One of the micro trends we’ve been noticing lately are dining banquettes. These aren’t new at all, but they have been popping up quite a bit on our feeds lately. Essentially built-in benches that are sometimes cushioned, banquettes are usually integrated into a wall or a corner. They have a prominent place in restaurants and other food establishments as they help to save space and seat more customers.
We think they work great for smaller apartments—you’ll see that the following homes agree with us—and they are particularly awesome in eat-in kitchens or in spaces that don’t have a dedicated dining room. Gather around for our roundup of the chicest and cosiest dining banquettes:
1. Desert Deco
In this dreamy, minimalist moroccan style home, the fluidity of the dining banquette balances out the lines of the fluted pattern on the dining table whilst mirroring the arches seen at the corridor and foyer.
Design: Ascend Design
2. Colour Central
The dining nook is a cheerful place and a great introduction to the rest of the home. Decked out on the wall behind the petite cushioned banquette is a treasure trove of memories, including the unit number plate of the homeowner’s previous home. The clear acrylic Magino stools provide more flexible seating, without visually obstructing the design and style of the built-in.
Design: Happe Design Atelier
3. Green Wash
This breakfast nook in the kitchen comes with a suave emerald green banquette bench, which pops against the muted mustards and light wood colour scheme in the rest of the cooking space.
Design: Monocot
4. Curvy Statement
Complementing the round dining table and the Wishbone dining chairs is a curvaceous banquette seat. It offers much more seating room than if conventional chairs were used, while helping to anchor the dining area and preventing it from visually floating in the middle of the room.
Design: Icon Interior Design
5. Close Comfort
Enclosed within a single, sinuous L-shaped structure, the dining area and living room feel a lot cosier than if they were kept in distinct spaces. The dining banquette is purposefully positioned so that it faces the TV, in the habit of the homeowners who like having meals while watching movies.
Design: Hock Hoon
6. Old School Charm
Looking just like a tea restaurant in Hong Kong, this retro style dining area is made up of blush pink banquette seats that provide the perfect complement to those vintage green hues seen in this space. Rattan details offer an old-world vibe, not out of a place in a cha chaan teng, while lending textural interest.
Design: Studio Antimatter
7. Creature Comforts
This built-in banquette is an extension from the living room TV console, minimising visual clutter and allowing the space to be fully utilised. To make for more comfortable seating, a cushioned seat and tufted wall panels were added, done up in coordinated in colours seen in the dining space.
Design: Blafink
8. Cosy Does It
Located near the entrance of this jumbo flat, this dining area makes use of an otherwise under-utilised corner of the apartment. What we really like is how cosy the whole space looks, thanks to the well-planned lighting scheme, which features spotlights, two large pendants and under-seat lighting, the latter creating the illusion of a floating banquette bench.
Design: Aart Boxx Interior
9. Style Factor
One popular way to do dining banquettes is to have the seating surrounded by open shelves. This not only contributes to more storage space (total win for smaller homes) but also offers the opportunity for you to put your home styling skills to work.
Design: House of Chais
10. Clean Lines
Dining banquettes are also perfect for themed homes, like in this Japanese style flat in Bidadari. The built-in dining was completely customised for the space, featuring a minimalist, fuss-free design to match the scheme. You’ll also see clever details, notably a shaved off corner of the banquette seating in order to allow for feet to be tucked in more comfortably.
Design: Sync Interior
11. Function Extension
This multipurpose dining nook is part of the TV console. The back of the banquette doubles up as as a privacy screen, while shelves line the side, offering space for storing dinnerware. The table is made such that it features an extendable top in order to accommodate more people by the table.
Design: Free Space Intent
12. Snug Marks The Spot
Carved out from a row of full-height, built-in storage, this charming dining spot is definitely somewhere we want to spend all our meals in. Just next to it, an open pantry makes it accessible to reach out for drinking water, while drawers conceal all the necessary serving ware and other pantry essentials.
Design: In-Expat
13. The More The Merrier
Because standard BTO flats don’t offer a lot of room for a bigger dining table, the designers opted for a built-in L-shaped banquette that not only tucked the dining area into a corner but also afforded more seating space than a conventional 6-seater would. Part of the kitchen peninsula counter was also used as a backing for the banquette.
Design: Home Philosophy
14. Of Yesteryear
In this timeless weekend home for a couple, the bright pop of orange from the banquette cuts through the otherwise neutral scheme space, evoking a sense of retro glamour and complementing those gorgeous silver disc pendants hanging over the dining area.
Design: Parenthesis
15. Focal Point
Instead of going with a cushioned back, this dining banquette comes with a slightly recessed wall painted a pale blue. For visual continuity, the custom-made seat is given a similar hue. The pop of blue stands out amidst the neutral hues in the rest of the living room, serving as this room’s focal point.
Design: ROOOT Studio
This article was originally posted on Renonation.sg, Singapore’s leading renovation and interior design site.
