It’s All About Banquette Seating
A banquette is an upholstered bench often configured along walls or to make booths. It’s one of the most versatile seating options and requires minimal space to create the maximum of seats. It’s a clever space saver as well as being super stylish, and creates the opportunity for under-seat storage through hinged panel seats or drawers in the banquette base.
Banquette seating also provides the option to bring some fabric into the area which can soften the hard lines of a kitchen and absorb sound. It’s a great opportunity to play with pattern, texture and colour!
There’s a wide range of fabrics that are suitable for a banquette. I personally would recommend an easy clean velvet, leather or faux leather; either patterned or plain. So many fabrics now have a stain repellent finish or you can have one applied when you order the fabric!
We created a banquette at home in our dining area as we are a family of 6 and it was the best solution for us to accommodate all our family and friends. The under-seat storage has been invaluable and I would highly recommend it as a seating solution.
Every banquette we make is bespoke so let me talk you through 5 of our recent projects:
This banquette was created with under-seat storage and a pocket for magazines at the client’s request. We went for a vertical flute and a very bold fabric, and we loved how this turned out. The fabric is naturally very hard wearing and has a stain repellent finish as standard. The base was sprayed the exact same paint colour as the client’s kitchen units to make it completely customised to their interior design scheme.
This seating has horizontal fluting and the material is an easy clean eco recycled leather product made out of old shoes and bags. The client has a big family and this seating works perfectly with some additional chairs to balance the other side.
This banquette has been upholstered in leather, and the client did not require any storage solutions built-in.
This seating area is created with drawers in the banquette base and upholstered in a stain repellent, easy clean velvet with button detail. The air force blue fabric worked beautifully with the client’s kitchen blinds
This final seating area is a personal favourite and is shaped with a nail finish. The fabric is a pop colour, easy clean velvet and maximises the space in a booth style. There is under-seat storage and the plinth is painted to match the client’s wood work.
I hope this has helped to inspire you and provide ideas of how banquettes can work in different spaces. We are always on hand to provide recommendations and design suggestions, so please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us either on Instagram (@idupholstery) or via email: info@idupholstery.co.uk.
