New House: Breakfast Nook

Our kitchen is just big enough to squeeze in a breakfast nook. The previous owners filled the corner with a tall table and stools. This was clearly not going be repeated as toddlers and stools are risky business. You can just barely see it in the photo above--apparently I wasn't even impressed enough to snap a picture. (aside: ugh, purple dining room, ugh.)

Remember, we started out with an IKEA Docksta table (the Saarien tulip table knock-off) and the cheerful Tree of Life print Roman shades:

Our next fun project was to really make it a nook and build benches to maximize seating and create more storage since there's no real pantry. 

Framing it out (and trying to fit the dog bowls in somehow)

Storage currently includes wine and coffee. Of course. 

The fun part really comes with the finishing touches: Blue gingham oilcloth...

Covering thick foam cushions. Wipeable and possibly Ford-proof! He'll be sitting over here once Eleanor starts sitting in the high chair in a shockingly short period of time. 

A fun industrial lamp fixture that I found on One Kings Lane finishes it off. It's fire engine red, which doesn't come through very well in this photo:

I think it would look perfect with some pillows to lean against like this:

I am ever optimistic that Ford will choose to spend more than five minutes sitting at the table with us at supper. Since it never plays out that way, pillows would be a very, very tempting item to throw on the floor. Then we'd ask him why he did such a thing and he would just look at us with a straight face and say "I don't know why, Mama. I just did."  And that, friends, is how it is.