Breakfast Nook Makeover

I have no idea why we never created a use for this space in the 7 years or so that we lived here, but we didn’t.

Actually, that’s not true. I do know why; it’s because I never really considered how I use spaces in my home before.

We just moved in, unpacked, and started living here. Sure, I hung pictures up and I painted walls, but that was it.

Well, that was all about to change.

I wanted a cozy, yummy breakfast nook so that I could enjoy  a more intimate breakfast with my husband.

First, I needed a dining set.

I figured out what I wanted (a 30″ round table with 4 small chairs), and started perusing Craig’s List. I didn’t have much of a budget, so I needed something inexpensive, but decent quality. And of course, with character.

That’s when I stumbled across this little dining set for $45. Ka-ching! And it wasn’t a color that I had to deal with right away. It just sort of blended in.

That light fixture above it added absolutely nothing in terms of atmosphere, so that had to go. 

My house has an open feel, but with distinct areas that are spaces all in their own. Lighting is an amazing, but simple way to really bring a space together and create its own atmosphere. But, to do that, I needed a different light fixture.

Enter this smaller version of my kitchen chandelier I found at a local architectural salvage place.

Except that I wasn’t in love with it. 😕

Especially the black candle with the gold drippy accent part. But even without that, it still needed a little oomph.

You’d think, with as many photos I take of everything in my life, that I’d have at least one close-up shot of that chandelier, but I don’t. I realize now that this is because I didn’t love it. And the closer I got to it, the less I loved it.

It looks nice from a distance though, right? Kind of?

Chandelier Makeover

Anyway, a couple coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on the “candles”, 5 strands of crystals, and a couple strands of beaded garland, and voila! I had this:

This little chandelier brings me joy now every time I look at it.

And as for my breakfast nook:

We eat the majority of our meals at this table now.

We build things like ginger bread houses with the grandkids. Or paint things. Or write. Or just keep each other company while one of us cooks or cleans up.

Weirdly, this breakfast nook has actually brought us closer together.

Who would have thunk something so simple could make the quality of our life so much more awesome? Totally unexpected. And delightful.

Do you have a breakfast nook or a cozy kitchenette in your home? How does it affect your meals together?

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