DIY Kitchen Banquette Inspiration

I always gravitate towards a banquette or booth at a restaurant.  There's something so cozy and intimate about them.  Luckily I have the perfect spot in my kitchen for one but not necessarily the resources to buy what I envisage.

There are quite a few upholstered benches on the market, specifically the Harper Banquette from World Market and the Tribeca Banquette from Ballard Designs.  But they're either too small, too bulky, or too expensive.  I wanted a bench that would fill the entire corner but not take up too much space (contradictory I know).

Here are my inspiration photos.

Tufts!!!  Am I crazy or what?

You can find the links to the above pictures here.

And this is where I'm at right now.

I'll post a tutorial and source list next week.  Lots to share.

DIY Kitchen Banquette

I finally started on a project that was conceived almost 2 years ago!  Yes, I've been procrastinating about this one for a long time because I knew it would be quite involved, and boy, was I right!  For the past week I've spent countless hours measuring, cutting, screwing, glueing, tufting and stapling.  And I'm less than half way done.  

Here's some progress pictures.  

I decided to use inexpensive Besta shelves from Ikea for the base.  These will be covered by a skirt but will provide invaluable storage. 

I'll post a tutorial and some tips I've learnt regarding tufting.  There's quite a few different methods you can use, and I think I've tried them all.  Essentially I'll be tufting what is the eqivalent of 4 king sized headboards.  My poor hands!

As you can see I've got a long way to go.  It doesn't help that I've run out of linen.  I bought the original fabric in January last year.  Let's hope the new fabric is the same color or I'm screwed!

You may notice that the chandelier is hanging wonky.  That's because I keep hitting my bloody head on  it when I'm working.  It's starting to become a bit of a joke.  As you can tell I still have a sense of humor about this project.  But it was touch and go when the fifth stupid button popped off.  I'll tell you about that and all the other trials and tribulations later in the week.  Stay tuned.

New Project

This is what's happening in my kitchen at the moment.  Can you guess what it's going to be?