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10 Kitchen Setups for an Eating Area You’ll Love

Bring color and creativity to the table with cool chairs, statement lighting and artful touches

Laura Gaskill March 7, 2014

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More

Comment74

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You enjoy your first cup of coffee or tea there, eat breakfast around it and probably also work, read and sit with a glass of wine there while dinner is on the stove — why not make your kitchen table the center of a space that inspires you? If you have an eat-in kitchen that you would like to spice up, whether it fits a table for 10 or for two, these design combos are bound to get your creative juices flowing. See if one of them inspires you.

Design Platform

Tile mosaic + hammered pendant light. Craft a worldly look with a mosaic of mismatched tiles like the Cuban tile shown here, printed cushions and a hammered silver or copper pendant light. Benches are extra cozy, but a tiled accent wall alone could add oomph to any breakfast nook.

Angela Dechard Design

Corner window seat + decals. Storage-filled bench seats tucked into a corner are cozy and practical, fitting plenty of people at the breakfast table. Pep up the corner with a few fun and easy-to-apply window decals that pick up a hue in your bench cushions.

Bespoke Kitchens _ Formerly on Khyber

Bump-out table + globe light. A waterfall-edge table attached to the wall takes up little floor space, yet has a big presence. Hanging a simple pendant light directly over the table focuses attention on the area and provides a warmer glow than the regular kitchen lighting.

KMH Interiors

Statement chandelier + flowering branches. A gorgeous statement-making chandelier, like the hot-pink one shown here, plus tall vases of flowering branches, creates a subtle separation between spaces — perfect for an open-plan home.

ABRAMS

Restaurant-style doors + globe chandelier. Why not make the door a design feature? Restaurant-style swinging doors with circular glass insets bring energy to the kitchen here, while a chandelier made up of globe lights in different hues echoes the shape of the round panes in the door.

Sarah Phipps Design

Diner table + cool wallpaper. To get this quirky, charming look, tuck a classic diner-style table up to a corner banquette backed with a wall covered in fresh, modern wallpaper. The combination of a corner banquette (to maximize seating) and printed wallpaper (to add depth) is great for small spaces.

The Galeana Group

Café table + invisible chairs. This itty-bitty seating area proves that even truly tiny spaces don’t need to sacrifice style. Seek out the smallest, sleekest café table you can find and place a pair of clear chairs (made from acrylic or Lucite) around it. Style it up between meals with a cute fruit bowl.

Leicht Westchester-Greenwich

Mod seating + fairy-tale pendant light. Sleek, smooth mod plastic chairs create a dynamic counterpoint to an intricate, whimsical pendant light here. Sticking with white for the chairs and light fixture keeps this kitchen (with its pink cabinets) from veering into too-sweet territory.

DHV Architects

Rice paper lantern + kids’ art wall. Easy, affordable rice paper pendant lights come in a wide range of sizes and create a lovely glow when lit. A wall with casually taped-up children’s artwork and simple white walls and chairs add up to a welcoming space where creativity can shine.

Southern Living

Corner bench + slipcovered armchair + chandelier. Carve out a breakfast nook that exudes easy elegance with a comfy bench seat plumped up with plenty of pillows, a real armchair and a classic chandelier. Choose a chair with an upright profile for more comfortable seating at the table, and be sure to pick a washable slipcover to make your life easier.

Tell us: If you could wave a magic wand to instantly transform your breakfast area, how would you change it?

More: Kitchen Banquettes: Explaining the Buffet of Options

Comment74

Flash Furniture Contemporary White Vinyl Adjustable H Bar Stool

$116

Glazed Sea Green Pebble Tile

$14

Grey Weave Stone Mosaic Tile

$15

Karina Velvet Stool (Set of 2), Gray, Gold Base

$300

GDF Studio Filton Quilted Leather Counter Stool, Ivory

$204

Carrara Marble Basketweave Listello Border Black Dots Polished 4x12, 1 sheet

$19

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Luke

I love kitchen-dining spaces. It is great for those meals that are made on-the-go or things like baking with children; gives them somewhere to sit while all the action is taking place...

Like September 13, 2014 at 5:38PM

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firfisle

Island

1 Like October 22, 2014 at 1:07PM

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curlieq

I have a 76x76" breakfast nook that DH insists on putting a custom made 45" bench into. He wants a square or rectangular table. The Tiffany light is centered. Everything I've read says leave 24" behind chairs. This leaves us with a 28" (max) table. Those are the dr chairs in the pic below. I ordered two ghost chairs. Hope they support DH. He's a big guy. The hunt goes on for a table...