Although we ended up not doing a banquette, our plan was to have an upholstered one made to fit the space. Like you would see in a restaurant. Much more comfy than a wood bench with cushions. We found a local upholsterer to work with. You can pick your fabric. Just a thought.....

Since you have the bench on the left drawn as 24" deep, I'd do the same for the window seat. You might be able to accommodate an extra diner, if necessary, but it will definitely suffice for two bench sitters. And you can make the backrest cushions the same thickness for both benches.

Scroll down in this thread for ideas:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2677829/another-finished-white-kitchenbut-i-have-morgue-drawers

More ideas.

I have no expertise in banquettes but here's another diagram that might compliment the one Meris shared with you.

Kitchen Numbers: Dining Nook | 64 Important Numbers Every Homeowner Should Know · More Info

Hi Ainelane

Glad that you like my window seat. It has transformed our kitchen. We actually prefer to sit on the chairs and look out the window at the backyard and wildlife, while the kids like to sit on the window seat. I would suggest that you just put a movable Upholstered bench or stool between the peninsula and your table. A lot cheaper, pretty comfortable, and more versatile.

I can only share what I know from personal experience, and working through some dimensions. I think you'll find your critical dimension will be that chair in front of the french doors. It's a bit tight at the current spacing and you'll probably have to keep that chair full pushed in at all times (and it will give an impression of tight spacing -- visually you may not want a chair there all the time).

With a back at the targeted angle as shown by funkycamper above, you'll find you'll need at least 21" to 26" of depth. We went with a movable storage banquette that is 26" deep with a padded back.

I don't think you can access part of the banquette, when someone is sitting in the chair. Could you do without the peninsula?

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.

I just realized why this floor plan looks so familiar :)

What about banquette on one side? This way, when you have more people, you could pull the table out into the room and add another chair or two. Just a quick idea...

Hi ainelane! I remember you too. :-) So glad to hear that things are starting to move forward.

I will think about your banquette some more. But for now, I do like that last drawing by lavender as it gives more space. Then again, I also like mama gooses as it looked so cozy.

I would definately claim that left corner as my favorite spot. Could you kitty corner that side so it is deep enough for a nice cushy padded back. You could have a little ledge it the corner for a bouquet of fresh flowers or whatever. Not sure if that would look weird or not. I will try and find a picture of what I'm envisioning.

Yes, lavender's drawing is what I was thinking of only I was thinking of movable seating perpendicular to the windowseat but her arrangement of seating works better.

@ainelane: we have the Ballard Designs set of storage banquettes, as well as a regular built-in window seat in another part of the kitchen. I ordered extra fabric so the cushions on the two match. However, our configuration is way different. The 32" to the wall is enough to sit, but the person in that space may need to stand up to "release"
the people along the wall. I also thinking having a pushed-in chair with
about two feet to a set of FD will look a bit crowded.

However, lavender_lass' configuration is what I was thinking about as well. I don't think it has the same issue. One thing to check -- I'm not certain you have quite enough width for two to dine comfortably in the two spaces against the wall. If you went with a rectangular table (say 40x60 -- yes I know that is not the desired route) butted against the peninsula in the same configuration, you'd have plenty of space all around.