Long Dining Banquette

Pieter Estersohn

These days, most of us have found ourselves needing a little more from our homes. That extra floor space in your bedroom between your bed and dresser now doubles as a yoga studio, for example. That living room with an unexpected color scheme and a chic collection also functions as your at-home studio for Zoom calls. And the dining room? It's now your office when you need to work from home.

And if the seating around whatever table where you're camping out at is less than comfy—or better yet, if you have a corner of a larger space that you need to convert into a little nook—it may be time to consider a banquette.

These upholstered benches that scoot their backs all the way up to a wall are staples in restaurants, and for good reason: They can accommodate a crowd in a space-efficient manner, and they encourage lingering. In a restaurant, that means more opportunities to run up the tab. At home, that's a much cozier spot work projects, school projects, craft projects, and anything else you can dream up.

Here are 13 plush banquette seating ideas—all of which are just as cozy as they are chic—that will have you reconsidering those overlooked corners in your home.

1853 philip mitchell white cottage

Annie Schlechter

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cathy kincaid connecticut banquette

Tria Giovan

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The Cozy Cottage Banquette

A built-in banquette in the family room of this Connecticut cottage designed by Cathy Kincaid turns a light-filled corner into an intimate spot for reading, emails, tea, or even conversation. "Everyone likes to sit in a window," says Kincaid.

le berre vevaud paris banquette

Stephan Julliard

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caroline gidiere birmingham banquette

Brian Woodcock

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sig bergamin miami banquette

Björn Wallander

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jeffrey bilhuber manhattan banquette

Thomas Loof

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peter dunham manhattan banquette

Max Kim-Bee

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susan ferrier atlanta banquette

Erica George Dines

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The Moody Banquette

At her own Atlanta home, a Tudor built in 1925, designer Susan Ferrier furnished a corner in her kitchen with a banquette uphollstered in tufted black fabric. Stools from Lee Industries and a chair upholstered in white, along with a collection of 18 drawings, lend contrast to the corner seating and ebonized floors.

thomas hamel sydney banquette

Anson Smart

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The Mirrored Banquette

In his airy Sydney apartment, designer Thomas Hamel tucked a handsome banquette into a mirror-paneled niche. The chairs are upholstered in a Kerry Joyce linen. Art, Gabriel Rivera.

celerie kemble manhattan banquette

Francesco Lagnese

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The Bistro-Style Banquette

The kitchen table in this New York apartment designed by Celerie Kemble is filled with bistro essentials: a custom banquette upholstered in red Moore & Giles leather; bistro-style chairs (and barstools) from TK Collections; and retro-inspired light fixtures from Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. The table is from Boffi.

carolyn malone atlanta banquette