31 Breakfast Nook Ideas From the AD Archive
Even if the first meal of the day isn’t your cup of tea, the best breakfast nook ideas can make mornings inarguably better, regardless of whether you tend to enjoy a solo cup of coffee or chow down on eggs and bacon with the whole family. To make the most of your kitchen nook, consider adding a banquette. Then choose bright upholstery or dynamic art to help separate the space from the rest of the room and create the illusion of a designated area for a leisurely brunch or dinner. Here, we’ve gathered 31 breakfast nook ideas from the AD archive where we’d happily gather at any time of the day.
Photo: Scott Frances, AD, June 20141/30A post-beach booth
In the breakfast nook of a Malibu home by architectural designer Scott Mitchell, the table and banquette, which is cushioned in a de Le Cuona linen, were devised by Mitchell. Denise Kuriger designed the chair. The kitchen includes a custom pot rack custom by Paul Ferrante, counter stools by Bourgeois Bohème, and a Wolf range.
Photo: Nikolas Koenig, AD, July 20142/30Breakfast with a view
Industrial pendant lights from Rewire Gallery hang in a Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, breakfast nook, where the view is of bucolic surrounding farmland.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn, AD, June 20163/30A pop of yellow
In the breakfast nook of a Southampton beach house by AD100 interior designer David Netto, a set of mahogany-and-rattan chairs purchased at Christie’s joins a yacht table from Soane Britain.
Photo: Thomas Loof, AD, December 20134/30Slim and trim
Interior designer Francis D’Haene designed the banquette and table for the dining nook of this New York apartment, which showcases one of Christopher Wool’s signature text-based works.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn, AD, January 20135/30Something simple
A Thomas Demand photograph overlooks Verner Panton chairs by Vitra in the breakfast nook of a Manhattan apartment decorated by Vicente Wolf.
Photo: Ngo Minh Ngoc, AD, October 20116/30A sofa will suffice
Flanking the table in the kitchen nook of fashion publicist Ed Filipowski and Barneys New York CEO Mark Lee’s Manhattan penthouse are a sofa covered in a cotton by Holly Hunt and Jules Wabbes chairs.
Photo: Miguel Flores-Vianna, AD, December 20117/30An enchanting alcove
In a Chicago apartment by Jean-Louis Deniot, the breakfast nook features a vintage Poul Henningsen light and a painting by François Stienne.
Photo: David Matheson, AD, January 20118/30Oceanic ambience
A view of the ocean from the dining nook of a California home. Verner Panton’s acrylic Globe light hangs above Hans Wegner CH20 Elbow Chairs. Marie Krane Bergman paintings are displayed on the wall.
Photo: Eric Piasecki, AD, June 20119/30A Murakami moment
In a Manhattan home by AD100 designer David Kleinberg, a work by Takashi Murakami brightens the breakfast nook of the kitchen, which has stainless-steel-and-milk-glass cabinetry and gold Calacatta marble counters and backsplashes.
Photo: Eric Piasecki, AD, February 201510/30Ruminating on red
In the kitchen nook of a Manhattan duplex decorated by AD100 designer Steven Gambrel, a Julian Chichester table base with a granite top is paired with custom-made chairs cushioned in an Osborne & Little fabric.
Photo: Scott Frances, AD, March 201211/30Sweet simplicity
Mornings start early at the New York City home of actress Alexandra Wentworth and television journalist George Stephanopoulos, designed by AD100 Hall of Famer Michael S. Smith. In the breakfast nook the family’s two dogs are seated on chairs by David Iatesta.
Photo: Simon Upton, AD, May 201112/30A nice niche
The breakfast nook of a Manhattan apartment by Penny Drue Baird is furnished with a chair from Design Within Reach and a Sputnik-style 1960s Venfield light fixture.
Photo: Nikolas Koenig, AD, March 201213/30Gallery wall gorgeousness
A vintage light fixture accents a polished Upper East Side breakfast nook. The chic space, devised by David Mann, features old photographs arranged salon-style.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn, AD, April 201414/30A leather lounge
Big country breakfasts are served at the Texas Hill Country vacation home of decorator Sara Story. The dining nook’s long banquette is upholstered in a creamy leather by Moore & Giles.
Photo: Douglas Friedman, AD, March 201615/30Warm and wooden
The kitchen in Naomi Watts and Liev Schrieber’s Manhattan home, designed by AD100 firm Ashe Leandro, features a cozy dining nook, pendant lights by the Lamp Goods, a Wolf microwave, Lostine stools, and a checkerboard concrete-tile floor; Ashe Leandro designed the cabinetry and hood.
Photo: Miguel Flores-Vianna, AD, July 201216/30A bay window breakfast spot
Farrow & Ball’s Ballroom Blue paint brightens the breakfast nook of a Connecticut home decorated by AD100 designer Miles Redd. Antique chairs flank a custom-made table by Redd.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn, AD, August 201417/30Sumptuous suede
The suede-upholstered banquette in this Matthew Patrick Smyth–designed kitchen nook in the Hamptons encourages leisurely breakfasts.
Photo: William Waldron, AD, November 201418/30A buttoned-up banquette
A Richard Estes photograph overlooks a banquette in the kitchen nook of this Manhattan apartment by AD100 designer Victoria Hagan.
Photo: Gieves Anderson, AD, March 201619/30Chilling under chalkboard
A chalk wall in the dining nook of Meredith Melling’s Manhattan apartment by AD100 firm Ashe Leandro allows the kids some creative freedom.
Photo: Scott Frances, AD, May 199720/30Rustic retreat
Slatted Old Hickory chairs double down on woodsiness in the breakfast nook of this Long Island weekend home. The project’s interior designer, Thad Hayes, made the irregular shaped dining table and overhead lantern custom for the space.
Photo: Michael Moran, AD, July 200521/30Entirely embedded
This unique and fully embedded niche is in a Shelton, Mindel & Associates–designed home. The dining area offers a relaxing space in which to take in the sun, thanks to south-facing window.
Photo: Tony Soluri, AD, June 200522/30A spot in a sunroom
The sunroom at this Queen Anne–style home in Illinois was put to good use with breakfast nooks in two corners, thanks to interior designer Suzanne Lovell. Perched perfectly under walls of windows, residents can feel enmeshed in nature even during the state’s chilly winter months.
Photo: Laure Joliet, AD, February 202023/30Prime time for prints
At a Los Angeles home by AD100 studio Reath Design, the breakfast nook offers a pattern focal point against the color blocked kitchen, with a Knoll mod plaid and a checkerboard-like weave on the Shaker board chairs.
Photo: Douglas Friedman, AD, November 201924/30Big booth breakfast
You might think a breakfast nook is in essence quaint and cozy, but this iteration by AD100 designer Ken Fulk proves that a breakfast nook can host plenty. The leather banquette is both easy to clean and extremely classy.
Photo: Sam Frost; Styling: Mieke Ten Have, AD, July/August 201925/30Kids’ corner
It’s hard to find a kid that doesn’t love a banquette, and this Carrier & Company–designed booth is even more lovable for the younger crowd thanks to its striped fabric cushions and engaging artwork.
Photo: Isabel Parra; Styling: Cynthia Frank, AD, June 202226/30Sitting in stripes
A blue-and-white Schumacher stripe defines the breakfast nook of this Connecticut home, designed by decorator Asia Baker Stokes. The niche’s small footprint allows the print to feel unifying rather than overpowering.
Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson, AD, June 201827/30Filled by a photograph
To fill space above the banquette of this long breakfast nook in a home by AD100 designer Giancarlo Valle, a Wim Wenders photograph was mounted above the long side of the bench. The navy blue backrest calls to the colors in the picture, while the caramel leather melts into the wood toned frame.
Photo: Ryan Kurtz; Styling: Jessie Cundiff, AD, June 202128/30Rise and shine
This baby-blue-and-bright-white breakfast nook, in a home by architect Peter Pennoyer and decorators Miles Redd and David Kaihoi, an AD100 trio, calls the bright morning sky to mind. Are there any better surroundings for your first cup of joe?
Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson; Styling: Michael Reynolds, AD, July/August 202229/30Monochromatic and midcentury inspired
AD100 interior designer Jamie Bush and architect William Hefner worked together on this LA property that indulges in its fair share of blue tones. The breakfast nook is no exception, featuring a custom banquette in a teal Keleen Leather and chairs to match, plus a baby blue lazy Susan.
Photo: Scott Frances, AD, December 200430/30Shelf surrounded
Even in the grandest of penthouses, it’s no surprise to find a Manhattan kitchen lacking in space. To hold onto all possible storage room, but still offer a nook, James Huniford and AD100 Hall of Famer Stephen Sills created a breakfast nook within a framework of cupboards in this Park Avenue apartment.
