A banquette is an upholstered bench along a wall. As well as being a cool word, a banquette can also be a very cool solution to an interior design space dilemma.
Not enough room for a conventional dining table and chair combo? Odd sized or shaped space that needs something, but nothing you’ve tried seems to work? A custom-made banquette may just be the answer. (This is precisely why you see banquettes so often in restaurants and cafes – they fit in more paying customers!)
In the first image you see a banquette to the left of the fireplace with a round timber table. I love having a dining-height table in a living room that is separate to your main dining table. Perfect for magazines, cups of tea, board-games, jigsaws and craft activities. A table that doesn’t have to be cleared in order to have dinner.
In the second image you see the Tardis-like magic of a curved banquette turning a window into a comfy breakfast nook.
The third image is a great combination of a banquette teamed with a long narrow table which still maintains a walkway to the kitchen section of this kitchen-diner. Also love the matched upholstery which gives the different elements a cohesive look.
And lastly, sink into a squishy leather banquette for a long, long lunch………..
More info on the designers of these four rooms via the links below.
1. Arent + Pyke