For anyone wondering when we’d move forward with the kitchen banquette idea we mentioned a few weeks ago, the short answer is: we won’t. After a lot of thought (and some disappointed emoticons), we realized it wasn’t the right fit for our space.
When we first floated the banquette, the response was overwhelmingly positive—more than 1,400 comments—and for a while we thought the community enthusiasm would tip us into committing. It almost did. But we kept circling back to practical concerns: would it be awkward to slide in and out of, would it make the room feel cramped, and could we find the right scale so seats felt comfortable without blocking circulation?
One evening we admitted we were stuck in Hesitation City because the banquette simply wasn’t The One. So we did what we always do when a project stalls: we sketched. We drew floorplans, asked ourselves “what aren’t we thinking of?”, and sketched freely—good, bad, and ugly ideas. Some options blocked the doorway, others were out of scale, but the exercise got our wheels turning.
We revisited a floating table, tweaked the banquette concept, and then had an “aha” moment: replace the banquette with a peninsula. It was a little unexpected, but the more we tested the idea in the space, the more it made sense.
To show what we started with, here’s our current layout: a floating table in the kitchen and a larger table in the dining room, roughly represented in a quick SketchUp drawing.
And here’s the plan with the doorway opened, cabinets painted, counters replaced, floor slightly altered, and—most importantly—the new peninsula added.
We’re completely sold on this solution. Taping the peninsula out on the floor and living with the mockup confirmed it: this is the right move for our home. If you loved the banquette, no hard feelings—design choices are personal. But for our layout, the peninsula wins.
The idea came together once we realized we could add a base cabinet to the right of our existing cabinetry. That extra cabinet pushes the peninsula slightly toward the fireplace so it clears the fridge and improves flow, while also adding counter space.
Functionally, the peninsula will give us a counter-height surface with base cabinets behind it. The advantages are numerous:
- Additional work surface and easily accessible cabinet storage on the kitchen side.
- Clear definition of the kitchen without creating a heavy visual barrier or blocking circulation.
- A casual eating area separate from the dining room table, which remains nearby for larger or more formal meals.
- Seating for roughly four people (the mockup chairs are chunkier than what we’ll actually use).
- Useful buffet space for parties and extra seating for guests.
- A spot for homework, laptops, and informal hanging out with our kiddo as she grows.
- Better integration with our off-center fireplace: instead of blocking it (as the banquette would have), the peninsula helps frame a cozy corner around the hearth.
The fireplace benefit was a pleasant surprise. Its awkward placement has always bothered us, but the peninsula makes the fireplace feel intentional—imagine a round mirror above it to visually balance the doorway. We’ll be able to see the fireplace from the dining room, too, which the banquette would have largely blocked.
To make sure the idea actually worked in real life, we moved existing furniture around to simulate the peninsula’s footprint and lived with the setup for about a week. It wasn’t exact, but it was close enough to validate the concept. From the laundry room view, you can see how the fireplace is nicely framed when the future opening is traced out.
We plan to include a short half-wall or knee wall where the peninsula meets the opening. A rendering shows how this cutout will create an open, airy feel while maintaining definition between spaces.
We considered a narrower doorway to avoid the peninsula overhang, but the wider opening feels more open and lets in more light. It also balances the fireplace and doorway visually.
Figuring out the space in front of the fireplace was a key part of our process. After testing with a chair, ottoman, rug, and lamp, we realized that corner could become a cozy reading nook—already a favorite spot for reading with Clara. We might later add a tall built-in bookshelf behind the chair to balance cabinets across the room, but we haven’t decided yet.
The corner is also a handy play spot where Clara can hang out while we work in the kitchen. From the peninsula we can easily keep an eye on her without having to cross the room.
Sherry is dreaming of relaxing by a fire—possibly with a modern electric insert—and I’m imagining a TV above the mantle for morning news during breakfast. We’ll see how those ideas play out, but suffice it to say we’re excited.
The peninsula also provides roughly three base cabinets’ worth of deep, useful storage, which beats the shallow decorative shelves a banquette would have offered. The generous 3′ x 5.5′ countertop will be far more functional for prep, serving, eating, and homework than a small island or a narrow banquette farther away.
Because we’ll likely replace the counters to match the new peninsula, we’re considering new countertop material for the entire kitchen. Our current granite has some pitting and stains, and matching the peninsula to existing counters would look disjointed. We’re even toying with the idea of DIY concrete counters and plan to sell our current granite to offset the cost.
If you’re thinking of a peninsula, builders recommend about 42″ of clear walking space between it and whatever’s opposite (in our case the fridge). That guideline helped determine our peninsula length, and we hope to install a counter-depth fridge to gain a bit more clearance.
Flow in the room improves with the peninsula: instead of walking a slight circle around a table or banquette, there’s now a straight path through the room. Fewer steps a day—win.
We’re excited and ready to move forward, but the next steps are logistical: sourcing or building cabinets that match our current ones affordably, hiring a licensed contractor, and getting permits to remove the load-bearing wall. Those details will play out in future posts.
Update: You can see the new “cozy corner” behind the future peninsula in action over on Young House Life.
Another update: Some readers suggested adding a bookcase or built-in on the dining-room-facing side of the peninsula instead of a knee wall. We’re weighing whether that would feel like too much since there are existing built-ins nearby. We’ll share decisions as we go.
Psst: Tomorrow I’ll post my thoughts on trying Google SketchUp for the first time and compare it to two other 3D tools I’ve used—stay tuned if you want details about the graphics used in these renderings.