Booth Seating
Office Breakout and Booth Seating Cushions: A Guide for Fit-Out Teams
A practical guide for UK fit-out firms and facilities managers on measuring, specifying and ordering made-to-measure cushions for office breakout spaces and booth seating.
On this page
Quick answer: For office breakout areas and booth seating, order seat and back cushions made to the exact size of each bench or booth, with a firm high-resilience foam and a hard-wearing fabric matched to the fire requirement in your specification. Approve a spec sheet before cutting and plan around a 2 to 3 week lead time for standard shapes.
Breakout spaces get more use than most office furniture. People eat lunch there, take calls, run quick meetings and sit for an hour with a laptop. Built-in benches and booths look sharp on day one, but the cushions decide how they look after a year. If you are pricing a fit-out or a refresh, send the drawings through our bulk cushion enquiry form and we will quote the whole floor.
This guide is for fit-out contractors, joinery firms, workplace designers and facilities managers. We make the cushions for booths, benches and window seats; the joinery, acoustic panels and booth structure come from your own team or supplier.
Where cushions sit in an office
- Booth seating: two facing benches with seat and back cushions, often built by a joiner to the room.
- Banquettes and long benches along walls in tea points and cafés.
- Window seats and stepped seating in town hall or social spaces.
- Loose seat pads for stools and benches in quieter corners.
Booth seating and banquettes use the same principles as restaurant seating. Our banquette cushions collection shows the standard shapes, all made to measure.
Sizing from drawings and on site
On a new fit-out, you will often have joinery drawings before the benches are built. We can quote from drawings, but confirm the final sizes on site before you approve the spec sheet.
- Measure each bench seat: length, depth at both ends and the height of the back panel.
- Note any notches, posts or corners that the cushion has to fit around.
- Decide how back cushions split: one long cushion, or sections that line up with the seat cushions.
- For angled or curved runs, make a paper template. Our booth and banquette seating guide covers this in more detail.
- List every position with a code that matches the drawings.
Every cushion is made to within 6 mm (maximum ±2.5 cm) of the ordered size. If we miss that, we remake it free.
Foam and comfort for long sitting
People sit in breakout booths for longer than they would in a café. A firm, high-resilience foam keeps its shape and supports a working posture. Our UK foam is made and cut by GB Foam in High Wycombe, an ISO 9001 manufacturer working since 1976, and meets UK fire safety regulations for upholstered furniture.
- Seats: a firmer foam stops people sinking below table height.
- Backs: a slightly softer foam is comfortable without pushing people forward.
- Thickness: the online builder goes up to 8 inches (about 20 cm). Thicker can be quoted by email.
Fabric for a working environment
Offices need fabrics that cope with coffee, food and constant use, and that match the brand palette. We work with Sunbrella, Ultraleather, Sunbrella Horizon marine vinyl, Gabriel and Warwick, with more than 10,000 colours across the ranges.
- Sunbrella upholstery fabrics: woven texture, solution-dyed and fade resistant. Removable covers are machine washable.
- Ultraleather: a soft, leather-like surface that wipes clean, good for tea points and café zones.
- Sunbrella Horizon marine vinyl: tough and wipe-clean for the heaviest-use areas.
- Customer's own material: if the designer has specified a fabric, you can supply it once we confirm the quantity needed. Our warranty does not cover customer-supplied fabric.
Swatches carry a small charge and the cost is credited back with a one-time code on your order, so the client can sign off colours in the actual light of the space.
Fire requirements for offices
Offices are commercial interiors, so the fire requirement normally comes from the specification and the building's fire risk assessment. Contract specifications often refer to BS 5852 ignition sources. Tell us the requirement and we match fabrics to it using the maker's test reports, which we attach to your quote or spec sheet.
We do not certify finished installations. The fire officer or building control has the final say. Our UK fire safety fabrics guide explains the tests in plain words.
Cleaning and upkeep
A simple routine keeps breakout seating looking new for longer. Agree it with the cleaning contractor at handover.
- Wipe vinyl and Ultraleather surfaces daily in café zones, following the fabric maker's care guidance.
- Vacuum woven cushions weekly and deal with spills straight away.
- Rotate seat cushions where the sections are the same size, so wear spreads evenly.
- Order replacement covers on their own when one is damaged; the foam can stay.
Mistakes to avoid
- Ordering from drawings alone. Joinery moves on site. Check final sizes before approval.
- Leaving fabric approval late. Swatch sign-off is often the slowest step in the programme.
- Forgetting the fire requirement. Agree it before the quote, so fabric choices fit from the start.
- One cushion for a very long bench. Shorter sections are easier to handle, clean and replace.
- No spares. A few spare covers for busy café zones keep the space tidy while one is cleaned.
How a commercial order works
Send drawings, site measurements, photos, fabric choices and the fire requirement through our bulk cushion enquiry form, or email operation@fabricakraft.com. We reply with fabric suggestions, test reports and a quote.
You approve a spec sheet with a drawing of every position before anything is cut. Standard shapes take 2 to 3 weeks; custom shapes from a template take 5 to 6 weeks. If your handover date is tight, rush production and express shipping are available at extra cost. Delivery across the UK is free and shipped DDP, so there is no duty or VAT to pay on arrival. There is no minimum order, so a single booth for a small office is handled the same way as a whole floor.
Fit-out firms and workplace designers who order regularly can join our trade programme for 10%, 15% or 20% off, based on rolling 12-month spend. Trade pricing does not stack with other discount codes. Designers and specifiers will find sampling and spec sheet details on our page for interior designers and architects. For other parts of a project, visit our commercial cushions and curtains hub.
Frequently asked questions
Do you build office booths?
No. We make the cushions for booths, benches and window seats. The booth structure and joinery come from your own team or supplier.
Can you quote from joinery drawings?
Yes. We can quote from drawings, then confirm final site sizes on the spec sheet before cutting.
Can the client supply their own fabric?
Yes, once we confirm the quantity needed. Customer-supplied fabric is not covered by our warranty.
Do you supply fire test reports?
Yes. The maker's test reports are available for every fabric and are attached to your quote or spec sheet.
How long does a fit-out order take?
Standard shapes take 2 to 3 weeks and custom shapes 5 to 6 weeks, from spec sheet approval. Rush options are available at extra cost.
