Ive been weighing decisions on my banquet plans for my kitchen too. Have you seen the banquet seating at Ballards? You can customize the fabric, well you have to and the bonus is theres storage inside them, so any huge items or rarely used countertop appliances etc that take space may go inside them. I dont know if you will find any tufting but the storage is a bonus and theyre very very reasonable. I considered them myself but will probably have DH build me some custom and I will buy the Ballard bench seats, and just toss a bunch of pillows behind for the backrests for it. Im thinking a plain camel colored bench seat because right now Im not sure of any pattern choice I want when I do I can always change out the pillows for pattern seasonally. Every season pottery barn comes out with new pillows and I want to change my color scheme. It will be largely used by the grandchildren a few times a month so its not going to get lots of use in my kitchen. Love your inspiration pic and as I have said before have serious trestle table envy. I will probably wind up with a cost plus cheap imitation of that beautiful table you have.

blfenton, I am sorry I missed your question about the lumbar pillows. They are IKEA pillows, and they are slip covered in that pattern, so it worked out well for us. I attached a link to the pillows--they come in several fabric covers and are $19.99 each. On our banquette, we have five right now. I also wouldn't want to have a narrow table, as I don't care to knock knees with anyone. Our table is 43"X 54" oval and has two leaves to lengthen it. The butcher block (and cushion) overhangs the cabinets a little bit, so that our legs aren't hitting the drawers or hardware below. I have sat on benches where the hardware was kind of in the way, and I kept hitting it with my calves, so I kept that in mind when designing this particular bench. I think having it done with springs and upholstered like real furniture as circuspeanut suggests would be optimal for seating. I would have loved that! I am certainly not skilled in that area and haven't the money to have it professionally done, so we went the budget route. One of the most beautiful dining rooms I have seen had a loveseat set in a bay window, with the table pulled up with chairs in contrasting fabrics. It looked elegant, yet totally comfortable--a place you would love to sit with the girlfriends over coffee and treats gabbing for hours. *sigh* Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA lumbar pillows

Hi Lavender. Thanks for thinking of me again. While I like what your plan does for the island and still retains the banquette area, the family room becomes much too small for us. I think that now that my decision is made to stick with my layout, I need to just stick to it. It should work for my family. I appreciate you taking the time to draw and post!

thanks for some GREAT ideas! we are just finishing our kitchen remodel and i've ALWAYS wanted a banquette! now that the time has come to build one, i can't find any PLANS for them!!!! anyone have any???? hoffman, i LOVE yours!!!! i just hate that they charge different prices for the different fabrics! UGH! they are PERFECT though. will post when i figure out how to build "the perfect banquette".... ;) UNFORTUNATELY, no morgue drawers here...need to do piano bench tops for storage underneath. we were going to buy cabs, but kids kicking them would have DESTROYED them, so why waste the money, right? thanks!