Five breakfast nook ideas that’ll turn your eating area into a beautiful, practical and custom space, perfect for eating and gathering.
This post is sponsored by Patio Lane. All opinions are my own.
Our breakfast nook has been in the works for months, and I’m thrilled to say it’s finally complete! We started our breakfast nook project in February and built the bench from scratch.
It was the perfect solution to our awkward corner space in our kitchen with a half wall. Now that the breakfast nook is complete, it looks like it has been there the whole time – it feels so right in the space.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure.
After we finished up building the bench, I got to work with the rest of the design plans AKA the fun part.
Here are 5 Ways to Make Your Breakfast Nook Beautiful & Practical:
ADD A CUSTOM BENCH CUSHION
Adding a custom bench cushion to our breakfast nook was one of my top design goals for this space.
Not only are bench cushions beautiful and make the space feel finished, but they’re also very comfortable and even practical, as long as you get a wipeable cushion fabric.
I knew I wanted to get my cushions from Patio Lane because of the quality of their cushions and the ease of use when ordering from their cushion builder.
About a year prior, I had gotten a custom cushion made from Patio Lane for our mudroom bench. My cushion turned out so beautifully and has held up perfectly, that I knew I wanted to get my breakfast nook cushions from them as well.
For a breakfast nook, it’s a good idea to get a cushion fabric that is easily wipeable, especially if you have kids.
I chose a Sunbrella fabric from their Horizon Marine Collection, which is a marine upholstery fabric that’s used on boats. It’s absolutely perfect for breakfast nook cushions because it’s water resistant and durable.
We’ve had our cushions for about two weeks now, and my four year old has already spilled food and drinks. The cushion fabric cleans up great every time!
I chose the color Capriccio Taupe, which fits well in my home’s color scheme. I still can’t get over how close of a color match the cushion fabric is to my living room recliners (see below).
Here are the specs for my specific breakfast nook bench cushions:
- Thickness: 2”
- Medium firm foam
- Fabric: Capriccio Taupe
- Welt type: none
- Squared front, squared rear
- No ties
Make your own custom cushion using Patio Lane’s cushion builder. Use Code “MARLYDICE” for 10% off your entire order. Code expires 7/31/21.
ADD THROW PILLOWS
Adding a few throw pillows to your breakfast nook makes the space feel super inviting and cozy.
I ordered several pillow covers and used pillow inserts I already had to fill them.
Here are the pillow covers I ordered for the space:
- Brown Chiangmai Pillow Cover Stripe Pillow 20×20
- Dark Sand Woven Pillow Cover 20×20
- Charcoal Gray Cream Pillow Cover, 20×20
- Square throw pillow – Brown/Cream – this one comes with an insert but I swapped it out with a down alternative insert.
I recommend using down alternative inserts for throw pillows because you can easily get the “chopped” look that the pros use.
ADD ARTWORK
If you have a spare wall area that’s part of your breakfast nook, add some budget-friendly artwork.
I bought these digital files: Country landscape print set and had them printed out at Staples for super cheap.
I then put them in some frames I already had on hand and hung them up.
For more about this project, read: Where to Get Cheap Wall Art – That’s Beautiful!
There are tons of beautiful digital artwork files you can purchase online and then print out. This is one of my favorite ways to add artwork to my home because it’s such an affordable option.
ADD LIGHTING
To really define our breakfast nook, I decided to add a chandelier above the dining table.
We originally had a fan that was uncentered above the table. It didn’t look great and we didn’t use it often enough to justify keeping it, so we decided to swap it with a chandelier.
Read more: How High to Hang a Chandelier Over a Table & Our New Kitchen Nook Chandy
I also love the idea of using a large pendant over a breakfast nook table.
Typically, breakfast nooks are not really large spaces, so a large pendant over the table can work just as well as a chandelier.
ADD ROMAN SHADES
Last but not least, the fifth breakfast nook idea is to add roman shades to your window(s)!
Many breakfast nooks have windows over, at least, part of the bench.
Adding custom roman shades makes the space look well designed. It’s practical too if you get a lot of sun shining in your home through that window.
For us, the sun rises in the front of our home and sets in the back of our home. Our breakfast nook faces the back of our house, so every evening the sun shines in right around dinner time.
I knew we’d need shades for our window.
Unfortunately for us, our breakfast nook window is an odd size so I had no choice but to order custom roman shades, which meant a higher price point.
If you have standard size windows, you’ll probably be able to find some already-made roman shades at a good price point.
Sources:
(Some of the links below contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure.)
- Custom Bench Cushions – Made using Patio Lane’s cushion builder (color is Capriccio Taupe)
- Chandelier
- Pedestal table – Pottery Barn but no longer sold
- Roman shade – Color: Golden Ecru | Mount Type – Inside | Easy Lift Systems – Cordless Lift | Fold Style – Flat Fold | Liner – Blackout Liner | Spacer Blocks – No
- Dining chairs
- Artwork set – Country landscape print set
- Brown Chiangmai Pillow Cover Stripe Pillow 20×20
- Dark Sand Woven Pillow Cover 20×20
- Charcoal Gray Cream Pillow Cover, 20×20
- Square throw pillow – Brown/Cream
- Weathered Planter White with faux eucalyptus
- White Table Vase
- Recliners in living room
Make your own custom cushion using Patio Lane’s cushion builder. Use Code “MARLYDICE” for 10% off your entire order. Code expires 7/31/21.
