What about 2 outdoor love seats facing each other, small round table in the middle, and a suspended swinging bench from the edge rafter of the patio? Most of the larger swinging benches can seat up to 4. That way, if you have fewer guests and don't need the swinging bench, you can pull it off and maybe swap in some chairs from inside your home and put the bench in your garage to open the space a little more...and if you have kids there, they'll love the swinging bench, as will adults. It's a win-win!

Hello Megan, i have read the comments, and I agree practicality is paramount, also it's a large investment and would be not be ideal to have purchased this with an awkward setting. Particularly entertaining. i think the 1200mm diameter table is a great spot. It loses a dinner plate in depth, meaning it's a seated table not a serving one. So it will work to have a shared centrepiece maybe a glass vase of flowers and the pendant over. It will suit your family, it would be an intimate setting, and ideal to have the luxury of an upholstered chair. Certainly far from a compromise. Being that your dining table is only a hop away from the kitchen, the table itself doesn't need to have a large top for serving setting anyway. Yes, centre it, even though you may be tempted to allow more room in the walkway, don't, by having a visual space equal to walk around will make it feel less intrusive in the space, and you will quickly settle into walking around it to suit. Just position your chairs on the diagonal axis meaning so they back out to the corners of the room, so you can get around them easier, they won't block in the space. Having a glass top, it won't look over scaled, and it will make practical use of every square inch of your homeow. Good luck, I'm keeping myself posted on it.

5 Contemporary Designs... & my 1st impressions: 1. I'll stick with a traditional papasan, thanks. Less likely to get poked where it hurts. 2. Wishing had pool noodles right now. Or a life sized Gumby. 3. Oh that looks just like my computer chair! Sans the cage. Maybe I need that part so the "chair" stops mysteriously rolling into other rooms. 4. Whaaaat? *reads article's description* Ohhh! 5. No.

for the banquette to be wide enough to lay on it would need to be at least as deep as a narrow single bed which makes it too wide to sit on comfortably without a very thick back rest or a giant pile of cushions to clutter up the space...why not consider a back and sideless freestanding daybed so the primary purpose is laying down and the sitting to dine is only short term and doesn't need a backrest ....this example or similar with taller legs would be a simple economical way to add the day bed feeling without expensive built ins and two along the window wall could look quite inviting with a simple throw and scatter cushion