Sometimes I run across photos of truly inspirational solutions for eat in kitchens. Instead of just a small table and chairs, built in seating often offers extra hidden storage and other uses of the space other than just dining. I certainly enjoy reading a book in a lovely window seat, or sprawling out a work project next to a window with great light, and preferably a lovely view of the great outdoors. The following are some creative solutions for Kitchen Banquets and Bench Seating.

A simple bench seat, but color plays such a large part in what makes it so inviting. Eclectic and Country. Comfortable and Casual.

Colorful Bench Seat

Simple yet elegant. There is still plenty of seating in this small kitchenette.

Reading, resting or eating, you have room for it all.

Every square inch counts. Now you not only have storage in a bench seat, but inside the table as well. I love baskets for holding all those small items I don’t use very much… Cookie cutters, rolling pins, cherry pitters, etc. It would be a great place to store table linens as well. Purchase the table at Potterybarn.com

Pottery Barn Shayne drop leaf table.

If it were me, I probably would have built a bench seat straight across the alcove. However there seems to be something under the bench seat, for which this placement may have been hiding something construction wise that was awkward, and the bench seat placement covered it up nicely.

small alcove updates

I confess to being a lover of red and there is so much to like about this bench seat area. I’m not wild about the table, but everything else is appealing.

Built in hutch and bench seat. Brilliant!

I have a warm spot in my heart for Windsor chairs. The woven blinds blend nicely with the bench seat’s upholstery and all the disparate styles are pulled together quite nicely.

Eclectic understatement

A bright and airy sun room eating area. The lusciously colored chairs and pillows feel so fresh and spring like it practically invites you to sit down and have a bowl of fresh fruit.

Sun Room Chic

Sometimes bench seats are just the ticket to solve some flow issues. Notice how the doorway creates a walkway that would be a tight squeeze with a normal table and chairs. Bench seats that hug the walls move everything over, often buying just enough space to create clear walkways without bumping into furniture.

More eclectic combinations.

Custom upholstery coordinated with artwork makes all the difference between mundane and marvelous.

How to utilize dead corner space

This built in banquet is part of an incredibly beautiful bus conversion. You never camped (glamped?) with so much style!

Bus conversion banquet

This banquet is one of my favorites, as it incorporates an area for my cookbook fetish.

Built in banquet with book and decorative showcase areas.

I can’t begin to describe the sheer wonderfulness of an eating area that has the cozy ambiance of a built in fireplace and pizza oven. It appears that the area is even complete with a chalk board wall for when artsy inspiration strikes, completely changeable with your mood or the seasons. What else is there in life?

Eating area with fireplace and pizza oven.

When pressed for space, sometimes an attached bench seat to the back of an island will fit more people – and more comfortably than a few bar stools that would normally go in the same place.

Seating attached to the back of a kitchen island

Built in banquets are such a great idea for long, narrow kitchens when a homeowner would like an eat in kitchen without a table and chairs taking up valuable space. And look at all the storage in those deep drawers!

Built in seating with extra storage

Well now that we have all these wonderful places to dine, what’s for dinner, and when do we eat?