Upholstery in Kitchens

Three soft seating arrangements provide cushy dynamics for dining and lounging.

As the  kitchen expands to be a central living space, it’s natural that seating areas will include upholstered sofas, banquettes and chairs. The issues with upholstery in the kitchen revolve around maintenance given the natural propensity for fabrics to stain, absorb cooking odors and become difficult to keep clean. New fibers, green fabrics and improved stain-resistant coatings are changing that but anyone who wants a comfortable place to sit will likely tolerate the frequent fluffing.

The breakfast room of a Manhattan apartment [top], has a fully upholstered, fitted banquette (or “booth” as my parents called it) along with chair seats are done in a slightly iridescent looking cotton-candy pastel. While it’s odd to see an über popular Eero Saarinen marble-top pedestal table and chairs lipsticked up like this, it does make a very sweet space. Created by designers Celerie Kemble and Anna Burke for a family with a small child, this nook packs a definite punch.

In a traditionally styled white kitchen, the usual back-of-the-island storage or stool seating/eating bar gives way to a leather sofa with traditional nailhead detailing. At first glace, it looks someone pulled a couch out of the den, backed it up against the island and – by a stroke of luck – it fit perfectly. While such happy accidents happen, we can’t recall another instance of a sofa, easy chairs and coffee table so closely integrated into the working area of a kitchen. From the standpoint of common sense, it seems lovely to just walk around the island and flop down instead of trekking across the room.

Let me start by saying that I find this five-sided table a little weird. That aside, here’s a conventional  banquette with loose upholstered cushions on the seat and a tight upholstered back, a choice we see most frequently since the structure can be built in along with the cabinets and the covering is relatively easy to change. The key to comfort here is the thickness and material used for the seat pad but the flexibility and compact arrangement makes this a logical alternative to chairs.

(Source: Lonnymag, Bonesteel Trout Hall, 2michaels)

Here is more on kitchen seating and a look at formal banquettes.