Everyone wants the booth at a restaurant, so why not add one to your home? It’ll become the hub of your house — trust us! Here are 8 expert tips for designing stylish, cozy and functional banquette seating at home. Scroll down!
Banquettes need less room than conventional dining chairs — which require space behind each chair for circulation — making them perfect for tight dining spaces like the one in this condo.
Photographer: Stacey Brandford
Designer: Mazen El-Abdallah
Storage benches with built-in drawers optimize a banquette’s real estate and provide a place to stash extra placemats, runners, napkins and more.
Photographer: Lauren Miller
Designer: Sam Sacks
Center lighting over the table, as was done with this Scandinavian-inspired pendant, which measures 34 inches across. It echoes the pale tones of the wood and upholstery fabrics.
Photographer: Photographie Intérieure Co.
Designer: Hessa
Indoor-outdoor fabrics are a designer’s secret weapon in family kitchens. For this banquette, Olivia Botrie used an easy-to-maintain fabric in a fun pattern instead of reaching for vinyl.
Photographer: Donna Griffith
Designer: Dart Studio
A corner provides a natural spot to wrap a cozy kitchen banquette around two walls. This one’s channelled back and rounded corners are right on trend while a tiered pendant emphasizes the tall ceiling.
Photographer: Lauren Miller
Designer: Design, Alana Firestone and Jordy Fagan, Collective Studio
Banquette seats should measure 18 inches or more in depth (not including the back support) to provide maximum comfort. Upholstered back cushions can be various heights, or you could opt for a cozy collection of loose pillows — or both, as Sarah Birnie did.
Photographer: Lauren Miller
Designer: Sarah Birnie
Pedestal tables are the preferred pairing with banquettes, as they allow diners to slide easily around the banquette and ensure that no one has a pesky table leg to straddle. Tables can also have a smaller footprint as diners tend to sit more closely together.
Photographer: Alex Lukey
Source: Kitchens + Baths
Designer: Meghan Carter
Get the look of a banquette with a high-backed sofa-style bench. Here, a long-armed sconce is an innovative alternative to a typical pendant lamp.
Photographer: Maxime Desbiens
Designer: Tu Ly