SaveA clay-pink cushion softens a built-in plaster bench beneath the vines, with lemons, a clay jug and a jute rug close by.
The quick answer
A banquette cushion is a made-to-measure seat cut to a built-in kitchen or dining bench and priced by size, like any bench cushion. Seats of about 98 in (2.5 m) or longer are best made as equal pieces, and corners as separate cushions. Many nook cushions go 2 in thick instead of the 4 in standard, in a fabric that wipes or washes clean.
What a banquette cushion is, and who ends up sitting on it
One past banquette order ran 138 5/8 in (352 cm) in a single piece, with double piping and a zipper down the long side. It went out at the regular listing price, because banquette cushions are priced by size like any other bench. I still would have split it.
A banquette cushion is a made-to-measure seat for a built-in bench: the kitchen nook, the dining wall, the long run under a window that doubles as a homework desk. When the bench turns a corner, see L-shaped corner bench cushions; when it wraps a table on three sides, see U-shaped banquette cushions. The whole room lives under kitchen nook cushions.
Shapes and edges: straight runs, clipped corners and curves
Most banquette cushions are box cushions: flat top, flat bottom, a band around the sides and piping top and bottom. The box edge sits square against the wall and hides the small wobbles every built-in bench has. A straight welt is a kind of honesty, and on a long run the piping line is the first thing anyone notices.
Not every nook is square. The workshop has made six-sided seats, stepped benches, curved breakfast nooks and a teal three-piece corner set with a clipped middle piece. Measure every side, draw the shape with every size written on it, photograph the drawing and the space, and approve the clean diagram that comes back before anything is cut. For posts, see notched cushions; for real angled nooks, see breakfast nook cushions with an angled end.
Fabrics that survive breakfast
A banquette sits next to the syrup, the crayons and the dog's favorite spot under the table. One of the regrets we hear most often is a fabric chosen for looks rather than for the life it would lead.
Velvet stands up to heavy use, though at a table of small children a wipe-clean weave is kinder.
Striped cotton and ticking, the classic nook stripe. The roll is about 55 in (140 cm) wide, so stripes run front to back and a long striped piece needs a seam.
The count is how many published readings use each family. Open a family for its swatch book, care notes and neighbors.
Foam, thickness and the table that doesn't move
Every custom banquette cushion gets the same foam: high-density, high-resilience polyurethane of about 2.0 lb/ft³ (32 kg/m³), medium-firm. It keeps a flat, tailored top for years, so you don't need extra thickness to be comfortable.
The table stays put, so every inch of cushion comes out of the gap between seat and tabletop. That is why so many nook cushions end up 2 in thick, not the standard 4 in. How far is it from the top of your bench to the underside of your table? Run it through the seat height calculator and banquette cushion thickness and table height.
Backs have no rigid board inside: a removable piped cover with shredded foam about 4 in (10 cm) thick, or a firmer foam core wrapped in fiber. See back cushion height and seat-and-back cushions.
A real project
Three cushions for a table with small hands around it
A family wrote to the workshop needing three piped banquette cushions: 50 x 18.5 x 2 in, 59 x 18.5 x 2 in and a small 21 x 11.5 x 2 in piece. They had one firm requirement. The kids are messy, so the fabric had to be very easy to clean.
The workshop didn't suggest thicker foam or a darker color. It sent the premium fabric chart, which is water-resistant and wipes clean, and offered other charts if none of the colors suited. All three pieces stayed at 2 in. Nobody needed extra thickness; they needed a fabric that forgives.
I learned the same lesson on my own kitchen bench years ago, dear. The jam won.
Measured
50 x 18.5 x 2 in, 59 x 18.5 x 2 in, 21 x 11.5 x 2 in
What it taught
Kitchen banquettes with kids need wipe-clean fabric more than extra thickness.
Banquette mistakes I would rather you skipped
Giving the full wall length for both legs of a corner banquette. One cushion owns the corner; the other is shortened by its depth.
Picking light linen for a rental, or corduroy for a daily family bench, because it looked lovely in the photo. Corduroy ribs can split under hard use.
Ordering one soft back pillow for a long run. An 88 in back sags; two 44 in pillows hold their shape.
Leaving the layout out of the order note. Write each piece's size and which piece owns the corner, and ask for a photo before it ships.
Unpacking every piece before checking the color at one end of the roll pack, so a wrong set can't go back sealed.
Photographs from the workbench
Open any photograph large; each one has its own link and a Save button.
SaveA crisp blue stripe cuts through busy wallpaper and a mustard curtain, keeping the dining corner bright.SaveA coral hibiscus print with matching coral piping turns a white corner banquette into a breakfast cafe.SaveTwo rectangles and a clipped corner piece cover an L-shaped banquette, each removable on its own.SaveAn oak banquette along a café window takes one long pinstripe cushion, facing a row of marble bistro tables.SaveA cottage kitchen nook where the stripe's olive matches the painted beadboard and its pink repeats the geranium on the table.SaveCaramel piping links sage velvet to the oak table and rattan pendant in a compact dining alcove.SaveA built-in courtyard banquette dressed in a terracotta and saffron stripe, with a matching pad on the loose bench opposite. The tiles underfoot share the same warm clay color.SaveA low side angle shows the box depth, white piping and removable zippered cover of a sage bench set.SaveWide taupe stripes and sage paneling give a cottage kitchen nook an easy farmhouse feel.SaveThe rounded inner corner lets the charcoal cushion wrap the nook in one smooth line.SaveOn an oak corner banquette over terracotta tiles, a taupe honeycomb cushion keeps the whole kitchen in warm, earthy tones.
A long banquette seat fits better in equal pieces: a 92 in run made as two 46 in cushions lasts longer and zips off for washing one half at a time.
A banquette is a long stripe of color across a kitchen, so decide what it is talking to. The terracotta pink cushion under a vine pergola borrows its color from the clay; the cobalt ticking stripe stands up to busy woodland wallpaper; the sage velvet takes its caramel piping from an oak table.
Pillows are sold separately. A buyer in the US who had ordered a navy ticking stripe banquette cushion came back for three matching lumbars: 24 x 12 in covers with 25 x 13 in inserts. An insert about 1 in larger than its cover looks full and plump. See lumbar pillows.
How is a custom kitchen banquette cushion priced, especially a really long one?
The workshop's answer
By size on the listing, the same as any bench cushion. A 21 x 138 5/8 x 2 in cushion with double piping and a zipper down the long side went at the regular listing price, and fractional-inch sizes are fine. A built-in set with backs sized to the remaining height is quoted together. Tufted nook sets come as one custom order link, with making and delivery times confirmed in the quote.
A common question
My banquette seat is 92 inches long. Should the cushion be one piece?
The workshop's answer
The workshop suggested two equal 46 in (117 cm) pieces: they fit better, last longer and are easier to handle. Seats of about 98 to 118 in (2.5 to 3 m) and longer are normally split, and a 197 in (500 cm) nook was made in three pieces. Each piece is its own cart item. It's still your choice; send a photo and measurements for advice, or ask for one piece.
A common question
There's a post at one end of our banquette. Can the cushion be cut around it?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Mark each notch's width, depth and position along the edge on your drawing and add a few wide-angle photos of the seat. The workshop redraws it as a template and asks you to confirm before cutting. The zipper runs along the back edge, so say if a notch sits there. Ties are an optional extra; give each one's position and length.
A common question
Can you make a padded back panel with a board inside that screws to the wall?
The workshop's answer
Not as standard. The backs have no rigid board, so they can't hang on a French cleat. They're made like back pillows instead, with shredded foam about 4 in (10 cm) thick or a firmer fiber-wrapped foam core, and attach with hook-and-loop strips, adhesive, loops on a rod, or ties on the top corners that hang from hooks or a rail. A channel back of vertical rolls would need upholstering onto a thin board.
A common question
I love a cushion in one of your photos. How do I order the exact fabric and piping?
The workshop's answer
Send a screenshot of that exact photo, since listings show several cushions, and the shop names both codes. The tan cushion with brown piping, for example, is linen L07 with velvet 110 piping. For an older photo with renumbered codes, write 'same as the first picture' and it will be matched. Sunlight and camera angle can shift a tone slightly, but it's the same fabric.
A common question
Our breakfast nook is curved at one end. Can you still make the cushion?
The workshop's answer
Yes. Curved breakfast nooks, stepped benches, six-sided window seats and rounded ends have all been made. Draw the shape on paper with every side measured, including rounded corners, joints and cut-outs, and send a photo of the drawing plus one of the space. The workshop redraws it as a clean diagram for you to confirm, then quotes, and it can match the fabric of an earlier order.
Have it made
Have your banquette cushion made — ask Maggie’s workshop
I once cut a lovely cushion two inches short, and I have not forgotten it. That is why the workshop goes over your measurements with you on the phone. — Maggie
Leave your details and the workshop will call you to confirm measurements, fabric, foam and piping. No prices, dates or payment on this page: it is a request, not an order.
Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you
Can a banquette cushion overhang the front edge of the bench?
Up to about 2 in, when an inner support wrap is added so the overhanging edge doesn't droop. Say so in writing, with the overhang you want; otherwise the cushion is cut to the seat size you give.
Is a banquette seat cushion sold together with its back cushion?
No. Listing prices are per single cushion, and a seat and its backrest are separate items. Add the backrest to the cart at its own size and write 'backrest' in the note. Pillows styled in the photos are sold separately too.
Will a long striped banquette cushion have a seam in it?
Usually, yes. The fabric roll is about 55 in (140 cm) wide, so on long cushions the stripes run front to back, across the cushion, and a long striped piece has to be joined. Stripes are matched on the top face only.
What keeps a banquette cushion from creeping forward?
Ties sewn into the seams at the corners or back, or a non-slip base that replaces the whole bottom panel and grips by friction. The base isn't adhesive or rubber, leaves no residue and is safe on wood. Hook-and-loop tabs and snaps aren't made.
Can a banquette back cushion be as firm as the seat?
Yes. Backrests are softer than seats by default, but a backrest can be made equally firm. For a flatter, more upright back, ask for a solid foam core wrapped in fiber instead of shredded foam.
How many people can sit on my banquette?
Plan on about 24 in of bench per diner, so a 72 in straight run seats three comfortably. Design guides also ask for at least 36 in of walkway beside the table, and 42 in or more if you can spare it. Pedestal or center-support tables let more knees fit, because corner legs block the seats at each end.
Will a ready-made 4-piece nook cushion set fit my built-in banquette?
Only if your runs happen to match its pieces. Stock nook sets come in fixed sizes with a tolerance of about 2 in either way, often filled with fiber and marked spot-clean only, and stock pieces can come up short of the seat. If any run differs from the set by more than an inch or two, cushions cut to your measurements avoid the gaps.
What seat height should a banquette cushion give at a 30 in table?
About 17 to 19 in from the floor to the top of the cushion, with 18 in the usual target. That leaves roughly 10 to 12 in between seat and tabletop. To find the thickness, subtract the bare bench height from 18 in: a 15 in bench wants a 3 in cushion, and a 16 in bench a 2 in one.
Stitch straight — Maggie
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Readings
Photographs read by the masters: banquette & kitchen nook cushions
Real cushions made for real rooms, each read for proportion, fabric and fit.
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