Breakfast is more enjoyable when eaten in a breakfast area, isn’t it? Whether the whole family is enjoying pancakes, sipping coffee in peace or simply enjoying a good book in a comfortable spot, a breakfast nook is always a welcoming place in the home.
Does it look like a booth, or more like a bench, or perhaps a table and chairs? Every breakfast area has the potential to become the comfortable place where the family gathers. Here are a few tips to help you create such a space in your home:
Choose comfortable lighting for your breakfast area
Comfortable lighting is essential for creating an intimate and welcoming breakfast nook. For the best possible lighting in your breakfast nook, opt for strings of LED lights.
Strings of LED lights create a beautiful glow anywhere. Hang a few over your dining table or bench. These garlands are also available in a range of colors, in case you’d like to choose a fun color that complements colored furniture.
Or opt for a corner lamp instead. Lighting emanating from a corner of your breakfast area will be much more comfortable and intimate than a single hanging lamp. Find a floor lamp to install in the corner of your breakfast area for a relaxing effect.
Decorate your table
Think “restaurant” where salt, pepper and placemats are permanently on the tables. Use this same idea in your breakfast nook. You can place condiments and anything else you normally use at mealtimes, but make sure you don’t invade the elbow room.
To isolate these items on the table, arrange them on a dessert tray with perhaps a small pot of flowers or a few aromatic herbs.
Consider borrowing space
You may not have enough space for a breakfast area. If you need a little more space to create the breakfast area of your dreams, look around.
Check the spaces adjacent to the kitchen to see if it’s possible to extend the dining area by a few feet. In addition to giving you more space, a separate dining area adjacent to the kitchen ensures more relaxing meals out of sight of where they’re being prepared.
Breakfast area: Choose a warm color palette
For a warm, intimate effect in your breakfast area, opt for a color palette that will do all the work for you. Warm colors go well with any interior, especially the kitchen, where they make the space more inviting. Warm tones also energize a room.
When choosing two or three colors to create a warm, intimate palette in your breakfast nook, consider some of the warm color combinations below.
- Persimmon and butter
- Eggplant and sage
- Navy and pumpkin
- Daffodil and cherry
- Persimmon, chocolate and gold
- Ginger, white and mocha
- Sunshine yellow, mahogany and persimmon orange
- Honey yellow and ecru
- Brick and beige
- Burnt orange, navy, blue-green
- Cocoa and moss green
Whatever color palette you choose, keep it simple, as too many colors can have a distracting effect and dwarf the kitchen and dining area.
Rejuvenate your breakfast area chairs
Rejuvenate old chairs you already have around the house, or buy inexpensive ones and use them in your dining area. You can completely alter the look of second-hand chairs in a matter of minutes if you have the right tools. All you need are new cushions and fabric.
To rejuvenate each chair, start by unscrewing the seat and removing the old fabric. Then place your new fabric upside down on a flat surface and place your seat on top.
Fold the fabric over on one side and staple under the seat, starting from the middle. Then pull the fabric to remove any wrinkles before stapling the opposite side. Repeat this step until all fabric is stapled all around the seat. Finally, reattach the seat to the chair.
Don’t forget to add texture to your breakfast area
Texture is essential to creating a welcoming space anywhere in the home, including the breakfast area. And you can add texture in many ways other than simply adding blankets and cushions of different fabrics.
Look instead at your walls and windows. For example, try pairing woven objects hung on the walls with textured curtains. Add a rug with a splash of color, or colorful furniture to complete the look of your breakfast area.
Also consider stain-resistant fabrics. Spills and messes are inevitable in a breakfast area, especially if there are toddlers in the house. You can opt for fabrics treated to resist stains, or choose from a range of outdoor fabrics found in stores and online.
Whatever colors and decorations you choose for your breakfast area, don’t forget to respect your style to personalize your kitchen’s dining or breakfast area.
