I use Ikea very often in my kitchen designs with great luck . I love them and IMO you can’t beat the quality for the price. The Besta system from Ikea for the entertainment area is awesome. I personally do not like banquettes for seating ever.

@Patricia Colwell: Please tell me why you don't like banquettes? I was considering doing so to reduce the visual clutter in our small dining room and to increase the area between the table and entrance to kitchen. I also thought I could use the banquette for storage and maybe even include a shallow credenza along the wall. I'm considering widening the entrance to the kitchen and shortening the wall to the left of the door to increase continuity without compromising work space in kitchen. I need to know some cons. Thanks!

Banquettes and the now ubiquitous bench are not as comfortable as a chair when dining. There are no arms, your "seat" is squished somewhere between two other "seats", and you are hostage to the end people should you want to arise. Also, your distance to the table is fixed; you can't move closer or further away from the table. This is a problem when there are children or people of different sizes.

I wouldn't want the table to be fixed. I'm considering an "L" shaped bench with cushioned seat&back plus 2-3 chairs.

This is a panoramic shot of our dining/living room. You can see that our small kitchen is closed off. I want to remove the fireplace/chimney to gain more usable space in kitchen, living room and adjacent laundry room. (We live in SoCal and there is a crack in the masonry so we never use it.) I'd like to add an "L" shaped entertainment center where the TV is.

Banquettes are only useful for corralling kids. 2 kids. Any expectations beyond that need to repeatedly request the corner booth at a restaurant until they understand reality of living with awkward seats that no one wants to be in the middle of with everyone having to offloading everyone until the one who has to pee can get out.

We have a STUNNING banquette, found it cheap from CL, custom made, lady was moving back to Paris and couldn't bring with, it's soft, comfy and everyone loves it! Oh, did I mention the storage?

That's what I'm talking about. Feeling penned in isn't really an issue in our home. We will soon be empty nesters and we don't have guests over every week.

I second Sophie's comment. I am one of 7 and my parents had old high-backed church pews we sat in for dinner...it was the perfect way to keep us contained and feeling guilty (Catholic humor intended) :). We did outgrow these and I can't image sitting in a confined space like that as an adult. My 2 cents.

Instead of an L shaped banquette, what about one that is only along the back wall and long enough for only 2 seats? That would still give you the room?

@cpartist: Which wall are you thinking? I'd like to envision your idea.

I really appreciate the pro & con feedback re the banquette. Now I have questions about the chimney removal and the space that I'd gain in our small enclosed kitchen. I don't expect to change the footprint of our Approx. 100 SF kitchen. I would gain an entire corner if we remove the chimney. I also want to widen the left side of the doorway that is hidden in this first photo (wastebasket). Then, I'm thinking of taking out the top half to the wall leading to the dining room and making it a pony wall. This would open up the kitchen without losing counter space. We would lose some cabinets but I would put in some shelves. Plus, we would gain cabinets and counter space with the chimney removal. I'm doing my homework now for a remodel in 2019. This is a 15 year old "flip" on a 1942 home. All materials used were the cheapest that could be found. I cannot wait to put my own signature on this! We've lived here for 7 years. I have to say that if I had done the kitchen remodel right when we moved in, I wouldn't have even thought of removing the chimney. Now I see it as a major waste of space. That's one thing about not making major changes until after we've lived in the house for a while. Also, pardon the mess--Sunday morning is a time for relaxing in this home.

Do you prefer to sit in a booth at a restaurant? If so, go for the banquette. Personally, I love them: love the look, love the space savings.

I prefer the type that has a bench against the wall but chairs on the "open side". This allows you to set elderly or infirm people in the chairs, where they can be seated more easily.

If you decide to build one, pay attention to the table feet. A small table with a central foot is perfect because it doesn't impair movement as people scoot into the booth, whereas the legs of a four-legged table will be in the way.

Mrs. Pete is 100% correct. And pedestal table is a must.

Loved my banquette in my last house and having another built in my new house.