Design Diction: Banquettes

Design Diction: Banquettes

Hello hello, and happy hump day to everyone!

I’m not sure how many of you have seen pictures of my eat-in kitchen posted on Instagram, but in case you missed it, here is what it looks like so far (and please excuse the terrible photos):

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The first image was taken a few weeks ago, and the second is how it looks as of today. I think I’ve gotten the china cabinet figured out, but see that little area off to the right- the one that would make a perfect banquette**? I’m pretty sure the past two previous home owners just left this as an empty space with neither pillows or a seat cushion of any kind.

Determined not to make the same mistake as the previous homeowners and to maximize available seating space, I will be turning that window seat into a proper banquette when the budget allows.

Here are some inspiration images that prove to me that banquettes can be both functional and stylish:

**Some of you may be asking, what is a banquette? A banquette is an upholstered bench along a wall, especially in a restaurant or bar. These are also referred to as window seats when found in rooms outside the kitchen.

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6 Comments

  1. Michelle Gunning
    October 21, 2015 / 12:09 pm

    LOVE BANQUETTES !!! Awesome inspiration pics too!!!

    • Aubrey
      Author
      October 21, 2015 / 12:26 pm

      Me too!! Didn’t you have one in your Ft. Worth house?

  2. Lauren
    October 22, 2015 / 7:30 am

    HI CLOVER!
    Love the light fixture.

    • thedan26_wp
      Author
      October 22, 2015 / 3:44 pm

      🙂 She says hi.

  3. October 22, 2015 / 3:25 pm

    Will you sew your own cushion or will you have it made? If you’ll have it made, who would you go to for that? I’ve done a fake banquet in my dining area. Basically just pushed the table to one corner with bench sitting going around the wall sides and chairs on the not walled sides. I’m open to a cushion on the whole thing to make it look a bit more permanent, but am not sure where I would go about having one made. Thoughts?

    • thedan26_wp
      Author
      October 22, 2015 / 3:50 pm

      Hi Katherine!

      Yes, so I did a little research when we first moved into our house and I found this site called cushionsource.com. It allows you to customize seat and chair cushions based on your dimensions, fabric, etc. I mocked up a few options to see what the cost would be, and the average cost for a cushion for my window seat came at around $250- not bad! I also got two quotes from local upholsterers – one was $350 and the other $375 (with really cheap looking fabric). So It seems cushionsource is a good contender when it comes to low cost options. Plus that have like thousands of fabrics to chose from… I think you can also send in your own fabric and have them fabricate your cushion from that.

      I could sew one myself, and I should be able to but I don’t trust the quality of my piping, or my ability to do a welt zipper. So that’s why I decided to research my options. Sorry for the long-winded answer! I hope this help!