15 Breakfast Nooks That’ll Make You Want to Ditch Your Dining Table
While a dining room table offers an ideal space for gatherings, entertaining, or even working on a project, often it can feel a bit much for day-to-day use. Enter: the breakfast nook. For the moments that just don’t warrant the formality of a prescribed meal, a smaller dedicated space can be an option that’s more approachable and conducive to intimate activities. Whether it’s the regular coffee and breakfast with the fam, a small bite on the go, or a cozy place to catch up on a bit of work, the breakfast nook is the perfect central hub. Here are 15 different ways to create a cozy corner ranging from clean and minimalist to bold and cheeky; there’s even a stylish Airstream option.
Genesee Residence by Síol Studios
Síol Studios renovated a 1920s Spanish Colonial-style home as an L.A. getaway for a creative couple. The designers prioritized keeping the original charm of the home while updating it to accommodate an indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Each element in the home is a statement piece, particularly the custom-designed curving pink banquette. Upholstered in a durable outdoor-grade fabric, the seat is not only beautiful, but resilient against spills and wet swimsuits.
21c is known for fusing art, design, and hospitality in their hotels, offering visitors an expertly curated and modern retreat. Designed by architect Deborah Berke, Museum Hotel Bentonville holds a large selection of contemporary art within 12,000 square feet of exhibition space that’s available for public viewing. Within the 104 rooms are custom-designed pieces by Deborah Berke Partners, including the banquette sofas lining the wall.
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with distant north views of Mount Spivey, Assembly Architecture & Build designed an energy-efficient home with earthy materials, including locally milled cypress, southern yellow pine, and Spanish terra cotta tile. An atrium makes up the center of the home, bringing natural light into its core, which cools the space, filters the air, and minimizes street facing windows. Adjacent to the kitchen, facing the airy central space, is a birch plywood banquette with storage.
Designed by Mitchell Wall Architecture & Design, this Hamptons home embodies a sense of laidback luxe with timeless design and thoughtful finishes. Within the hub of the home lies the kitchen, which incorporates a midnight blue and white color palette accented by warm brass hardware. Tucked away near the fireplace, a banquette with floating seats offers a quiet, out-of-the-way place to sip a coffee.
To adapt the apartment to better suit the needs of a growing family, C2 Architecture added a bedroom to the children’s wing while also reconfiguring the kitchen to function as the family's main gathering place. The expansive kitchen has a multitude of cabinets and two islands, each with separate sinks for extra space to prep and cook. Capping off one end is a streamlined breakfast nook designed with glossy alabaster and wood tones. Leather seating adds a touch of contemporary practicality.
Overlooking Carl Schurz Park and the East River on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, this three-bedroom residence was designed by architect Peter Marino as an airy loft teeming with artistic charm. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the space with natural light, while stained solid oak floors anchor the home. Just off of the living room, a custom-built dining area with banquette seating offers a cheery space to enjoy a meal or a coffee with a book.
This renovated 1965 Airstream Overlander Land Yacht elevates #vanlife with midcentury-inspired furnishings. While the roving home is reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, it maintains a streamlined sense of minimalism with furnishings that fold away to create space in the compact vehicle. Custom fabricator Eoin Murphy and designer Robin Grundy-Murphy designed this airstream with entertaining in mind. A magazine rack found originally on the wall of the Airstream was replicated at the bottom of the dining banquette—which also converts into a double bed.
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Overlooking the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, this condo is infused with Bjørn Design’s soothing palette of blonde and dark-grey oaks, peppered with hints of blue and purple. In the kitchen corner, a custom banquette with built-in storage offers a bold, yet entirely practical dining nook.
Part modern farmhouse, part gallery, this vacation home just outside Tahoe National Forest is composed of four distinct gable forms separated by square, stone-clad volumes. It was designed by Tahoe-based architect Clare Walton. The interiors were a collaborative effort between the owner, who is an artist and art collector, and interior designer Brittany Haines of ABD Studio. In the kitchen, a custom-made, six-person breakfast banquet, crafted from walnut, is organized around a table that features cold roll steel table top and a turned wood base that has been ebonized black.
The owners of this 2,300-square-foot converted loft in SoHo have a penchant for color and collections. To make way for these elements, BC-OA kept new materials simple and desaturated with super white walls; oil-finished, white oak flooring; and white lacquered cabinetry. In the dining area, a custom designed, built-in, tufted banquette adds soft juxtaposition against the live edge dining table. The velvet upholstery is meant to provide contrast against the exposed, white-washed original brick in both texture and era. Overhead a brass chandelier with exposed Edison bulbs references the former Swan Incandescent Electric Light Co. which occupied the loft after construction was completed in 1897.
This space exudes a modern elegance with clean lines and minimalist design. Across from the kitchen, limestone wraps around the base of a built-in banquette paired with inky blue leather cushions. The sleek seating is paired with a custom bronze and marble dining table by Daniel Barbera and Cassina 412 Cab Chairs.
Tucked on an industrial stretch of New Orleans on Tulane Avenue is an old motel turned boutique stay. Built in 1957, the property remains unassuming from the street, but upon further inspection is a haven for modern design. Inside, interior designer Nicole Cota Studio has transformed the stay with a myriad of colorful tones and local artwork. The hotel's restaurant, The Drifter, is teeming with bold texture and patterns—from troweled concrete walls to Oaxacan tile. The dining area presents a chic, yet casual vibe with a built-in banquette in pale olive tweed and tropical folding chairs.
Shumaker Design + Build Associates honed in on natural light, rich tones, and earthy materials to update this Chicago kitchen. The renovated kitchen now boasts a ten-foot-long banquette paired with a West Elm table, offering seating for everything from quick breakfasts to grand dinners.
This renovated 19th-century Harlem brownstone is teeming with organic materials and textures, including reclaimed wood beams and boards, stone floors, and Moroccan tile. In the kitchen, antique hand-hewn beams sit overhead, mirrored by reclaimed heart pine flooring. Adding to the charm are exposed brick and a restored antique Biedermeier bench that was custom fit as a banquette.
Nestled in a celebrated midcentury neighborhood, the Riley Residence was a 1957 ranch house two doors down from Crestwood Hills, the Los Angeles cooperative development known for its collection of A. Quincy Jones masterpieces. The L-shaped floor plan on a large wooded lot was reimagined by architect Cory Buckner, who remodeled and developed an addition inspired by the nearby icons. Quirky retro charm radiates from the home with pistachio green cabinetry in the eat-in kitchen. These were complemented with some quiet complements like Blizzard countertops by Caesarstone and white tile by Ann Sacks. A nook with a tulip-style table by ModShop, a custom upholstered banquette by Johannes Interiors, and a Caboche chandelier by Foscarini accentuates the home's retro charm.
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