6 Things I Learned About Designing a Banquette

I love a banquette. It gives me all the cozy feels — like sipping coffee in the corner booth of an old diner and having an intimate conversation.

In our last home, we added a banquette not just for the coziness factor but primarily to maximize kitchen and storage space. This house was a mere 1,000 square feet with no basement or garage — tight for a family of five, so every inch had to count.

Here’s the space from the original real estate listing:

Here’s our first round of changes – paint, flooring and a thrifted picnic table and benches:

And here’s the final with the new banquette:

We made a lot of changes to this kitchen but by far the banquette was a big improvement! Here’s what I learned about designing a banquette:

• Shape – Banquettes can be straight across one wall, U-shape or L-shape. We went with an L-shape design because that’s what fit the existing wall configuration.

• Seat Depth – This is important because if it’s too deep or too shallow, it will never feel right. We wanted to make sure the depth of the seat was adequate but didn’t push the table too far out into the kitchen. Typical depths range from 18 to 21 inches. A back cushion and/or pillows will also take up depth so that needs to be factored in. We went with 18 inches which was the maximum we could go without pushing the table further out into an already small kitchen.

• Seat Height – Generally it should be about the same as a standard dining chair. If you’re adding a cushion though, as we did, the thickness of the cushion needs to be factored in. I used a 3 inch thick piece of firm foam, for our cushion so we reduced the height of the seat by 2 inches (realizing that the foam will compress a bit).

• Seat Back – While a back (other than the wall itself) isn’t necessary, it‘s another thing to consider when designing the banquette. There are great looking banquettes that have a back cushion attached to the wall but you need to have enough space to do that. In our case, we did simple shiplap to define the banquette area and tie to the overall decor of the house. A few throw pillows make it easy for diners to move them around to fit their comfort needs.

• Storage – Banquettes can provide some nice hidden storage if you need it. Drawers are great for easy access without needing to remove the cushion and stock kitchen cabinetry can be used for this design. Top access using a long hinge provides full access to the inside of the banquette but of course means removing everything to get to it. I needed to store large, seldom used bulky appliances, as well as painting supplies, so we designed our bench to have two hinged sections on each section of the L-shape.

• Table shape/size – Finally, consider the table and chairs to complement the banquette. I started with a vintage drop leaf table that we had. Although I loved the look of the table, it didn’t fit the space very well.

When it was opened up for maximum seating, the table was actually too wide and too short.

Mr. HomeSpunStyle ended up making a custom table and bench that fit the space perfectly. It’s a simple trestle table design made from inexpensive 5/4 x 6 inch pine boards for the table and bench top and 5/4 x 4 inch boards for the legs

One more thing to point out with our banquette is that the closet you see housed the furnace and water heater — not things that we needed to access regularly but would need to do so for yearly maintenance. So Mr. HomeSpunStyle designed the banquette so that the small section in front of the doors is separate but attached with screws to the rest of the bench, allowing for removal and full access to the closet if needed.

Happy diy-ing!

Debra