A Half Banquette Will Turn Any Spot of Your Home Into a Corner Bistro
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Enter a restaurant, and you immediately start praying for a booth. But what if you had one at home? The comfort, the intimacy, it’s exactly what you want out of dinner with loved ones. Residential designers are taking note, pairing a bench seat with a few chairs at tables all over the house. Open to the room but plush and cozy, half banquettes are where everyone wants to sit. “I love them so because of their versatility,” says Joy Williams of Joyful Designs, who often adds storage underneath.
In Williams's own Chicago home, the designer has a Ballard Designs banquette customized in a striped performance fabric near her kitchen. She hung studio prints from Desenio to quickly and easily decorate her personal corner bistro, where she enjoys coffee and catches up on mail and work with her dog Sandy.
For something more permanent, a built-in half banquette is the way to go. Not only will it be extra sturdy, but you can include storage features tailored to your lifestyle. For one of Sabrica Albanese's clients, the designer created a banquette with built-in drawers and an opening for a dog bed to maximize precious real estate in the kitchen area. Teresa's Green paint by Farrow & Ball and Schumacher fabrics make it feel extra cozy.
Another way to take a half banquette to the next level? Incorporate built-in shelving for go-to cookbooks and decorative objects, like in the home of Nina Tinari and Michael Schulson of Schulson Collective.
The concept doesn’t have to be limited to your kitchen either. You can add one to a game room, library, sunroom, or completely take it outdoors. On a patio in Palo Alto, California, designer Catherine Kwong added bench cushions with Perennials fabric and Jenni Kayne pillows for maximum comfort around a teak table by Martyn Lawrence Bullard for Harbour Outdoor. Massive trees shade the area naturally, making it an ideal hangout spot.
Should you need more stylish banquette seating ideas, we have you covered. But if it doesn't feel exactly right for you, get this: You can also fake a half banquette. A loveseat can easily create the homey look and feel of a true banquette. For a dining room, designer Liz Caan used a cushy vintage sofa—with lots of pillows for back support. So if you don't want to buy bench seating or get it custom made, you can simply do a little rearranging of your current living room furniture.
Love looking at designer spaces for inspo? Us, too. Let’s obsess over them together.
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