Design Tips for Banquettes

We are proud to offer three styles of banquettes: the Baxter, the Eloise, and the Sully. After several requests, we realized how hard banquettes are to find in the market. We hope this blog helps answer any questions you might have about ordering custom banquettes!

How to measure for a banquette?

Our upholstered banquettes are customizable down to the inch. The maximum length per piece is 95” but you can use several pieces to create a larger banquette. When measuring for a banquette you need to consider a few different things. If you need larger than 95", email hello@coleyhome.com and our team will see what we can do for you!

1. Your space?

You want to make sure it fits your space well. Please review the spec sheets for the Baxter, Eloise, or Sully and make sure the depth and height work well in your space. It is also important to take into account the window height as well as leaving a few inches of extra room on each side. We recommend leaving 1.5” per side because every fabric is different and once a piece is fully upholstered it could be slightly larger.

2. How many people you would like to seat?

You need around 21 inches per person

3. What table you are planning to use?

An ideal table for a banquette has the supports in the middle so it is easier to get in and out. We would recommend the banquette going at least 15” past the table for easy entry.

What fabric do you recommend for a banquette?

We asked our founder, Coley, what she recommends for banquettes:

"I would recommend a performance fabric for an upholstered banquette bench. A vinyl is your most durable option. Our Haynes, Goldie, & Ostrich fabric lines are wonderful vinyl options that are easy to wipe clean. You can filter on our swatch page to only see vinyls! Our indoor/outdoor fabric, Poole, comes in 4 different colors and is also a great option for a dining banquette. We also have several other performance options, including Rattan, Nomad, Beckett, and Nolan. As pretty as white is, even if it is a performance fabric, I would recommend staying away for a dining banquette."

How to style your banquette? 

Pillows on an upholstered banquette really pull together the look. On cornering banquettes, we recommend using a Box Pillow and a Kidney Pillow in the corner. This will make it more comfortable for the person who is sitting in the corner as well. For the Sully Banquette, you can do 2 Box Pillows on either side. You can also add one Kidney Pillow to place on your preferred side. Pillows are a good opportunity to play around with fun prints!

A few tables we love:

Trick: We love 27-28” table height for a low loungy dining area and a standard 29” for a more formal setting.