There is nothing nicer than starting the day with sunlight streaming into your space! It was so much fun designing this breakfast nook in a new built here in Nelson in the Kootenays! Our client wanted a bright, practical, yet fun place to have in addition to their dining room where they could spend some time having breakfast, doing crafts or just have a morning coffee while enjoying the first rays of sunshine in the morning.

A fun, practical space for the whole family to enjoy in the morning

The term breakfast nook is a fairly modern term we have adopted - many, many years ago the term morning room was much more common. The term morning room is a very old fashioned British term used for a room with bright morning light where the family enjoyed sitting in the morning. These rooms were generally living rooms, but could also be a dining room or breakfast nook as we know it today. These rooms always faced East to make the most of the first sunrays of the day.

Today, breakfast nooks are commonly built-in with benches, have storage and is quite often booth style or L-shaped - almost always they are next to a window to enjoy the natural light.

Construction phase

The breakfast nook shape lent itself perfectly to a booth type style seating and although compact, there was enough space for a big table to fill the space. The window in the breakfast nook area takes up most of the eastern wall - it is huge for a breakfast nook window at 4’ x 8’!

The breakfast nook has a big window facing East and nicely tucked away from the kitchen and dining room. Architectural design: Mayoh Design

Here was my client’s wish list - and we ticked all the boxes!

Bright with a pop of colour
Comfortable seating
Stain free, easy to clean fabrics
Storage
‘Invisible’ lighting - lighting that visible, but not intrusive
Raised of the ground to create some visual interest
Motorized blinds for hot days

Introducing colour

From the start we knew that the fabric we chose was going to provide us with the colour pop we wanted, but we also needed fabric that would stand up to every day use.

The colour palette in the house (and the adjacent, but not visible kitchen island) has tones of blues, so we wanted to introduce and additional colour that was fun and bright. We spent quite some time with fabric samples which we observed in natural daylight to make sure that our final fabric had just the right amount of colour, scale and was stain resistant and easy to clean.

Choosing the perfect fabrics are best done in the exact space - taking into account the other elements in the room such as flooring etc is so important.

Smart fabrics

Did you know that technology has changed the way we think of fabrics over the last few decades? Smart fabrics, called performance fabrics can repel liquids, are stain resistant and very easy to clean. The perfect solution for families!

In this case we used Alta performance fabrics - Alta fabrics use cutting-edge performance technology that provides textiles with an unmatched repellency to oil and water-based stains. This permanent, 95% water-based technology will safeguard virtually any textile without altering its hand, shade or breathability. Liquids bead up on the fabric’s surface, therefore enhancing cleanability and reducing the need for chemical cleaning agents (Source: Masterfabrics.com). And best of all it is environmentally friendly.

We just fell in love with this fun, small scale dotty fabric which was perfect. The three blue tones and the mustard yellow is the perfect combination we were looking for.

Lighting

In this breakfast nook, we wanted lighting that was there, but non-intrusive, almost invisible! Luckily today there are many sleek and slim lighting options available on the market. Black is an accent colour in the home, so we wanted to repeat the black in the lighting - we also have black table legs and a touch of black in the hardware for the storage drawers.

We considered many options, and finally selected this thin, horizontal cylinder shaped pendant with two very thin wires to the canopy and the LED lighting only illuminates downwards - just what we had in mind.

The addition of a mirror on the back wall not only reflects more natural light, but also reflects our pendant light just beautifully.

The carefully chosen, almost ‘invisible’ down lighting.

Smart window treatments

Having and East facing room is great, but there are days and times where you would want to filter the sunlight that pours into the room. It is therefore important, to consider practical window treatments that will enhance the look of the space, but also gives you options to control the amount of light you require. In this case the motorized solar shades we choose works perfectly with our wall colour, which was Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45 and the other elements in the room, like our oak flooring and table top. The 4% openness reduces glare when needed, but still provides a view of the outdoors.

All the elements coming together - flooring, paint colour, solar blind colour and table top material.

I love it when it all comes together!

This breakfast nook was part of a new built and it was one of many, many spaces that needed to coordinate with the rest of the house. Making several decisions over the span of a few months are quite normal when you are doing a renovation or building a new home. So many elements and design decisions to make. If you are planning a project and want to take the stress out of decisions, then get in touch! I would be happy to assist on a per-hour basis, or project basis. Get in touch!

Lots of light pouring in and being reflected by the mirror.

Local Design Partners:

This was a fun project bringing together some local Kootenay businesses!

Interior design: Layout, lighting, hardware, fabric and upholstery by Bibby Fine Interiors

Bench design and installation: Dinnissen Design

Table design and fabrication: The Kitchen Connection and Kootenay Granite

Solar blinds: Sunset Custom Blinds and Spas

Photography: Lisa Seyfried Photography

A bright, fun breakfast nook!