Cozy Breakfast Nook

We’re working on a 1920’s Spanish Colonial home in Beverly Hills and are creating a cozy breakfast nook off the kitchen. Breakfast nooks and banquettes are very popular requests these days – I think it’s because people, especially in Southern California, love a warm, laid back approach and it doesn’t get much more relaxed and comfortable than kicking back in a cozy breakfast nook.

A kitchen is a high-traffic area where people cook, congregate and eat so it’s important to choose wisely when it comes to your banquette fabric. I apply my general rule for decorating here as I do in other parts of a home and tend to go for a muted base and use pillows to add pattern, color and personality.

« 3 GREAT IDEAS FOR BANQUETTE UPHOLSTERY FABRIC »

1. The durability of vinyl is unbeatable, just wipe it down and it’s as good as new. There are lots of great colors and brands, here are a few I’ve used in recent projects – white, seaglass, and graphite.
2. Indoor/outdoor fabrics come in a wide range of colors and patterns. Made of solution-dyed acrylic they are strong, fade resistant and wipeable. With so many options available it’s hard to know which one to choose; I like parchment (shown above), platinum, and indigo.
3. If you fall in love with a particular fabric that doesn’t happen to be durable, take it to a fabric coater like Decorators Laminating Service (323-933-5877). They’ll coat your fabric in vinyl and give you a choice of either glossy or matte finish – I typically go with matte because it has a softer, more subtle look.

To create a comfy, cozy breakfast nook select a table that makes circulation easy. A pedestal table like the one pictured above is a good choice because the central support means there’s lots of space for sliding in and out of the nook without table legs getting in the way. Use chairs that are light-weight so you can move them around easily. Tolix chairs (shown above) are an easy choice. Group lots of pillows in different sizes and colors to make a comfortable and inviting place for your back. Depending on the size of your nook, I typically use 3 to 8 pillows. Either choose pillows with lots of pattern to hide dirt or ones that are washable, find the choices above here, here and here. Of course I love tabletop items, especially table linens and ceramic dinnerware, so I like to throw in a few choices like this and this to complete the look.

« CUSTOM BREAKFAST NOOK FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES ARE AVAILABLE TO ORDER, CONTACT US!»

Inspiration image: Simo Design