Before and After: 3 Kitchen Remodels With Stylish Breakfast Nooks
See how designers added breakfast nooks to these kitchen makeovers to provide more seating and storage
Although breakfast nooks have their detractors, when it comes to fitting more people into a small dining space and adding extra storage, they can be a great solution. The designers of these three remodeled kitchens added breakfast nooks for a variety of reasons and it’s hard to argue with the results. Check them out, then let us know in the Comments if a breakfast nook might slide into your next kitchen remodel.
After: The designer lightened up the breakfast room by painting the walls a light greige (Elephant’s Breath by Farrow & Ball). She also removed the shutters in favor of woven shades. An airy Nelson pendant light above the table adds a warm glow and a modern touch.
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A new built-in banquette provides enough seating for the entire family of five. The banquette cushions are covered in a light blue pinstriped indoor-outdoor fabric. There’s storage underneath the benches that the homeowners use for table linens and place mats.
The dining table is a custom piece made by a friend of the homeowners.
Read more about this kitchen remodel
The dining table is a custom piece made by a friend of the homeowners.
Read more about this kitchen remodel
2. Relocating the Refrigerator
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Nate and Ashley Fuller and their three young children
Location: North Park neighborhood of San Diego
Size: 245 square feet (23 square meters)
Designer: Hope Pinc Design
Before: The former breakfast area in this San Diego kitchen felt cramped and couldn’t accommodate the homeowners and their three young kids. So they contacted designer Hope Pinc to rework the kitchen’s layout to make space for a cozy breakfast nook.
This photo shows what the breakfast area looked like before the renovation — about enough room for a two-person table and chairs. Even with windows on two walls, the placement of the large refrigerator made the space feel closed off and tight.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Nate and Ashley Fuller and their three young children
Location: North Park neighborhood of San Diego
Size: 245 square feet (23 square meters)
Designer: Hope Pinc Design
Before: The former breakfast area in this San Diego kitchen felt cramped and couldn’t accommodate the homeowners and their three young kids. So they contacted designer Hope Pinc to rework the kitchen’s layout to make space for a cozy breakfast nook.
This photo shows what the breakfast area looked like before the renovation — about enough room for a two-person table and chairs. Even with windows on two walls, the placement of the large refrigerator made the space feel closed off and tight.
After: Pinc relocated the refrigerator to the wall opposite the sink — you can see a sliver of the appliance in the right foreground of this photo — and replaced what was an awkward short section of countertop and cabinets, significantly opening up the layout. This design move created more counter space and storage on the sink wall and allowed the family to make better use of the adjoining breakfast area.
The light-tone cabinets and drawers and misty gray walls (Foggy Day by Dunn-Edwards) with crisp white wainscoting and trim (Extra White by Sherwin-Williams) offer contrast to the new stained 2½-inch oak plank flooring, which adds warmth and was designed to match the existing hardwood floors throughout the home.
The light-tone cabinets and drawers and misty gray walls (Foggy Day by Dunn-Edwards) with crisp white wainscoting and trim (Extra White by Sherwin-Williams) offer contrast to the new stained 2½-inch oak plank flooring, which adds warmth and was designed to match the existing hardwood floors throughout the home.
With the refrigerator moved, the upgraded breakfast nook feels more open and airy, with a built-in bench and royal blue cushion that helps expand seating and offers storage below for games and toys. “It created such a functional space for their family to gather for morning breakfast or a quick lunch,” Pinc says. “It really gave the room some added texture and color — from the cushion fabrics and pillows — that pulled the colors of the backsplash and oak accents and flooring together.”
Read more about this kitchen remodel
Read more about this kitchen remodel
3. Stylish Swap
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two young daughters
Location: Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago
Size: 291 square feet (27 square meters)
Designer: Rebekah Zaveloff and Kat Andrejevic of KitchenLab Interiors
Before: These Chicago homeowners knew they needed someone with vision to reimagine their kitchen layout and design, so they hired interior designer Rebekah Zaveloff to make it lighter, brighter and more functional and fun for their family. She designed a new galley layout, added a walk-in pantry, installed a large island and set up a multipurpose breakfast nook.
The spot occupied by the new nook used to hold a desk and a computer, which felt out of place and didn’t take full advantage of the space.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two young daughters
Location: Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago
Size: 291 square feet (27 square meters)
Designer: Rebekah Zaveloff and Kat Andrejevic of KitchenLab Interiors
Before: These Chicago homeowners knew they needed someone with vision to reimagine their kitchen layout and design, so they hired interior designer Rebekah Zaveloff to make it lighter, brighter and more functional and fun for their family. She designed a new galley layout, added a walk-in pantry, installed a large island and set up a multipurpose breakfast nook.
The spot occupied by the new nook used to hold a desk and a computer, which felt out of place and didn’t take full advantage of the space.
After: Zaveloff replaced the desk with a multifunctional family-friendly eat-in area that includes a custom banquette sofa, a pair of Bertoia chairs, a midcentury-inspired walnut table and a George Nelson pendant light. “I love a banquette sofa,” she says. “I want these spaces to be cozy and comfy. And it’s so much cleaner-looking than having chairs all the way around a table — they are often pulled out and look messy.
“And they can use this area to work on a laptop, do homework or enjoy a glass of wine and chat with whomever is cooking,” she says.
“And they can use this area to work on a laptop, do homework or enjoy a glass of wine and chat with whomever is cooking,” she says.
This photo shows how the eat-in area relates to the kitchen island. Zaveloff chose a walnut table in an oval shape. “There are so many rectangles in this room that we needed some curves to break it up,” she says. “It also fit into this corner better than a rectangular table would have.”
There’s a powder room to the left of the table and Zaveloff wanted to keep a clear path to it. “It was also a matter of softening the space and it’s something you see right as you walk into the room,” she says.
Read more about this kitchen remodel
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There’s a powder room to the left of the table and Zaveloff wanted to keep a clear path to it. “It was also a matter of softening the space and it’s something you see right as you walk into the room,” she says.
Read more about this kitchen remodel
More on Houzz
91 Kitchen Banquettes to Start Your Morning Right
Find a kitchen remodeler
Shop for dining chairs
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with three young kids
Location: Boston
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters)
Designer: Vani Sayeed Studios
Before: These Boston homeowners wanted their galley kitchen and adjacent breakfast room to feel more bright, modern and functional. They reached out to designer Vani Sayeed to transform both spaces with warm wood, neutral colors and blue accents in the breakfast area.
At the beginning of the kitchen remodel, Sayeed encouraged the homeowners to create an ideabook on Houzz to share photos of the different materials and finishes they liked and disliked. “I sometimes learn more from photos of things clients dislike than what they love,” she says. “If I know what they don’t like from the start, I can save time and avoid going down the wrong design path.”
The former breakfast room had orange walls, window shutters and a small table that sat four people. “It was a really dark space and not very inviting,” Sayeed says.
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