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Collection by Diana Budds

A Look at Modern Breakfast Nooks

It's our firm belief that morning toast and coffee taste better in a cozy breakfast nook—a design feature made popular in Craftsman homes of the early 20th century. We've gathered five modern examples of these dining areas in the following slideshow.

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The knotty-pine breakfast nook, which is similar to what was a signature feature of 1920s and ’30s Spanish-style houses—though the originals were decorated in a Moorish theme.
The knotty-pine breakfast nook, which is similar to what was a signature feature of 1920s and ’30s Spanish-style houses—though the originals were decorated in a Moorish theme.
"In the dining nook adjacent to the kitchen, there is a Bocci 21 light and a vintage table. I love thinking about how these things will travel with us for many years, like companions. Aileen and I have a strong relationship to objects: They are a tactile diary of our lives. The interesting thing about our home is not the structure itself, but the way it has become an intimate part of us. The most sustainable thing we can do as architects and designers is to make spaces and objects worthy of a lifetime commitment. Then [the objects] can have five, six, ten lives instead of half a life."
"In the dining nook adjacent to the kitchen, there is a Bocci 21 light and a vintage table. I love thinking about how these things will travel with us for many years, like companions. Aileen and I have a strong relationship to objects: They are a tactile diary of our lives. The interesting thing about our home is not the structure itself, but the way it has become an intimate part of us. The most sustainable thing we can do as architects and designers is to make spaces and objects worthy of a lifetime commitment. Then [the objects] can have five, six, ten lives instead of half a life."
At breakfast, Arthur multitasks while seated at the dining table. He hand-stenciled the pattern on the wall in the background.
At breakfast, Arthur multitasks while seated at the dining table. He hand-stenciled the pattern on the wall in the background.
When two actors purchased their West Village abode, it came with a 180-degree view of the Hudson River—and a frenetic series of odd angles and partitioned-off spaces. Designer Suchi Reddy renovated the interiors, keeping the bank of windows unobstructed while folding in a fleet of modern furnishings and built-ins. “My directive was to create something very comfortable, calm, textural, and modern,” explains Reddy, who used a palette of reclaimed oak, bleached wood floors, blonde millwork, and white plaster. “It’s a space where you want to linger,” she says. An ExoFly pendant by Laurent Massaloux hangs above a custom WRK dining table surrounded by Morph side chairs by Zeitraum and a banquette covered in Glant’s Liquid Leather.
When two actors purchased their West Village abode, it came with a 180-degree view of the Hudson River—and a frenetic series of odd angles and partitioned-off spaces. Designer Suchi Reddy renovated the interiors, keeping the bank of windows unobstructed while folding in a fleet of modern furnishings and built-ins. “My directive was to create something very comfortable, calm, textural, and modern,” explains Reddy, who used a palette of reclaimed oak, bleached wood floors, blonde millwork, and white plaster. “It’s a space where you want to linger,” she says. An ExoFly pendant by Laurent Massaloux hangs above a custom WRK dining table surrounded by Morph side chairs by Zeitraum and a banquette covered in Glant’s Liquid Leather.