Breakfast Nook Refresh Reveal
How a small, oddly laid out breakfast nook entryway got a makeover to maximize on storage, function, traffic flow, and modern style.
Third time’s the charm, right?
That’s our take on this breakfast nook. I swear, we’re done. Finished!
To be fair, this space is small with chaotic traffic flow and has to handle a lot of function day-to-day. It looked like this the day we moved in:
We went the farmhouse route a month later because it was our style from the old house, buuuuuut rustic farmhouse never really felt right in this traditional colonial home, and this very old falling apart secondhand table was beyond saving.
Then, we attempted this setup to transition between farmhouse and modern. And as much as we liked our direction of a more modern vibe, we discovered this dining table was too big for the space since we couldn’t scoot the chairs under with the wide pedestal. Total measurement fail on my part.
But now here we are!
This one is here to stay for quite a while because I luuuuuuuuuurv it! And so does Robert… I guess that kind of matters too, huh?
In a couple of years, we hope to do a full renovation on our kitchen and this nook, which includes ripping up this beige tile floor. Until that happens, this cozy rug from Walmart makes it work to tie in the existing beige.
This little console table blew the function in this space up to 1,000! It’s just large enough to provide the extra storage we need while still being small enough to allow traffic to flow.
And even though it’s black, it has a beautiful rough-hewn texture to give it some character as a little nod to the previous rustic farmhouse vibe.
We store phone and laptop chargers, dog leashes, and items we normally need on the way out of the door in the drawers, so it’s made the perfect “drop-zone” without having the convenience of a mud room.
And the woven baskets make great “catch-alls” for school lunch boxes and rogue bags.
They were almost too tall for this space under the table, so they don’t slide out easily but that works out perfectly for us because it prevents a curious almost-toddler from pulling them off of the shelf.
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We added this large scale abstract art from Walmart ($58 for this MASSIVE 30″x47″ size) for a punch of color and because oversized art helps small spaces feel bigger. I love its beachy art vibe for summer without actually being in-your-face beachy, if that makes any sense at all.
I tend to sneak in a little coastal decor somewhere in our house in the summer like beach photographs from past family vacations and sea shells collected in an antique printer tray. We may live 3 hours from the ocean, but the South Carolina coast always has a piece of my heart. (You can see more coastal style decor here.)
This table lamp helps brighten up this windowless room a ton with additional light, which this space desperately needs.
And we put this gold round mirror right beside the side entry door for a “quick check” spot before leaving the house. It coordinates perfectly with our secondhand spray painted chandelier. Woot!
Whew! Done!
This was one small but high maintenance room with a whole lot of needs, but I think we finally solved the puzzle for layout, storage, and “our style” with a little bit of help from a new perspective.
You can find all of the sources here, if you need them:
- Wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee
- Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron
- Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Console table
- Rug
- Blue watercolor art
- Lamp
- Baskets
- Mirror
- Statuette Planter
- Laundry Room Bi-Fold Door
- Chandelier (similar – ours was secondhand)
- Chandelier shades
- Chairs (similar – ours are vintage)
- Table (similar)
- Dinnerware
It only took about 2.5 years, but look at that before and after!
I’m SO glad we finally figured out this wackily laid out breakfast nook! It has already made our lives so much more functional and feels more “us” than what we had in here before.
Moral of the story: It’s okay to get it wrong. It’s okay to experience trial and error. It’s okay to have a style identity crisis. But that decorating “light bulb moment” that makes your daily life easier and feels like “you” is totally worth the persistence. 😉
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