The Brilliant Way HGTV's Alison Victoria Repurposes A Traditional Dining Room

When it comes to dining at home, you may have a certain view of what a traditional dining room should look like. You might see the standard circular or rectangular table in the center of the room with accompanying chairs. When it came to her client's home in a Chicago suburb, Alison Victoria swapped the traditional dining room seating for something more modern. She used the corner of the room to install a banquette seating area. "Nobody is using a formal dining room these days, especially not a young couple like this," she said.

One of the greatest perks of going with this fresh route for dining room seating is its mix of formal and informal dining. "The banquette area I wanted to create creates just an invitation to chill or fine dine." Since it incorporates upholstered backing along the L-shaped wall portion, comfort (and lots of seating) was still taken into consideration. The built-in seating that used the corner wall kept the room open and spacious.

Unlike traditional dining room seating, a banquette calls for a more lax, informal take. While traditional dining room tables have hard-surfaced chairs, banquettes are cushioned and upholstered. This seating arrangement uses the wall and covers a large area, offering more space for everyone to sit. Because of its cushions, you feel more encouraged to lean back and rest on the upholstery rather than sit up straight.

If you find yourself hosting a lot or have people coming over, you can trust that your banquette seating has the perfect amount of room. With the upholstery and space, banquettes are great for entertaining and sitting longer with your guests. They also have the tendency to make your dining room look sleek and more clean. Since there aren't chairs and bulky items sitting in the center of the room, you'll enjoy the more open floor plan this allows your space to have.