Banquette seating was a mainstay in your grandmother’s kitchen, and it can be a focal point of your modern kitchen today. Banquettes bring a sense of nostalgia with them, as they can conjure memories of spending time at your favorite college hangout or talking with your grandparents as a small child. This style of seating offers a cozy intimate atmosphere, and designing your kitchen to feature banquette-style seating offers several distinct advantages.
- It’s an efficient use of space. There’s almost no better way to streamline the flow of traffic and use of space in your kitchen. With tables and chairs, your kitchen needs clearances between chairs, walls and cabinets, allowing enough space for people to walk by. With a banquette, however, you can easily give guests and family members sufficient room around the table, while allowing for an expansive space for traffic flow.
- It’s a casual, intimate seating arrangement. Guests spaced out around a table can sometimes mean that people are quite far away from each other. But with a banquette, family members are close enough to have an intimate discussion, yet have enough space in which to eat.
- Banquettes fit in out-of-the-way spaces. If you have a bay window or cozy corner that isn’t large enough for cabinets or workspaces, it could be an ideal location for a banquette. By tucking a banquette in these types of spaces, you can give your kitchen the eat-in area that it needs, while dedicating prime real estate to cabinets, counters and pantries.
- It maximizes square footage. Because a banquette can run the expanse of an entire wall, the U-shaped table truly takes advantage of every available square inch. With a long bench on the opposing side of the table, you can tuck the bench under the table when it’s not in use, and get more space in the kitchen. Go a step further and use the permanent bench seating for storage, and design it so that you can lift the seat up and store away linens, large serving dishes and so forth.
- You can dress it up. Banquette seating looks great with customized cushions and pillows. Go bold with colors and patterns, choosing complementary colors and designs. This laid-back seating is an ideal place to pack a punch with color, while making the space more inviting to family and guests.
- Mix charm and modern notes. While a wooden banquette table and bench creates a sense of charm and character, don’t be afraid to complement the style with modern elements. Instead of a movable bench on the open side of the banquette, consider pairing it with contemporary-style chairs and a playful chandelier or light fixture.
- It’s multipurpose. You can use an inviting eat-in space in the kitchen for more than just eating. The cozy, relaxing space serves children and teens well for homework activities, crafts, and more. Adults can gather around the table for home budget meetings and casual gatherings over wine and cheese.
- It’s flexible. Don’t limit the design to the standard rectangular table and bench of yesteryear. Today’s banquettes are much more flexible than that. Consider a semicircular table with benches to match, and use a couple of chairs on the outer edge for extra seating. You can always store the chairs out of the way when they’re not in use.
Banquette-style seating is ultra-flexible, stylish and oh-so-inviting in your kitchen. If you’re ready to give the space an overhaul and you want a space-saving yet functional solution, banquettes are the way to go.
