Eating your meals is a flavorfully sensual experience. The hot and rich wake-me-up coffee and sweet donuts for breakfast, stuffed and cheesy sandwiches for lunch, refreshing evening tea, or a delicious fried chicken dinner; consuming meals is a journey to keep yourself happy and satiated. And, to absolutely enjoy these flavors in comfort and luxury, why not opt for a banquette?
What is a Banquette?
A French diminutive for bench, banquette is a kind of an upholstered bench. Usually, it is a built-in part of the interior wall designed to fit into a particular place. It is commonly found in diners, restaurants, cafes, and bars. But the comfort it offers is such that it became a cherished part of households in no time.
Loved by interior designers, a banquette saves up a lot of floor space compared to individual pull-out chairs, as it nestles in one cozy corner. Most banquettes have a sturdy framework underneath, leaving no chance for dust to settle under. Thus, cleaning it is more effortless and time-saving.
To top it all off, it provides roomy comfort, which is much needed while eating or relaxing. Not just as an eating space, it can sometimes function as a comfy reading nook. It also doubles as a window nook to chill and unwind when placed near a window. Just think about all the amount of multi-tasking one banquette can do! Isn’t it tempting to have it in your house?
30 Stunning Banquette Seating Ideas to Transform Your Dining Experience
Once you decide to let a banquette grace your house, there are various locations that you can choose for it. Below is a very informative collection of such banquette seating ideas for the best places in your house. We also have ideas that are budget-friendly or suitable for small spaces. Let’s dive right in and check them out one by one!
Banquette Seating Ideas for Kitchen
A kitchen looks lonely without a breakfast nook or a dining space. A banquette will be a perfect companion to turn up the drama in your kitchen. Along with a comfortable dining experience, it will also create a visual point of attraction in your bare kitchen design. Let us look at the different banquette seating ideas perfect for your kitchen.
1. Kitchen Island Extension
A kitchen island is one of the hot spots in your house, filled with food, drinks, conversations, and laughter. But sometimes, the counter stool seating can be pretty uncomfortable. To solve this problem, create a banquette that is the extension of your kitchen island.
The banquette will be at the back of the island, decked with cushioning. Let the banquette be the same color or design as the kitchen island so it looks like an organic extension. Now, you can comfortably enjoy your food, drinks, conversations, and laughter.
2. Wavy or Curvy Banquette Design
Wavy or curvy designs have a soothing yet fun aura that comes naturally with a softly cushioned banquette. Its wavy backrest or curvaceous seating that perfectly aligns with the strange angles of your quirky kitchen can turn all the family meals into enjoyable experiences full of food jokes and bread puns.
3. Color Splash or Color Contrast
Use a vivaciously colored corner banquette to splash your kitchen with theatrical glamor. Blood orange, hot pink, electric blue, or lime green, pick one for the jazzy corner. As it contrasts starkly with your grayscale kitchen backsplash, let the banquette energize your senses as you enjoy delectable food.
4. A Pillow Show with Sofa for a Budget-Friendly Solution
There is an economical solution if you don’t want to part ways with a heavy chunk of your money for a custom-built banquette. In this DIY hack, all you have to do is place a casual, right-sized sofa in one corner, adorn it with quirky pillows, and place a small table in front of it.
You can choose vibrant, scalloped-edged pillows, patterned or stripped pillows, or pillows with animal print covers that will give a whimsical punch to your unique, homemade breakfast nook banquette.
5. Towering Banquette
A tufted banquette with a towering backrest that touches the ceiling of the nook will provide ultimate comfort, and it can also double as a lavish reading chair. With this statement piece, you can bring your library to the kitchen and savor hearty meals or lazy reading sessions.
6. Vintage Table to Pair the Banquette
Bring the old-world aesthetic to your kitchen by pairing a vintage table with the vintage upholstery of your banquette. To match the vibe, go with maximalist decor and hang a vintage chandelier above the banquette seating. And you have a classy vintage nook for lively dinners at your disposal.
7. Family Wall
Elevate the drama in your kitchen by transforming the wall above the banquette into a charming family wall. You can adorn it with photo frames of precious moments with your family, playful family portraits, or a simple family tree. Relish blissful meals with your kin as you reminisce about the good times.
8. A Table Tale
Let your unique banquette seating collaborate with mesmerizing and rare tables that will not just steal the show but also throw light on the banquette. You can use patterned fabric cushioning to introduce texture to your bare kitchen design.
9. Classic Black & White for an Industrial Kitchen
In a classic black and white industrial kitchen, you can use the exposed brick wall as a stylish backdrop for your banquette. To stick with the black-and-white theme, you can have a white base with black cushioning or vice versa. Place a black or white floor rug for an extra layer of comfort.
10. L-shaped Banquette
Create the perfect breakfast nook and an intimate vibe with an L-shaped banquette. Use bright-colored, velvet, tufted, or patterned fabric to add interest to your private dining nook. And you have the coziest booth for deep conversations or eventful tea parties.
11. Serene & Stylish with Soft Linen
For slow mornings, bright hues can be quite annoying. Accessorize the banquette with soft linen upholstery to create a serene ambiance, especially for such mornings. Give a stylish edge by adding plush pillows that ooze comfort. Let the mellow palettes lull your senses and create a warm and welcoming vibe.
Banquette Seating Ideas for Dining Room
If you have the luxury of a separate dining room, then a banquette is the best way to bring comfort, style, and glamor into this space. There are many banquette seating ideas to turn your dining room into a chic one. Here are the trendiest ones.
1. Accent Wall for Banquette Highlight
Want to highlight your floating banquette that blends into the dining room? What better way than by using an accent wall? Create stunning contrast by coloring the banquette backdrop wall with a robust hue that immediately grabs attention. Choose fuchsia, lemon yellow, turquoise, or violet, whatever meets your fancy.
2. Tiny & Cozy Banquette for a Small Dining Room
Revamp a small, bare corner of your small dining room into pint-sized comfort with a tiny and cozy banquette. Place a small table in front and turn it into the perfect spot to curl up with a book and a hot coffee. It can also be a nook for sitting and tying your shoes or even a small, comfy work-from-home station.
3. Bright & Bold Banquette Coffre
A wooden built-in banquette coffre is perfect for extra storage space in your dining room. Use bright-colored, plush velvet cushioning for a luxurious touch. For a harmonious finish, you can paint the wooden coffre base with the same bright and bold color. Let the matching coffre base and cushioning play the perfect host for jazzy dinner parties.
4. Banquette Blends with Wall
Let the banquette blend with the wall using matching paint and create a cohesive scene. For a refined touch, use the same colored floor rug and place it under the table. Enjoy pleasant meals as the wall, banquette, and floor rug splash your dining room with a monochromatic charm.
5. Rattan Banquette Bench
Introduce the minimalist charism into your dining room using a rattan banquette bench. Pair it with a round rattan table and coordinate woven chairs around it for an eco-friendly rattan nook to enjoy your flavorful delights.
6. Pet Home Banquette Convertible
Utilize the storage space in your banquette convertible to make a cozy home for your pet cat. Install a cat flap for it to enter and exit. Enjoy sumptuous meals with your beloved pet as the dinner nook becomes your favorite spot in the house.
7. Boxy Banquette Seating
A box-shaped banquette with wrap-around seating is ideal for intimate conversations with your loved ones. As the boxy banquette cocoons you with comfort and intimacy, its closed and cozy shape will also add character to your simple dining room.
8. Wide & Comfy
Let the banquette stretch throughout the wall breadth, creating a wide and comfy seating area. Its size will make the dining room burst with elegance, and there will be no hassle even with too many guests. It can also double as an ultra-comfortable homework station as your kids enjoy juicy fruits while studying.
9. Matching Linen & Wallpaper
If you match the banquette linen with the wallpaper, the banquette will look like an organic wall extension. You can match the floral or tropical linen with the floral or tropical removable wallpaper. Or, you can take color hints from the wallpaper and use the same colored linen.
10. Artsy Nook
Hang an oversized artwork on the banquette backdrop wall and turn your dining space into a creative, artsy nook for your art connoisseur soul. Or you can hang multiple artworks with varying sizes and create an art gallery. Crown the look with sophistication by hanging a pendant lamp cluster that cocoons the artsy nook with a warm glow.
11. Open Shelves & Stripped Design
Use a banquette with a striped design, as it will enliven the space with texture. Flank it with open shelves that tower to the ceiling. You can use these shelves to display antiques or your Funko Pop collection. Or better yet, turn them into bookshelves, pick a book, and dive into it as you relax on the striped banquette.
Banquette Seating Ideas for Other Indoor Spaces
A kitchen and a dining room are not the only spaces that can accommodate a banquette to create an aesthetic appeal. Your house comprises some really unique architectural features that can act as the most pristine spots for a banquette. And here are those we think are the top ones.
1. Sunroom Banquette Seating
Let the wonderfully upholstered banquette punctuate your sunroom design. Savor breakfasts wrapped in sunlight and relish glitzy dinner parties cocooned by the charm of the night.
2. Banquette Under the Stairs: Small Space Solution
You can get more out of a small house when you utilize each and every available space. No space in the kitchen? Don’t worry. Place the banquette booth under your L-shaped stairs design, and you can have the luxury and comfort of the banquette in your small space.
3. Bay Window Banquette Seating
Place a rounded banquette that curves along with the towering bay windows’ structure. Enjoy the natural light and pleasant breeze as you eat meals, de-stress, or have long, refreshing reading sessions.
4. Banquette Seating for Open-Plan House
An open-plan, airy apartment has a lot of fluidity and options to fit a banquette. There are no walls between the kitchen and living room, so you can pick a spot between the two. For small spaces, you can even let the banquette function as the main seating area of the house; eat and entertain in the same space.
Banquette Seating Ideas for Outdoor Spaces
The versatile banquette can’t ever be limited to four walls. It gives dining comfort, no matter the location, and its adaptability allows it to turn even the outdoor spaces theatrically glamorous. Below are some charming banquette seating ideas to enjoy sumptuous meals in the pleasant outdoor spaces.
1. DIY Lit Banquette for Balcony
DIY a string lights canopy with seasoned outdoor lights for your balcony with a banquette. The light canopy will cocoon the balcony with a warm glow. Enjoy ravishing parties or drift off in dreamland on your lit banquette on the pleasantly breezy balcony.
2. Outdoor Banquette Convertible for Garden
No expensive banquette building is necessary when you have a handy banquette convertible. The right-sized bench that converts into a banquette with cushioning and a folding table works just fine. Place it in your lush garden, add no-flame candles on the table, and enjoy romantic wine nights under the stars.
3. Pergola Banquette Seating
Place a banquette bench in your pergola and create the perfect spot for an elegant soirée or a thrilling game night. To amp up the ambiance, decorate the pergola corners with mason jars stuffed with string lights and enjoy delightful meals.
4. Banquette Seating for Patio
You can place an elegantly upholstered banquette against the house wall on your patio. Hang an antique or a hand-made lantern above it and let it spread its warm light. Your patio banquette will be the perfect spot for a breezy late-night family food fest under the moon!
Pros & Cons of a Banquette
Of course, a banquette has pros and cons, like anything else. However, the pros easily outweigh the cons. But after looking at both, the final decision to have it in your house will be entirely yours. Let’s proceed.
Pros
- A Banquette is the ideal dining solution for small spaces.
- Pushed against the wall, it provides more moving space in the middle of the kitchen, which is perfect as cooking requires much moving around.
- It is cozier than a dining chair where the hands can brim from both sides, and it provides ample leg room.
- It can accommodate more people as opposed to individual pull-out chairs.
- You can have a cabinet in your banquette and maximize storage space.
- A banquette also has an inviting and intimate vibe like nothing else.
- It adds a uniqueness to your space rather than just a typical table and chairs.
Cons
- A custom-built banquette comes with a hefty price tag and can go above and beyond your budget.
- Depending on its height, a banquette can sometimes be uncomfortable for people who are too tall or too short.
- A regular dining table and chairs would be easier to maintain in a house with just two people than a banquette.
Bon Appétit!
We hope you decide to let the luxurious or simple DIY banquette dramatize your space for the finest dining experience. A curvaceous kitchen banquette, boxy dining room banquette, bay window banquette, or a lit banquette for your balcony; what’s it going to be? Whichever one you choose, let it give you abundant comfort as you enjoy the flavorful delights. Bon Appétit!
FAQs About Banquette
Is it a Banquet or Banquette?
A banquet and banquette both have different meanings. Banquet means a formal meal served on occasions like weddings, while banquette implies a type of seating usually built against the wall.
What is the Difference Between a Bench and a Banquette?
Usually, banquettes are built against the walls with an upholstery, sometimes with a backrest, and primarily used for dining purposes. This is how a banquette differs from a seating bench.
What is a Built-In Banquette?
A built-in banquette is an upholstered bench that acts as a comfortable seat constructed against a wall for a freestanding table.