Design*Sponge recently ran a piece about communal dining: great idea. Made us think about dining benches, which led us to Design Public, which reminded us that one of our favorite sustainably oriented companies, NY-based Staach, makes fantastic dining benches, available in white, green, yellow, red, maple, poplar, black, blue, and gray.

Below: Cain Collection 47-inch-long bench in maple; $290 at designpublic.com:

Below: Cain collection 47-inch-long bench in red; $350.