30 Breakfast Nook Ideas for an Inviting Space

These breakfast nook ideas will give you a charming and practical place for the whole family to sit down and start the day—and it makes for an excellent spot to curl up with coffee and a magazine before the rest of the household wakes up. Think of them as an eat-in kitchen or the casual, approachable alternative to the dining room, where you invite a friend to sit and drink a lemonade while you cook dinner.

Breakfast nooks can be small or large, and they generally contain two or more chairs and often feature benches, particularly when they're located in the corner of a room. They're meant to be cute, cozy, and welcoming, and the great news is that there are so many design directions you can go in when designing a nook of your own. This is a great way to use an awkward corner or space in or around your kitchen that doesn't have cabinetry and is just slightly too far to use as prep space.

Read on to gather inspiration from 30 of our favorite breakfast nooks, from budget-friendly breakfast nooks that only use a simple table and breakfast nook chairs to custom designs that incorporate built-in benches, chandeliers, and more.

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Dramatic Modern Breakfast Nook

Stephen Karlsich for Benjamin Johnston

Utilize a tall dining bench in a sumptuous fabric to add drama to your breakfast nook. This piece adds height and elegance to the everyday eating space, making it feel extremely luxe.

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Elegant Breakfast Nook

Lucas/Eilers Design Associates

Display art in your breakfast nook to give it a traditional and elegant look. Make use of open wall space and hang a series of favorite prints or photographs. You'll be able to admire them as you sip your coffee every morning.

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Masculine Breakfast Nook

Julie Soefer for Lucinda Loya

Create a breakfast nook that can welcome more people by using built-in seating. Here, a lengthy bench can accommodate many—consider opting for a bench with storage beneath to stash away seasonal linens and other entertaining supplies.

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Cozy and Modern Breakfast Nook

LifeCreated for Living With Lolo

Carve out a cute and cozy breakfast nook in a small space with stylish pieces. Classic cane chairs make a statement while nicely complementing the black and brown tones used throughout this kitchen.

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Coastal Breakfast Nook

Chad Mellon for Lindye Galloway

Channel coastal calm with light wood tones and pretty shades of blue and gray. If you're looking to showcase a special, oversized piece of art in your breakfast nook, consider hanging picture lights above it for a museum-inspired, gallery-like look.

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Monochromatic Breakfast Nook

Jack Gardner for Brad Ramsey Interiors

Use just one color throughout your breakfast nook for a sophisticated, warm look. Though everything featured is white or beige, there is plenty of textural intrigue at play; mixing materials will always make a stunning statement.

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Colorful Breakfast Nook

Alyssa Rosenheck for JL Design

Go bold with color in your breakfast nook. Hang some of your kids' masterpieces from art class to make the little ones in your family feel special.

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Small Space Breakfast Nook

Peter Murdock for Joshua Smith

Create a simple, cafe-inspired look for a breakfast nook that's short on square footage.. In this case, a much smaller breakfast nook will suffice. This setup replicates the intimate feeling of sipping coffee in a charming cafe by yourself.

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Inviting Breakfast Nook

Cathie Hong Interiors

Pile on the throw pillows for a comfortable look. You'll want to be nice and cozy as you curl up with your breakfast and coffee, and an assortment of colorful pillows, as seen here, will add plenty of pep to your nook.

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Living Room Breakfast Nook

Interior Impressions

Set up a breakfast nook in your living space if your kitchen and living room are connected. This can come in handy when entertaining, too, as you can make use of your small round table and use it to house drinks or appetizers.

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Architectural Breakfast Nook

Chad Mellon for Lindye Galloway

Play up a striking architectural feature, like the high ceilings in this traditional breakfast nook. Fill your walls with art and hang an eye-catching chandelier or pendant for extra stylish flair.

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Contemporary Breakfast Nook

Leslie Brown for Lindye Galloway

Bring the outside in by accessorizing your breakfast nook with a plant or two. Real trees are beautiful, of course, but there are plenty of gorgeous fake options on the market if you're still working on that green thumb. Your guests most likely won't be able to tell the difference!

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Wallpapered Breakfast Nook

Read McKendree for Lilse McKenna

Experiment with a bold wallpaper in a playful, colorful breakfast nook. Pick a pattern that speaks to you, the more cheerful the better, as exemplified by this welcoming green and white space.

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Simple and Modern Breakfast Nook

Britt Design Studio

Embrace the natural sunlight that shines into your breakfast nook and keep the walls and decor simple and light. Natural tones look beautiful in this airy space.

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Accent Wall Breakfast Nook

Alvin Wayne

Consider painting the walls in your breakfast nook a different color from the rest of your space to set it apart. Green complements the plant life in this apartment wonderfully and also looks fabulous with the wooden furniture.

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English Countryside Breakfast Nook

Ashley Montgomery Design

Replicate the look of your favorite posh restaurant or club by working a leather chesterfield sofa into your breakfast nook and pairing it with some lamps. This setup reminds us of a cozy English countryside.

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Warm Neutral Breakfast Room

Ashley Montgomery Design

Hang a pendant light directly above your table to make your nook feel more separate from the rest of your kitchen, even if it's smack dab in the middle of all of the action. This textured piece doubles as a work of art!

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Grandmillennial Breakfast Nook

Victor Harshbarger for Lilse McKenna

Mix classic prints in your breakfast nook to give it a grandmillennial-inspired look. Try putting a new fabric on a bench and complementing it with drapery that has a timeless border. These beautiful prints will partner in a space that feels both refreshing and traditional.

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Bright and Modern Breakfast Nook

Read McKendree for Lilse McKenna

Choose a round or oval-shaped tulip tables for your breakfast nook — they'll really never go out of style. They're also an excellent table for small spaces. While they lean modern, they can be paired with more traditional-looking furnishings like those shown here.

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Garden Breakfast Nook

Caitlin Kah

Frame a beautiful view in your breakfast nook. There's no need to display artwork when you look out to a picture-perfect backyard over coffee. In this space, the outdoor landscape does the talking.

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Hotel-Inspired Breakfast Nook

Caitlin Kah

Choose a curved bench with beautiful upholstery for a space that feels like a boutique hotel or restaurant. Hotels and restaurants are great spaces to look to for design inspiration; take a peek at favorite dining spaces from past trips as you plan your own!

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Bohemian Breakfast Nook

Caitlin Kah

Add a bold print to your breakfast space not only for its free-spirited charm, but because the print will camouflage spills and stains much better than a solid color. When selecting fabric for a dining area, you'll want to ensure that it's easy to clean and isn't too precious, after all.

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Minimalist Breakfast Nook

Kelsey Ann Rose for Megan Hopp

Opt for lucite furniture in a small apartment. This clear furniture takes up less visual space but remains in vogue. Here, a light, minimalist breakfast nook looks right at home in this modern unit.

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Old World Breakfast Nook

@mariannesides / Instagram

Make space for a breakfast nook in the tiniest of city apartments. Note that even a small bistro table can provide tons of function; simply pair it with two simple chairs and you're golden. When you have limited square footage, it's very important to put those empty corners to work.

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Contemporary Neutral Breakfast Nook

Brophy Interiors

Contrast light wood tones and white walls with black accents in your breakfast nook. Wishbone chairs are a popular seating choice and look lovely in this contemporary space. The ribbed dining bench is also very on trend, too.

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Welcoming Breakfast Nook

Calimia Home

Consider placing a slipcover over your dining bench to introduce a whole new look to your space without going the reupholstery route. It adds a casual, welcoming look since no one is concerned about getting it dirty—slipcovers are easy to toss into the washing machine as needed.

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Space-Saving Breakfast Nook

Carina Skrobecki for Jessica Nelson Design

Use an awkward corner within your kitchen for a space-saving spot to eat a quick meal or read a book. This breakfast nook fits right in between kitchen cabinets, proving that no kitchen is too small for a little dining spot.

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Oval Table in Breakfast Nook

Jessica Nelson Design

Opt for an unconventional space to add more seating to your space. A long, oval table shape is the name of the game in this breakfast nook. If you plan to have multiple people sit in your nook at once, you'll want to make sure that everyone has room for their plate!

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Preppy Breakfast Nook

Stephanie Perez

Mix textures, prints, and colors in a classic space. Art, scallops, weaves and wallpaper—more is more in this preppy breakfast nook, and wicker seating adds coastal flair to the setup.

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Classic Breakfast Nook

Stephanie Perez

Stick to a general color scheme to ensure that the overall area appears cohesive and not too cluttered in a breakfast nook located between built-ins. Here, peaches, greens, blues, and whites complement one another and look nice and elevated.

FAQ

What else can you put in a breakfast nook?

In a breakfast nook, you can put in a bench, chairs, and table for ideal seating. A few throw pillows make it cozier. Try a small chandelier if you have the room.
Do breakfast nooks add value?

Adding a breakfast nook helps potential buyers envision their mornings sipping coffee or their afternoons eating lunch while taking a quick break from WFH. This adds value to your home by giving it livability, carving out additional functional space, and creating a welcoming space.
How deep should a breakfast nook be?

If you opt for bench seating, look for a depth of 12.5" to 20." With chairs, make sure there's at least 36" total between the table and wall.