awesome! I wish I had space for this. The table on the first picture is amazing!!

The first one is my favorite but I also like #5, 6, 8 and 10.

I can just imagine how disruptive it would be to have the person in the middle have to get up from the table. I'll keep my chair, thanks.

We really like this idea and considered it for our home a few years ago. Our kids are more contained in booth seating (they are preschoolers)

Well, thanks for ruining my morning with a jealousy fit. Now I know that Amber from Amber's Interiors has MY dream rug in her dining nook.

(I actually think she may actually be living in my Dream Home. Any chance of a tour??)

(The shock threw me into a fit of 'actuallys', ha.)

Oh, and that retro one in number 9 is so SWEET! These have made me smile. :)

I have 2 build-in banquettes in my breakfast nook, but as much as they are space-saving, they're terrible for my back, difficult to clean up and cumbersome to get in and out of. They tend to accumulate crumbs under the cushions, which are difficult to clean themselves because of their size. They sure look cozy but it's really not comfortable at all nor practical.

We had a banquette in our previous house - a very small turn-of-the-century cottage. I loved it. Really useful and space saving (it had storage under the seats) and great for the kids. I also liked how how it made dining feel more cozy and intimate and comfortable.

When we moved to a condo, no more banquette meant that I also had to acquire more dining chairs.

You couldn't pay me enough to have one in my home.

As mentioned, uncomfortable seating, awkward to get in and out, no one ever wants to be on the inside, and contortionistic to clean.

The idea of it is unfortunately better than the reality.

I like them, it's like having a diner booth at home. And everyone loves a diner booth.

I love these. And I only wish my family would stay at the table long enough for someone to have to suffer the inconvenience of letting a person out who was "trapped" in the middle.

Do agree that sometimes they are not the most comfortable seats, though...that would be important to me.

Ours is original to our house and we don't have back problems (they are super comfy), but they are AWKWARD to get in and out of. Our little guy's booster fits on the bench. We're considering getting an oval or more rounded table to fix the problem of getting in and out.

http://www.twobedroomsandababy.com/2012/02/banquette-done.html

I ended up covering ours in clear plastic to make it easier to wipe down because the crumbs are HORRIBLE.

Anyway - I would have loved this when I was a kid and I think it is super charming - so it stays for my little guy and his cousins :)

I love any sort of banquettes or built-in nooks -- I've always been fascinated with built-in bench seats at stair landings as well. Since we didn't have the architecture to build a banquette at our house, I created one out of furniture (a MCM vinyl sofa, table withe pedestal base and two Karim Rashid Oh Chairs). It may not be the most comfortable thing in the whole world but I still love it lots. Thanks for the round-up.

I have been lusting after banquette kitchen seating forever. I am completely willing to suffer a bit to have this particular adorableness in my house. (And since my kitchen is straight out of the 50's it's totally appropriate!)

www.the-bs-hive.blogspot.com

I must have the marble table in #7, source??

Haven't been a fan of banquet seating ever since I tried to get out of the "inside seat" one time & bruised by hip on the sharp corner of the table. (Just looking at some of those pointy cornered tables in cramped seating make me wince!) However, the oval & round tables really soften (visually & physically) the blow. #8 is too cramped & dark looking for me. #5 & 10, with the rounded tables & bright open area would be more my style.

I have one built into my 1920s kitchen. It isn't super practical, but I do use it all of the time for casual meals...kitchen desk...etc....it is the really the only means of having seating in a smallish kitchen.

This is so homely, I love the antique hardwood!

My aunt used to have one of these. It was very cool. The table was also built in oval with a unique feature that allowed you to shift it outward and rotate for easy exit and entry. I have never seen anything else like it. If I were to have a banquette, it would have to have a feature like this, otherwise, it just feels too awkward for real life.

I have a little built-in booth like this, dating back to sometime around 1915. It's pretty small, and really only seats two comfortably for eating. But it works well for me as a desk or a place to draw, and can seat closer to 4 for playing cards or having drinks. It's not that comfortable, but my friends like sitting at it for the novelty factor.

Mine also has great storage underneath. Because of the old, solid wood, I don't have to worry too much about damaging it-- I keep cleaning supplies in one side, and my tools in the other.