The Off-the-Shelf Banquette a Designer Chooses When Custom Cabinetry Isn't in the Budget

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There are certain products that interior designers return to time and again because they simply deliver. In this series, we ask a pro to reveal a current go-to favorite.

Much like center islands and walk-in pantries, banquettes have become a cornerstone of the contemporary kitchen. We've watched designers wrap them around structural columns, drape them in rosy chenille, and devise clever backrest hacks (foam rollers, believe it or not). But commissioning a custom breakfast nook isn't always financially feasible. When that's the case, Santa Monica designer Albina Hunt turns to a ready-made banquette available through Williams Sonoma.

The Capri Upholstered Banquette is fully modular, allowing you to configure either a linear arrangement with individual seats or a classic curved booth. There are also 75 fabric options to choose from, the majority classified as performance materials—including several velvet selections. "It's refined and adaptable enough that nobody questions whether it's custom. It simply looks like it belongs," Hunt says. The near-limitless configurations are precisely what make the final result feel so bespoke.

While standard sofas have also served as impromptu kitchen banquettes, this piece is engineered specifically for dining. The seat height sits at 19 inches with a 20-inch depth—dimensions that hit the sweet spot for a comfortable, upright meal without the slouch.

And the Capri Banquette isn't limited to kitchens—it integrates beautifully into a generous living area, too. "It's a wonderful way to add supplementary seating around a game table," Hunt suggests. To inject personality into the arrangement, she'd pair it with a vintage table, perhaps this bistro-style piece with turned wood legs or one crowned with 1950s marble. The instant you settle onto that bench, it feels like stepping into your own private café.

Lydia Geisel has been on the editorial team at Domino since 2017. Today, she writes and edits home and renovation stories, including house tours, before and afters, and DIYs, and leads our design news coverage. She lives in New York City.

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