Redesigning my Bench Furniture

As I stated in my earlier post, I was on the fence with the design and aesthetic of my bench that I had incorporated into my overall design. Therefore I have gone back to the drawing board to look at different designs that are a lot more minimalistic and thus relate to my overall design stronger..

This is my current bench that I am wanting to redesign. Especially with adding elements such as the floating stairs and the floating ceiling/floor that are very square and box shaped, a bench that is triangular based with a recessed wooden style seat protruding out from it did not fit the aesthetic..  

My first redesign. I wanted to go very minimalistic like some of my precedents however due to the length of the bench, adding support legs to distribute the stress load evenly. I feel that the idea is right in which I feel I could expand on a lot more, however the design is really plain and basic. I will use this as a basis to keep working on more designs.

With this design I have taken the above design and idea and instead of having multiple vertical support beams, I have a large horizontal beam that runs from one end of the bench to the other. This feels a lot less intrusive, and the design looks a lot more crisp and clean. I could run l.e.d strip lighting down the length of the support beam so it is inconspicuous which will also to help create an ambience in the 'dugout' when one is trying on some shoes.

I have taken the above two ideas and sort of merged them together slightly. The attempt was to create something a little bit more interesting, however I feel as though I have taken a step back rather than a step forward. I will be progressing with this design any further.

This is the design that I will be using from here on out. The concept behind this design idea was to not only support the bench but also allow for storage as well. Being a shoe store and the 'dugout' is where customers would be trying on shoes, I thought it would be a good idea to incorporate storage that could hold try on socks, a shoe horn, a foot measurer and other items associated with trying on shoes. This is a crisp design that has the minimalist aesthetic down to a tee. There is nothing in the design that is unnecessary as it all serves a purpose. If I am inclined, I will still be able to run lighting either underneath the seat or against the wall behind it to help create atmosphere. Next step is to incorporate it into my overall design..