banquette inspiration, part one

Since we bought our house almost four years ago, the kitchen has been a work in progress. Recently we made another giant leap forward when we had a new banquette and cabinet-run installed. I’ve known since we bought the house that I wanted banquette so we could have a cosy place for hanging out in the kitchen. It was also a practical solution since the space for a table is very tight. I'll be sharing much more of the kitchen and the work we have done, but first some of the banquettes that provided inspiration.

This little corner designed by Chris Barrett is divine. I love the soft colors and the pillows by C Geller create a focal point without distracting from the beautiful view outside. Notice also the rectangular wine table, pretty cool.

Photographed by Victoria Pearson for House Beautiful, Jan 2009

This image of Dan Marty's garden from Western Interiors is also swoon-worthy. I spy Peter Dunham's Samarkand, a print that makes me go weak in the knees. The red and blue hues are a bit bold for my taste, but work very well for this outdoor setting. It's the combination of the prints with the use of the stripe for the bench cushion that I love. And how fab is that wicker settee? I seriously want to create an outdoor space like this one.

Photographed by Tim Street-Porter for Western Interiors, April/May 2009

And just this month Robert Shapiro's new Malibu house was featured in Architectural Digest. The stripe-on-stripe is certainly unexpected, but it works so well with the diamond-pattern tiles and the wall finish. Not sure I could pull this off in my kitchen, but I do want to hang out in this little corner for an entire afternoon with a never-ending pile of magazines, books, and a bottle of bubbly.

Photographed by Miguel Flores-Vianna for Architectural Digest, April 2011

I'll be sharing more of the kitchen and the many other projects at our house in the months to come. For now, have a great weekend and see you Monday!