Built in seating does two things chairs cannot: it seats more people in the same floor area, because nobody needs room to pull a chair out, and it hides storage underneath. In a kitchen or a bay window it is often the difference between a table that fits and one that does not.
How high should the seat be?
Around the height of a dining chair seat, and it has to be set against the table you actually own.
Get this wrong and the seating is unusable. Too high and there is no legroom under the table, too low and people are eating at chin height. It is measured against your table, not a standard, which is why it is designed in the room.
Cushion thickness is part of the calculation. A seat built to the right height and then given a thick cushion ends up too high, so the cushion is decided before the frame is made.
How much depth do you need?
Enough to sit properly without the front edge cutting behind your knees, and less than most people assume.
A dining banquette wants a fairly upright, shallow seat. A window seat meant for reading in wants more depth and a back cushion. They are different pieces of furniture and mixing up the two is the usual mistake.
For a bay window, the depth is often decided by the bay itself, which is one of the reasons made to measure matters here.
Is the storage underneath actually usable?
Yes, if it is drawers or front opening. Lift up lids are a good idea that stops being used within a year.
A lift up seat means moving cushions and whatever is sitting on them before you can open it. In practice that means it gets used twice a year.
Drawers on runners under the seat, or doors on the front, get used weekly. In a kitchen banquette that is where the table linen, the placemats and the things you need at the table live.
Where does banquette seating work best?
Against a wall in a kitchen, in a bay window, and in the corner of an open plan room where a table meets two walls.
The corner is the strongest case. An L shaped banquette in a corner seats considerably more people than chairs on the same two sides, because there is no gap between seats and nothing to pull out.
In a bay, seating follows the shape of the bay and turns a feature into a usable part of the room. Our kitchens page covers how seating is planned into a kitchen layout.
Everything we make in wood carries a two year warranty against defects.
How it works
Send us photos, a short video and rough sizes of the space and tell us what you want. Our designers draw it in 3D so you see the finished piece in your own room, and you get one complete itemised quote. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged until you say yes.
Who is our built in seating for?
Everything we build is premium and made to the highest spec: made to measure, designed in 3D, scribed to the walls and fitted by our own team, and it is priced to that standard. Quality at this level is not a budget purchase, and we would rather say so here than after you have waited for a quote. If you are working to a tight budget, we are honestly not the right fit.
One team for this and the rest of the job
The same team that makes this fits it, and we also do kitchens, fitted wardrobes, internal doors and windows. If more than one thing needs doing, it is one contractor, one schedule and one point of contact rather than four. See the rest of our work.
Frequently asked questions
Do you make the cushions too?
Cushions are specified with the seat because the thickness affects the finished height. We will talk through the options when we design it.
Can a window seat go over a radiator?
It can, with a ventilated front so the heat still gets out. That has to be designed in rather than added later.
Will it seat more people than chairs?
Usually yes, because nobody needs space to pull a chair back and people can shuffle along.
Is a banquette better value than buying chairs?
Over time, yes. A banquette seats more people in the same floor area, and the base gives you storage a set of chairs cannot. Ours are premium and made to the highest spec, so they are not a budget purchase.