've got another one for you today which I am really excited about. If you're more a fan of the lifesyle side of things though, don't worry, I'll have a few fashion and food related posts coming up very soon. But for now I have a home styling post for you to read.
You may know that one of my great loves is interior and photographic styling, I even had a stint as a stylist for the Guardian a few years ago. If you'd like to read more posts about styling I have a very old one here and one here too. This time it's all about interiors and more specifically, benches. I've been pinning benches all over my Pinterest boards recently, I've fallen a little bit in love with them. The folks over at Cox and Cox contacted me to see if I would like something from their new collection, so of course I chose a bench!
For this post I wanted to show you three different ways you could style up a bench. We've popped ours next to the bed but it's such a versatile piece of furniture I know that we could use it in almost any sort of room.
First up is how to style a hallway bench. I think that this could be the most useful place to pop a piece of furniture like this, a great catch all area for keys and bags but also a very useful seat! For this set up I lined my shoes underneath the bench to keep them handy and placed a useful market basket on the top ready to grab as I head out the door to the shops. Much more chic than a plastic bag! For some relaxing scent and a touch of greenery I placed a pretty pot of rosemary too. You never know, a pot of herbs might even inspire the food shopping choices!
Now, this next one is probably most appropriate for Simon and I - we are big book nerds. I wanted to include the idea of using a bench as a way to store and display books as I think it's a great alternative to a normal shelf. For this idea I propped up one of our larger books, a beautiful old atlas, as the main styling piece. To surround that atlas I placed a few of our slightly prettier books along with an Edward Lear print that we actually usually have on our bookshelf in the living room. Keeping the styling elements related to reading will work best here. I also used my favourite new kitty mug and a vintage alphabet stencil to make it all a little more interesting and not too book heavy.
The final styling idea I wanted to include is is the bedside table bench, although, this sort of styling is applicable to most rooms in a home. This is how the bench currently looks in our bedroom, but we really need to find a new lamp that we like! I've placed a basket underneath the bench for all our various bits and bobs (mainly books). This is especially useful for hiding anything that doesn't quite match the rest of your scheme. As for the top of the bench you could really pop up anything you like. For us I have my "Nancy" comics pride of place, Simon bought me these from New York when we were first dating so I like to keep them on display! Next to those I have a few catch all pots for jewellery, watches, lip balm ect. I also have my favourite perfume, Savoy Steam by Penhaligon's and a beautiful hare print made by a family friend.
So those are my three bench styling ideas! I really think that a piece like this small solid oak bench would work perfectly in most homes, modern or traditional. I know that it will remain a piece that Simon and I will continue to use for years to come.
You may know that one of my great loves is interior and photographic styling, I even had a stint as a stylist for the Guardian a few years ago. If you'd like to read more posts about styling I have a very old one here and one here too. This time it's all about interiors and more specifically, benches. I've been pinning benches all over my Pinterest boards recently, I've fallen a little bit in love with them. The folks over at Cox and Cox contacted me to see if I would like something from their new collection, so of course I chose a bench!
For this post I wanted to show you three different ways you could style up a bench. We've popped ours next to the bed but it's such a versatile piece of furniture I know that we could use it in almost any sort of room.
First up is how to style a hallway bench. I think that this could be the most useful place to pop a piece of furniture like this, a great catch all area for keys and bags but also a very useful seat! For this set up I lined my shoes underneath the bench to keep them handy and placed a useful market basket on the top ready to grab as I head out the door to the shops. Much more chic than a plastic bag! For some relaxing scent and a touch of greenery I placed a pretty pot of rosemary too. You never know, a pot of herbs might even inspire the food shopping choices!
Now, this next one is probably most appropriate for Simon and I - we are big book nerds. I wanted to include the idea of using a bench as a way to store and display books as I think it's a great alternative to a normal shelf. For this idea I propped up one of our larger books, a beautiful old atlas, as the main styling piece. To surround that atlas I placed a few of our slightly prettier books along with an Edward Lear print that we actually usually have on our bookshelf in the living room. Keeping the styling elements related to reading will work best here. I also used my favourite new kitty mug and a vintage alphabet stencil to make it all a little more interesting and not too book heavy.
The final styling idea I wanted to include is is the bedside table bench, although, this sort of styling is applicable to most rooms in a home. This is how the bench currently looks in our bedroom, but we really need to find a new lamp that we like! I've placed a basket underneath the bench for all our various bits and bobs (mainly books). This is especially useful for hiding anything that doesn't quite match the rest of your scheme. As for the top of the bench you could really pop up anything you like. For us I have my "Nancy" comics pride of place, Simon bought me these from New York when we were first dating so I like to keep them on display! Next to those I have a few catch all pots for jewellery, watches, lip balm ect. I also have my favourite perfume, Savoy Steam by Penhaligon's and a beautiful hare print made by a family friend.
So those are my three bench styling ideas! I really think that a piece like this small solid oak bench would work perfectly in most homes, modern or traditional. I know that it will remain a piece that Simon and I will continue to use for years to come.
