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.

Kim- It would be for me and my husband, and I did another cut and paste to show what I want to do with the back porch. From Courtyard Garden album The BBQ, dining table and 'bar area' will be off to the left of the back porch (behind the greenhouse) and will be a covered patio. My husband's friend has one in their backyard and it's very cool. The back patio would be mainly for a shady seating area (north corner). We have a lot of people out in the summer, but not very many in the winter, so our outdoor spaces really add to the living space, when we need it. The house actually sits on an angle (as does the road) and the banquette is on the south corner...and there's a lot more space on the left of the house and the back left. Here's a few pictures from last fall, from behind the house, looking straight back towards the barns and to the right, down the creek. This is an old barn, which we're tearing down (actually the old chicken house) and the horse barns are behind it and to the left. From Farmhouse pictures From Farmhouse pictures

Have you seen KitchenKelly's banquette? Her drawers pull out the long way so no hardware issues. Thread: Thread: Another Finished White Kitchen...But I have morgue drawers Thread: Paging KitchenKelly...Banquette question

How big is your banquette going to be? I think a pedestal table is the way to go, if that will fit your usual crowd. We are planning our banquette around our 54" glass round top pedestal table. In fact, if anyone else has a similarly-sized table, what are the dimensions of your banquette? I just saw in the Ballard Designs catalog a freestanding corner bench (about $1,000) -- do any of you with banquettes have views on the pros and cons of such a thing?