Banquettes & Breakfast Nook Design Inspiration

They can be so cozy and wonderful for gathering a small group in the kitchen. If you are planning to renovate or build, maybe you’ll be incorporating one into the kitchen design. As for me, I keep toying with the idea of a built-in banquette for ours. Banquettes are so charming and such a lovely opportunity to bring softness with upholstery and pillows in addition to providing flexible seating. Let’s peek at some favorites and pin the breakfast nook design ideas we love.

Banquettes & Breakfast Nook Design Ideas

Thinking About a Banquette?

My own breakfast nook is unique in that it is situated within a three-story turret. Directly above this space is this exact configuration as a sitting room in the primary. Below it is an unfinished turret space in a fully exposed lower level.

It needs more coziness, and I have been taking my time deciding on window coverings. During the day, I love all of the light. Since I’m not a fan of the angles in the architecture, I would probably opt for a simple banquette below the two windows across from the patio doors.

Time will tell!

Need Ideas for a Breakfast Nook?

If you’re an intermediate DIYer or have the budget for a custom design, wouldn’t this curvy example be incredible?

A banquette can even save the day. Can you imagine having this narrow space to work with for a dining room? Look what happens when a luxuriously brilliant bench plays a starring role in a Paris home:

As you can already see, “breakfast nook” is a little bit limiting. Every meal and dining areas outside of the kitchen can be graced with a nook. I love this idea of creating a dining area and anchoring with an expanse of mirror:

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent have a similar configuration:

Space Saving Banquettes and Nooks

Here’s another innovative way to design a dining nook where decorative tile frames the banquette:

Wow! You can even create more architectural interest with framed art:

Isn’t that stunning? And notice how much seating is possible in that relatively small corner!

Does a Banquette Need to Be a Built-in?

There are plenty of situations where it makes more sense to design or buy a freestanding piece of furniture for seating within a nook. Windows and existing architecture that is better left untouched are factors that may pair better with non-built-ins:

A lot of folks are funny about benches and settees pulled up to dining tables, but I just love them when they’re comfy.

One bonus is being able to more easily test the seating to be sure it is optimally comfortable.

Even the right scaled sofa can become a banquette:

The color story in this next inspiration moment is unique:

And here’s an entirely different mood with its cheery red:

Sometimes the simplest designs can have maximum impact and transform a corner:

Isn’t that animal print on the antique chairs the best!?!

Cozy Restaurant Style Breakfast Nooks

Architect Jeffrey Dungan creates these magical nooks…

Notice the sculptural lines here:

Don’t they feel like your own private restaurant?

Classic Built-in Bench Seating for Nooks

When your banquette is also a window seat…

There is so much room for customization with upholstery, prints, patterns, and pillows. I thought this was a beautiful combination of two different prints for the backrest and cushion:

The designer’s way with blue inspired this mood board:

And even if you’re a renter, a bench may be all that is needed for the beginnings of a cozy place for tea:

Storage underneath a banquette is a bonus:

Whenever I post an image of a cozy breakfast nook, I’ll hear from commenters who say it looks too cramped.

I feel like a lot of people miss the point that these spaces are designed to be places for intimate gatherings.

Ideas for Designing a Nook That Fits You

The most important thing I can tell you about creating a small dining space like those represented here?

Know thyself!

You should consider how the nook will be used (for breakfast? for homework? for all meals)…

and how much seating is needed.

Collect lots of ideas to be able to communicate your desires with a designer or contractor.

If you’re a DIYer like me, maybe you’ll be able to create a mockup to see how a bench will look and feel in the space. (I plan to bring in an existing bench before I consider commissioning anything to be built.)

I hope this gallery inspired you with fresh takes on this timeless idea.

There’s just something so utterly nostalgic and romantic about an informal place to linger on Saturday or Sunday.

And there are endless ways of bringing your own unique aesthetic to the design.

Psst. If you love Repose Gray, you may also like Farrow & Ball Pavilion Gray. They’re very similar, and I discuss them in THIS.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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