Where Do You Banquette?

Not too long ago, the only place you'd see a banquette was in a restaurant.  Not anymore.  Banquettes have become de rigueur not only in eat-in-kitchens but in living rooms as well.  At the 2014 Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse, not less than three designers featured banquettes in their rooms.  Talk about a trend! 

                         

Markham Roberts' banquette in his "A Gentlemen's Study" at the 2014 Kips Bay Showhouse.                                

                      

Vicente Wolf's banquette in his "Orange is the New Black" at the 2014 Kips Bay Showhouse.

                              

Alexa Hamtpon's stunning banquette, complete with buillion fringe, in her "Sitting Room Folly" at the 2014 Kips Bay Showhouse.

A banquette upgrades the look of the kitchen table by adding plush and comfortable seating.  And those bare corners of the living room that we used to disguise with folding screens and corner bookcases now allow for more conversation areas with the addition of a banquette.

                    

               Kitchen banquette in a design by Alessandra Branca.  Photo by Thibault Jeanson courtesy of Elle Decor.

Here is a banquette I designed for a basement renovation project in the home of empty nesters.  The basement, once the children's playroom, is now an adult playspace.

                  

                                                                                     Photo by Michael J. Lee.

Here is a banquette tucked into the corner of a living room.

                         

                                      Design by Garrow Kedigian Interior Design.  Photo courtesy of Sophie Donelson.

Look around your home for clever spaces to tuck a banquette.  How about in a foyer to expand your entertainment space?

                          

                                                              Photo courtesy of MMR Interiors.