Standard depth for banquette seating?

11 years ago

For all of you who have banquette seating in your kitchen, what is the depth of the seat? Is there a standard one? I clicked around and found one site that said 18 inches as a minimum. How did you determine the depth? thanks,

lucia

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Comments (4)

cakelly1226
11 years ago
We measured the depth of our favorite dining chair and went with that. It was 18 inches. The cushion overhangs it by about 1 inch and half to make it comfy on the knees. It is perfect for me at 5 4' and my DH who is 6 2'.
breezygirl
11 years ago
Here's a drawing that the lead restaurant designer at DH's office did for banquette/booth dimensions. 24" is the total bench depth. That depth accounts for the back cushion also.
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Yes, I think it was the Ode to Banquette Lafacia - take a look at a "Boat" shaped table. I am going to post mine - but you want a "real" table and not the pop-up variety. Mine was done by an Amish/English - not sure if you would call it a cooperative but the Amish do part of it and the English finish it off with the stain, etc. I think the shape would work - they make a table in this shape as well. I think it was called Grand River or Grand Rapids - if you like it, I can find the info. This is a catalog picture - I think this is actually the desk - we also bought the desk but had it sized for our house - so they will work with you to "customize" it. Here it is - decked out for 2 for breakfast - We kept it small as the entry into the kitchen might have been problematic if we went too large. - Mostly, I want you to see the boat shape - not sure if the pictures capture it - but imagine a boat with the ends cut off - it gives a bit more room to climb into the area - but it is not too much that it is not functional. From the other angle Pop goes the weasel - ours pops up to a table height - but since you need to seat 5 -not an option for you.
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I've never built a banquette, but my kitchen and dining room is exactly like yours, layout and dimensions. We don't have a wall between the DR and LR however, so we've put a buffet server on the long wall between DR and LR. Clearly, you've outgrown your house. My dining room looks so much bigger than yours because I'm not trying to make it do double duty by storing stuff that should be in the kitchen. The open storage is not doing you any favors of making your space look comfortable and peaceful at dinnertime. Rather than built-ins, consider a hutch or buffet server with some closed storage that you can take with you when you move. Simplify your stuff, and I guarantee you'll add to the function, and you'll feel much more relaxed. There's a principle of elementary education that says if the classroom is disorganized and chaotic, the students will be too. Besides whether a banquette is doable, does it make sense for future buyers? I would ask a realtor before I went any further. I don't like the idea of the banquette against a peninsula with a sink. My counter extends 19" beyond my sink, and I get splash almost to the edge. Seating--we have a 36" x 54" table--a little narrower than most rectangular tables. We put 4 chairs on the long sides. I find that arrangement more roomy than a chair at each end. Extensions pull out from under the table on the short ends for guests. Mine is positioned with the long side along the peninsula, but you could turn yours the other way.
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You are smart to think carefully about designing this before you build. IKEAFANS has some hacks for building bench seats with above refrigerator cabinets. Like Clarion said, the idea finished height should be similar to a dining chair (17-19 inches). Factor in a comfy 4-5" cushion. You can order these already dacron wrapped online from customcushions.net etc. Make sure that the seat base has an overhang of 5 inches so that people can sit naturally tucking their feet under. Also factor in a cushioned back that is 4inches or so but is angled back 3inches. When you do the math, the seat will seem kind of deep and low but trust me, it works well once the cushions are added. This will be a favorite place to hang out for hours playing games, doing homework, gossiping and ofcourse for eating. In your space a landing zone on the left may be useful. Also consider morgue drawers for some additional storage. Great place for seasonal items and appliances used once in a while wi_sailor girl L shaped banquette Here is a link that might be useful: KitchenKelly's Morgue drawers
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Thank you all so much for the diagrams, link and ideas. This is exactly the type of info I was looking for! Gooster - I am concerned with the space looking tight visually as you point out. I don't want the seating area to look squished into a corner. That chair with it's back to the french doors would have about 34" of space from my calculations. I have it set up that way now, to see how it feels. I am very interested in learning more about your movable storage banquette with padded back. Do you have any photos you could share with me? Lavender_lass - I can't do without the peninsula in this floorplan. But, what do you mean by not being able to access the banquette? Which part? Thank you very much for your help. Scrappy25 - I really like your idea of doing a furniture piece rather than a build-in, I hadn't thought of that. Cost-wise that is very appealing. I would need it to have back support, so I'm going to look at what options might exist for that. Overall, my concerns are making it look appealing and well designed, rather than squished and that the seating would be comfortable for someone with back issues.
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laughablemoments
11 years ago
Sarah Susanka's books have good information for planning the seat dimensions. Also, here might be some useful info here, esp. JM Seattle's sketch:

Here is a link that might be useful: Banquette seating-love it or hate it?
lalithar
11 years ago
I agree about Sarah susanka's books. It is really important that you measure the banquette bench to be comfortable with nice cushions. If you're doing 3" or 4" cushions, and back cousins, the depth is quite a bit more but the height is quite a bit lower as the cushions increase height.. My architect designed it so that the seat has a 1" slope towards the back and the back has a 3" angle and a lip under the window sill for the back cushion to sit into. I also decided to have a deeper window sill and a deeper seat as I anticipate that the window seat will be used for lounging purposes where the sitter is not always facing the table. I am thinking some extra movable cushions will make this comfortable for when you are eating as well. The edge of the window seat should have about a 2-3" lip to allow people to tuck their feet under who they sit. Without this, they will keep kicking and banging up whatever base you have.

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Standard depth for banquette seating?

Comments (4)

cakelly1226

breezygirl

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laughablemoments

lalithar

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