Kitchen + Dining
Breakfast Nook


BLACK+DECKER B+D Contributor 187 Projects
Diners are traditional morning and late-night gathering spots, well-loved for being bright, friendly, and upbeat. They have been graciously kicking off our days for generations with hot food, great coffee, and warm company. At home, breakfast nooks emulating diner booth designs and ambiance are traditional gathering spots for morning coffee, preparing for the day ahead, or quiet evening conversations with the family. But at-home breakfast nooks have traditionally been interpreted as dark-stained, hard-edged plywood and somewhat monolithic designs. They lack the spunk, pop, and zip of the local diner and can overpower a small space. The breakfast nook combines the feel of the small-town diner with a modern flare that keeps up with your family. While we’ve used plywood for the bench supports, we wrapped it in warmer white pine that can be left clear, painted, or pickled. The seatboards and tabletop are made from edge-glued pine, but you can choose other materials if you prefer. The tongue-and-groove pine paneling wrapping the benches adds contour and shadow lines while the bench’s back grows right out of the seat. The ascending modern line delivers a sleek shape while the wide bench cap provides a nice capital along with a flat surface. The modern surface looks like it might once have supported white ceramic coffee cups and short-stacks back when diners looked like train cars, yet it’s modern and tough enough to stand up to busy families that will use the breakfast nook for a lot more than breakfast.