I am very excited to share the newest corner of our home – the breakfast nook. Now that we are a family of four, eating dinner at the counter Cheers style every night just wasn’t going to cut it. Well, that, and our two year old would threaten to kick his stool back every night causing heart palpitations every time he would do so.
This corner of our kitchen was formerly where my desk lived…and where all my clutter collected. Mail you don’t know what to do with? Throw it on the desk! Old candy from your Christmas stocking three years ago? Throw it on the desk! Your kid’s artwork from school that isn’t his best, but you don’t have the heart to recycle? You get the drift. It was an eyesore that I didn’t know how to tackle…until now!
In just the few weeks that we’ve had this area, we’ve used it for so many purposes. Besides dinner, it is the best spot in the house for a cup of coffee, a great table for play-doh and art projects, an easy spot to display the cheese board on Thanksgiving, and a comfy spot to get some work done (yes, I am sitting in the corner of the nook while typing RIGHT NOW).
I had always drooled over the banquette sets from Ballard Design and thought I might go that route (they were having a huge sale), but our dimensions didn’t quite work. Then I got a quote from a local carpenter, but it seemed unreasonably high – so, I decided to browse on Etsy.
After digging through pages of shops, I came across Great Lakes Designs LLC out of Michigan and knew they were the perfect fit. The customer service was outstanding, the turn around was very quick, and they even used the same paint color and hardware that matched our kitchen cabinets. WIN!
Since I was trading my desk in for this nook, I still needed a place for my laptop to live (a place for everything, and everything in its place!), so I decided to go with the drawers on the ends in order to dock my laptop. This has been a game changer. If you are thinking about doing something similar, I would recommend going with the end drawers if you need to access the contents frequently. I knew that if I went with the storage bench or drawers at the foot that it would become a hassle because of the table and cushions (and bc I’m lazy).
Next up was finding custom cushions, so I went back to Etsy and found Jessiya’s shop. Another win! I sent Jessi the same drawing I sent for the bench and picked out the fabric. Originally I wanted to go with a more white-based pattern, but then had a “you’re an idiot” moment when I saw my 2 year old eating spaghetti/smearing it all over himself and his surroundings. I chose outdoor fabrics for both the seat and back cushions so they can be easily wiped clean (a godsend) and put a few coats of scotch guard on them just in case (ok, very much necessary).
Then came the table. I am a Wayfairaholic, so I was pumped to find a round extendable table in black in juuuust the dimensions I needed – (Wayfair really does have juuust what I need!).
Lastly came these gorgeous bistro chairs from One King’s Lane (mine are black, link is for similar navy). I had been wanting to use bistro chairs since, well forever, so I was excited that they worked so well here. The black and white weave against the cabana stripes is just enough pattern mixing to keep it classy, yet fun.
We then rehung our artwork from the Chicago Neighborhoods Shop to round out the space. I love these posters as they are both beautiful and personal – and there is one for just about every Chicago neighborhood. Hint to fellow Chicagoans: these make great gifts!
Now the very last thing to do is add a wine glass, pour, and repeat. Happy weekend!
PS Please check out my new instagram page @ArtesianDesigns
The Artesian Project 