Did they ever really leave? My love affair with banquette seating started in the kitchen of my childhood home. It was a big brown semi-circular pleather bench nestled in our carpeted kitchen (you heard me…carpeted…the 70’s were design-challenged years) and I loved it! As an adult, the passion for benches continues. I’ll break into a speed walk in restaurants, just to make sure I reach the banquette first.
I think the most beautiful banquette I’ve seen is in the home of my friend, Sharon Laxon of Layers & Layers. It’s quite tall and wraps around two walls to envelope the dining table–the upholstery is absolutely stunning. If my photography classes work out, maybe Sharon will allow me to take some shots to share with you (I might have to resort to bribery).
All this talk about banquettes reminded me of a hilarious family trip when I was 11 years old. My family, including my two older sisters who were 15 and 17 at the time, stopped in to a Dairy Queen restaurant on the way home. We were all mad at my father for some reason, so he sat alone on one side of the booth while “the women” all sat on the other side glaring at him. All of a sudden, our side of the booth completely collapsed crashing to the floor. My mom and sisters and I lay flayling on the floor in the middle of the busy restaurant, while my dad laughed his head off. Drat!