Are you trying to create a separate space in your home for eating?  Sick of sitting on the sofa and eating dinner on the coffee table?  For many reasons, having a separate dining area is a good idea.  While some houses come with entire rooms dedicated to this purpose, most people don’t have this luxury.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t have your own little dining room inside another room though.  With the creative use of breakfast nooks, you can create a comfy little spot either in the kitchen or in a studio apartment.

For the same reason why those old fashioned dining booths at restaurants feel nice and cozy, breakfast nooks can put this atmosphere right into your home.  They have partial walls on two sides and are open on the other two.  One of the best things about these pieces of furniture is that they can turn an often under-utilized space like a corner into an area with a purpose.

A corner breakfast nook can be used for more than just eating breakfast too.  It closely resembles its corporate brother – the cubicle, and it is a great place for working or studying since the enclosed atmosphere lends itself to increased concentration and privacy.  In fact, I know a guy who bought a breakfast nook set and installed it in the corner of the living room to use as his office.  By doing this, he was able to define his work space and let him get some work done without being disturbed by his kids playing in the same room.

When you are ready to make your purchase, you have to think about whether you want just buy a breakfast nook table and benches and create your own unique look or purchase an entire set.  You can definitely just get a couple of benches and a table to put in the corner, but it won’t really look like a nook.  What makes real breakfast nook furniture unique is the way the benches have backs to them that act as a little wall.  You might be thinking that you don’t need these since placing it in the corner already gives you two walls.  While this is a valid point, it won’t really look like a separate space without a wooden enclosure around it, even if it is up against the wall.

As a final note, one thing that is wise to consider getting with your new purchase are some breakfast nook cushions to put on the benches.  Sitting on wood for extended periods isn’t exactly the most comfortable for your backside!  Since a breakfast nook bench will rarely come with a cushion on it, you will have to get your own – they are readily available and come in many sizes.  That said, it is possible to find benches that already have padding on them.

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These days many people are living in small apartments too small to fit separate kitchen and dining areas into them.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a designated eating area though.  One of the best ways to achieve this is by getting a breakfast nook.  By using a nook, you can have an enclosed area in the corner or area near the kitchen to be used for eating.  Although some people have these nooks built into their homes, an easier way is to just purchase breakfast nook furniture that is already assembled and ready to use.

Before you go out and buy anything, you will need to have an idea of the area that you have to put the furniture into.  Use a tape measure to get accurate measurements of the space that you have to use.  One of the best ways to do this is by getting corner breakfast nook furniture.  Corners are a bit tough to utilize effectively anyway, so putting your dining area into one of them is a great idea.  If space is limited, you can get a rectangular breakfast nook with one side longer than the other.  Otherwise, I would recommend getting a square one so that you have a little extra room in case guests come over for dinner.

The furniture for breakfast nook use usually comes as a set.  Although you can buy all of the pieces individually getting them as a set is usually a good idea.  The first reason is that all the pieces will match if you buy them as a set.  It will look a little funny if the benches have different colors or heights.  The other reason is that it usually costs less to buy a complete set than to get the pieces separately.  Breakfast nook furniture is usually made of wood, but you can also find some modern designs that are made of metal with glass tables.

One of the better designs that I’ve seen is the Sedona breakfast nook.  What makes their design unique is that it incorporates a small corner table on top of the nook wall.  In what would otherwise be an empty space, it makes a perfect spot to place a vase of flowers or a piece of artwork.  It is made of solid oak, which is one of the best woods for making furniture.  If you don’t want to spend so much money, you can get a cheap breakfast nook imported from overseas for just over $200.  With two back walls and attached benches, a table, and a separate bench included, you really can’t get a better deal than that.  Keep in mind that the cheaper nooks will usually be made out of pine instead of harder woods like oak or maple.  You might see breakfast nook furniture with a name like “cherry” or something like that, but upon closer examination it is probably made of pine and stained to be the color of cherry or another type of wood.  The reality is that quality hardwoods are scarce and expensive these days, so it is pretty tough to find inexpensive furniture made from it these days.

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The very mention of a breakfast nook table might bring back memories your grandparent’s house.  Yes, furniture like this has been around for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t look great in your home today.  Many people live in small homes and apartments these days and need to designate a place to eat meals.  A breakfast nook is perfect for this use.  While you can easily just put a regular dining room table and a few chairs out, a nook is something different altogether.  Let’s take a look at the different ways that you can use one.

The most obvious use of breakfast nook tables is to use them for eating.  While you might not be able to get more than six people around one, very few homes ever have that many people eating at the same time except for special occasions.  In fact, getting four people to sit down at a table at the same time for a meal is a rare occasion.  Nonetheless, the way a breakfast nook table set is designed has great advantages for eating.  If you have children in the house, their enclosed design is wonderful.  Some children always want to squirm out of their seat at the table, but you can corner them into a nook, making them more likely to finish their meal.

A second reason why you might want to consider a breakfast nook dining table is if you happen to live in a small apartment.  Many tight living quarters don’t really have a separate dining area.  You have the kitchen and the living room with nothing in between.  Having an area specifically for eating is important, and a breakfast nook is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this.  You can fit them into almost any corner and it will give the appearance of a little dining room.

Finally, although you might not have thought about it before, a breakfast nook kitchen table can serve other purposes as well.  It makes a perfect spot for kids to do their homework, since the walls around the benches keep distractions to a minimum.  They are also great for using as a mini office in your home.  With so many people working from home these days, having a separate work area is a necessity.  A breakfast nook is perfect for keeping your important papers and other things all in one place, and the bench and table work great as a computer workstation.

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When purchasing a breakfast nook, you have one big choice to make:  You can either buy everything separately – table and benches, or you can get a complete breakfast nook set.  While it is certainly possible to get all of the pieces that you need individually and arrange them together to make a nook, it is much simpler, not to mention cheaper, to just get a complete set.

What makes breakfast nooks special is the way the benches have a back attached to them.  Although there are many benches available, most of the ones meant for indoor use don’t come with a back attached to them.   Breakfast nook sets however come with two benches for the enclosed sides and one backless bench for the opposing open side.  One of the most popular places to put one of these nooks is in the corner, and for good reason.  A square corner breakfast nook set fits perfectly in any corner.

Types of Breakfast Nook Sets

The overwhelming majority of breakfast nook dining sets available are made out of wood, but it is possible to find ones made from other materials as well.  Wood is such a popular choice because it can be customized to almost any home and the color shades can vary from very light to almost black.  Wood is also easy to paint as well, so you can change it to any color that you want.  If you are wondering about what kind of wood is used, it usually depends on the price of the set.

A cheap breakfast nook dining set will usually be made out of pine, since it is the most readily available and inexpensive wood to make furniture with.  In addition, cheap pine furniture is more likely to be imported from overseas.  The cheapest prices that I’ve seen are between $200 and $400 for a complete pine breakfast nook set. On the other end of the price range, most of the better quality sets are manufactured out of oak.  Oak is a premium wood used for high quality furniture, so it commands a higher price. The upside to choosing oak is that it will most likely last a lot longer and stand up to abuse better since oak is a very hard type of wood.

If you really don’t like the wooden look and are trying to find something different, you can find nooks that are made from other materials.  For the retro look, there is one called the Soda Shoppe breakfast nook.  This design features metal benches with vinyl covered cushions on them, and a metal table with a white top.  This style is a throwback to the old soda shop days, but look closely when ordering because the free standing bench isn’t included in the set.

The final thing to consider before you make a decision is the size of the space you are going to put your new breakfast corner nook set in.  Sizes of the nooks vary from the very small to the spacious.  You will need to get pretty accurate measurements of your corner or other location so you can be sure to get a nook that fits.

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Although the phrase seems like something that your grandmother might say, breakfast nooks are still alive and well.  In case you don’t know what they are, a breakfast nook is a separate area for eating.  Usually, a nook will be partially enclosed, and they are often placed in a corner, in which case the walls are on two sides.

So why should you have a breakfast nook in your home?  The answer is that many modern homes don’t feature them anymore, so it is a good way to give your home that special design touch.  Another reason to have breakfast nook furniture in your home is to provide a more intimate dining area.  Although most breakfast nooks have walls that you can see over, you will have the feeling like you are in a booth at a diner.  If you regularly have lots of guests over for dinner, you will most likely need a normal dining table as well, since breakfast nooks are usually only large enough to sit about six people.  The reality of the situation is that for everyday use, they are a wonderfully cozy place to eat, read, or even work.

Breakfast Nook Designs

In terms of materials used, pretty much all breakfast nook sets for sale are made out of wood.  Wooden breakfast nooks look great, but if you want one that fits seamlessly into your home, it is definitely possible to make a built in breakfast nook when you are either designing or remodeling your kitchen and dining room.  In terms of the extra work involved, installing a custom breakfast nook in your kitchen shouldn’t add a whole lot of extra costs to your remodeling.  Speak to your carpenter or contractor about it, or do it yourself if you are handy.  For the remainder of this article we’ll be talking about wooden breakfast nooks that you can buy and place into your kitchen without having to erect walls or anything like that.

The layout usually consists of a breakfast nook bench attached to the wall on two sides, and a free-standing bench on the remaining side.  The size of the nook that you will buy will depend on the area that you are going to put it in.  If you have plenty of room, you can get one that has two long attached benches and is square in shape.  If your area is smaller, get a rectangular nook.  The open side of the nook will have a free standing bench that is the same length as its opposing side.

One of the most popular choices is a corner breakfast nook because corners are usually a tough place to fit furniture into.  Corner breakfast nooks are a great way to neatly fit your dining area into a room and leave the rest open.  This layout works great for small studio apartments that don’t have separate dining areas since they define the dining area without taking up much room.  If you want a little extra privacy, you can choose one that has higher walls on it.

Since extra storage space is so great, it is a good idea to choose a breakfast nook bench that will open up to provide storage.  Finding a breakfast nook with storage is actually a bit harder than you might think though.  Most of the wooden nooks available don’t have any storage space built into them.

A final point to consider is that most of these wooden nooks have pretty hard seats that might get uncomfortable after sitting down for a while.  Breakfast nook cushions aren’t readily available, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get them.  Do a search on Amazon for bench cushions, and you will find plenty of them.  Just get the dimensions of your benches and choose one that fits.

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