i'd change up the art for something larger and more colorful. hang these lovlies some place else.

How about painting table chairs some fun color like beautiful lemon yellow, white, teal? White chairs could have a pop go color with great cushions.

I would paint all the chairs in the same bright color. a bright turquoise, a great green, magenta, yellow, orange. all the same. then upholster or add cushions all in the same color.

rosly- Your kitchen is beautiful, BUT, the breakfast nook area is not doing the kitchen justice. I too would find a more unified table and chairs as Johanne suggested. Currently it looks like a flea market free for all, with all the mis matched chairs and styles.

The beauty and grandeur of your kitchen is being compromised by a table and chair grouping that looks old and undersized, and doesn't add anything positive to the space. Don't worry about the windows. You can go modern, transitional or traditional with your kitchen style, wood or glass, but if those are high chairs I see, keep the table and chairs practical. The pedestal idea is great so that no one has to "get the leg," but consider something larger. An oval could be easily fit in there at an angle and more easily fit the number of chairs you need. Start with the art as a color inspiration. If you have that, you don't have to bother with a rug that just gets in the way of dropped food and chair legs, anyway.

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What about top down roman shades in a colorful pattern

I very much like Margo's suggestion of table and chairs, it is very elegant.

I love your kitchen and nook! I do have a few comments though, along the same line as previous comments. I think the 2 pieces of art (in the kitchen and nook) need to change and be MUCH bigger and vertical in orientation. That will be the perfect opportunity to add color and style that appeals to you. Then the table seems a bit small for the nook but maybe that's just the pictures making it look that way. But, it you get a bigger table, the rug will be too small (but not sure a rug is even necessary). So, if you keep the current table, please reduce the chairs to 4 (possibly 5 if you need that many). Six chairs is dwarfing that smallish table. If the two darker chairs both stay, I'd place them between white chairs so they aren't right next to each other. Certainly, the white chairs could be painted if you want.
The first thing I'd do is get two new pieces of art and reduce the number of chairs and see how it feels. It's a beautiful kitchen and I simply love your wall color!
Hope you stay with us and are willing to make a few changes and post lots of updated pics. It's a beautiful space and doesn't need much at all to be perfect.

Since the chairs are white except the fold up one and the child's chair you only need to paint them white (if normally used here) to unify the look better. Try a white or turquoise table cloth and see if that helps - if so you could paint the table (if table cloth not preferred). I would add sheer white curtains inside the window frames to soften the outside view (but allow light and visual access). A larger painting with the blue colors in your rug would also help.

Oh, and I wouldn't do any window coverings if they aren't needed.

http://houzz.com/photos/3110877

Your kitchen is gorgeous-love everything about it. It doesn't seem like the table in your kitchen nook is large enough and the area rug definitely seems too small. Really like the colors in your rug but think it needs to be slightly larger. Like the white chairs but not the brown ones. They are throwing things off for me. Do you always used those or are they temporary? Agree with Johanne that you need a unified look with table and chairs in the breakfast nook.

I definitely would not cover those beautiful windows, but you may consider doing a simple roman shade with a small print to tie the subtle colors in your kitchen together.

Have you considered changing the light fixture over the table to something colorful? Here is a sample breakfast nook where the light fixture and a few decorative touches make all the difference in the world.