Designers Are Bringing This Kitchen Detail Into Living Rooms (It Looks Incredibly Cozy!)

Designers around the globe are taking to Instagram to declare: Banquettes are back! Some may argue they never left (I’m with them), but there is indeed something new about the way they’re being used in home design this year.

Traditionally, these cozy seating areas that nestle into a corner of your kitchen replace dining chairs — and give you a fun opportunity to layer warmth, texture, and pattern into your space. But banquettes don’t have to just exist in the kitchen. In fact, they look just as chic in a living room, as one designer has proved.

Meg Piercy, HGTV star and creator behind the Instagram account @megmade, made a case for bringing the banquette back into the mainstream. “They make a space feel warmer, more inviting, and more thoughtful from the start,” she wrote in a recent caption. “There’s something about them that feels softer and more lived in than a traditional dining setup, and they instantly bring that ‘stay awhile’ energy that makes a home feel so good.”

In the collection of banquette examples she shared, one photo from Noel Pittman Design really stood out from the rest. And that’s because this banquette isn’t anywhere near a kitchen or dining room table.

While the banquette in Pittman’s post is actually built into a far corner of an existing dining room, she has it styled like a couch or casual seating area with side tables, an area rug, and several comfy pillows. 

This would be a great option if you have a space that serves multiple purposes. By day, the banquette could serve as a seating or work-from-home space, and by night, it could transform into an entertaining area, complete with a dining table and chairs on the opposite side.

As Piercy continued in her Instagram caption, banquettes are “practical” because they “maximize space, and they can completely change how a room feels without needing a huge footprint. Whether it’s a cozy corner, a smaller dining area, or a spot that needs a little more intention, banquettes have a way of making everything feel more custom, collected, and lived in.”

A small banquette could also come in useful in a mudroom for easy on-and-off with shoes, in a bedroom that features an awkward corner that could use a bit more personality, or even in an office space that you’d like to make a bit more inviting and enjoyable to work in.

So even though you may be used to seeing banquettes in the kitchen, they can be used in so many more areas throughout the home to add coziness and style. You’ll now be looking at the corners in your home in an entirely new light!