Design Dilemma: Warming Up the Kitchen Nook

Photo by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design – More dining room photos

Kitchen nooks were once a “thing.” That is, it seems that every American bungalow built between the 20s and 60s had one. It was where the family gathered for breakfast and sometimes dinner, and where the kids spread out to do their homework after school. It seems like kitchen nooks have gone by the way side in today’s newer homes, in which they are largely obsolete. In an open concept home in which the kitchen opens directly onto a dining area and family room, there is no longer the need for another separate space in addition to a dining room. Still, plenty of us are living in older homes and we still have our kitchen nooks. And sometimes we want to fix them up.

Photo by Cristin Priest {Simplified Bee} – More kitchen ideas

In this kitchen nook makeover, the homeowners have accomplished quite a lot, just with a simple change in wall paint. They swapped out yellow paint for a fresh and cheery patterned geometric print in apple green. The effect is chic and modern, amplified with the addition of a copper pendant lamp. Here’s what the before looked like:

By Cristin Priest {Simplified Bee} San Francisco – See more Home Design Photos

And below, more of the after. The addition of framed children’s drawings really helps make this space feel special. The patterned wallpaper also really sets this space off as a very different environment: