Upon moving into our 90s suburban home, there was one space that I was particularly excited well-nigh transforming: the built in breakfast nook with storage benches. Our house traded glut storage for lofty ceilings, which is unconfined for light and weightlessness but not so unconfined for people who have a lot of photo equipment and scarce places to store them.
It seems as though the previous owners attempted to tackle that issue on their own, by turning the kitchen nook — that [perhaps] once housed a free-standing table — into a built in breakfast nook, well-constructed with storage benches. There were some diamond issues and things I would have washed-up differently, but it felt like a unconfined place to start. I took one squint at it and had a vision of how to transform it with some simple tweaks. Alimony reading for the diamond process and details on how I transformed a traditional, dated, built in breakfast nook into a dimensional pink dream.
Our Built In Breakfast Nook with Storage Benches
But first, what is a breakfast nook?
A breakfast nook is substantially just a small dining zone (usually off of or in the kitchen) that’s less formal and a little increasingly cozy than a traditional dining area. They often, but not always, utilize built in benches or booths in smaller spaces and are a unconfined place for unstudied meals.
What’s the goody of having a built in breakfast nook ?
If you’re like me and sometimes have a difficult time figuring out layouts and how to utilize space properly, a built in breakfast nook takes that issue away. Anything built in moreover has that custom, original details look…which is nonflexible to come by in a typical 90s home. In our case, it moreover has storage benches and storage in the wiring of the table, making it very useful. It just needed a little update.
Are breakfast nooks outdated?
Overall, I don’t think so! It’s such a wholesale category and can be designed with myriad styles of tables, seating, and decor. In our case, our built in breakfast nook was outdated — which is why I decided to requite it a makeover. I’ll walk you through my process of revamping our breakfast nook.
Phase one: Assessing the existing situation
Some of the weightier translating I received from a fellow homeowner and blogger (thanks, Kelly!) was to live in the space for awhile surpassing making any unceremonious decisions. I once knew what diamond elements I wanted to add to this breakfast nook, but there was one thing I wouldn’t have thought to transpiration if I started right yonder without assessing the existing situation and living with it for awhile. The problem? There was no leg room. It was worrisome to get in and out of the booth, considering the built in storage benches were a little too deep and the counter was a bit too wide.
Phase two: Planning the changes of our Built In Breakfast Nook
My next step in redesigning our built in breakfast nook was to lay out the changes in detail. I like to do this visually, so I usually make notes on the surpassing photo, scrutinizingly like a visual checklist. The only transpiration in here that we didn’t alimony was subtracting hinges to the storage, considering the diamond made it too cumbersome. Looking back, it might have been a good idea to rip it out and start from scratch, but we are on a upkeep and felt that the “bones” of this were good unbearable to work with. It could have been utilized a little better, but there’s sufficient storage in the table wiring and benches.
With the list of diamond changes in place, I moved onto the fun part: the diamond and decor phase!
Phase 3: Designing the Decor of Our Built in Breakfast Nook
The decor diamond phase is unchangingly my favorite. Planning layouts and renovation details are not my forte (hence, consulting with professionals on the living room and kitchen renovations), but making things squint lovely is well within my wheelhouse.
Surprise, surprise: the verisimilitude I decided on was pink. I knew I wanted an art deco inspired, pink wallpaper, so I ordered some samples from Wallpaper from the 70s:
Hot tip: Order samples surpassing committing to wallpaper. The uneaten bit of forfeit and time is worth it! It makes a big difference to see it in person, in its intended space. I was scrutinizingly unrepealable the 2nd paper (Gordon Rosewood) or the 4th (which is no longer sold!) would be my pick. But the 1st one, Fabius Rosewood, brought to warmth and depth to the otherwise zippo and slightly unappetizing breakfast nook.
Numbers 1 and 4 had a unique texture, and I love a monochrome theme with varied textures. Number 2 would be gorgeous in a larger room, but the scale was wrong for such a small space. And number 3 was too shiny and paper-y for my liking. With my main diamond detail chosen, the job just got easier: finding the right paint match and fun details.
The Diamond Details of our Built In Breakfast Nook
Countertop
This happened at the same time as two higher priced renovations, despite having a lower budget. In wing to a full kitchen renovation, we were simultaneously having new floors put in. Since we were getting new, Calacatta Gold quartz Silestone countertops in the kitchen, I widow on the the breakfast nook’s counter space. It’s just off the unshut kitchen, so having a matching counter made it finger much increasingly cohesive. For the record, I love the Calacatta Gold quartz. It’s simple and wipe and a little softer than the ones with bolder veins, and cleans up very easily. The counter is overly so slightly smaller, making it easier to slide out of the booth.
Paint Color
The paint verisimilitude was an easy choice. We took our wallpaper sample in for a verisimilitude match (of the lighter lines in the textured paper) and went with Pink Elephant from Behr. The breakfast nook’s diner and storage benches are sealed with polyurethane for longer durability.
New Seats and Upholstery
I’m not sure if the original owners had seat cushions that they removed, but there were only removable outdoor cushions. My brother in law made new cushions for us using wood, foam cushions, and a vendibles of pink velvet. As per my plans, he cut lanugo the seats for increasingly leg room. I love the unrelatedness of the velvet with the slick countertops — I’m all well-nigh mixing textures.
Curtains and Hardware
It was really important to me to retain the natural light that comes through this window. With the Calacatta Gold quartz countertops, I felt like white linen could be a decent, if temporary solution. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly how I finger well-nigh the stark white with the otherwise scrutinizingly monochromatic look. Maybe one day I’ll find a replacement or dye them.
However, for the time being, these linen curtains are unconfined for letting light in while maintaining privacy. I am pretty sure Elsie is originally the person who recommended these as an inexpensive curtain option. Curtains can be incredibly pricey, and these are really nice for the price! We installed this gold curtain rod and used these gold curtain ring clips.
Lighting
My splurge was the icing on the cake: our Madelyn Capiz Faceted Pendant. As soon as I picked out the wallpaper, I knew I wanted this chandelier. I love how it mimics the arches, ties in the gold hardware, and adds uneaten dimension with its shell-like quality. Alimony in mind that shipping may take awhile. It moreover comes in multiple sizes and styles, as well as flipside verisimilitude (ours is the first one, in pink):
The Final Result of our Built In Breakfast Nook
Since my planned home office became increasingly of a photography storage surpassing I plane began decorating (oops!), I find myself working from our breakfast nook pretty often. I am increasingly than happy working from our built in breakfast nook, until my office is finished. In fact, I’m sitting here while I write this post! The cushions are comfy and provide nice when support, and the shades of pink are a major mood lifter. It’s a unconfined place to enjoy a cup of coffee and a meal, and moreover the cutest “office” I’ve overly had the pleasure of working from.
I hope this gave you some breakfast nook ideas! For increasingly unique home decor inspiration, trammels out my pink kitchen makeover, budget dresser DIY transformation, gallery wall how-to, pink and untried living room decor, pastel raffish home office, pastel patio makeover, and Bobby’s home office makeover.
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