Hands-down, my favorite room makeover is to turn an oversized breakfast area into a sitting area. Why? Because everyone knows it’s a breakfast area. Few know that it could become one of their favorite places to hang out.
I’ll start with a chair and ottoman, side table and lamp, and have it face the window, out to the yard. If the space is large enough, I’ll add a small rug, another chair, or perhaps a love seat. If the breakfast table is small, I’ll push it against a window and position the chairs two-and-two, facing each other. I might add a small lamp to create a cozy homework spot.
Because it’s a space near the heart of the home—the kitchen, we don’t have far to go to sip our coffee, plan our week, answer emails, pick through recipes, and create our lists.
Sadly, very little of our seating in the house affords us an outside view. Typically, our seating faces a TV, fireplace or another wall. A view out a window can be our tiny slice of heaven. It calms us, helps us be outside without actually going outside, particularly helpful in the dead of winter.
As for missing the table, well, how many dining spaces do we need? If there’s a breakfast bar at the kitchen island or peninsula, and a formal dining room a few feet away, that’s two eating options within a few feet of each other. This doesn’t include the coffee table between the sofa and TV where many meals often take place. Do we seriously need that many eating options?
Some homes have what I call “the dance floor:” it’s the space between the family room and kitchen, typically the width of the breakfast room at the window. This open area annoys me because it’s wasted space. Consider pulling the table into this empty space and create your sitting room at the windows. Install recessed lighting overhead.
As for the chandelier in the sitting area, replace it with a ceiling fan.
When I do this for staging, the home stands apart to buyers—women—who remember this cute sitting area off the kitchen.
If you love the idea of a sitting area but can’t set it up in the windowed breakfast nook, consider placing a chair in a bedroom at the window. Again, the trick is to face out the window for the full effect.
The only issue I can see in this set-up is competing for the chair with the napping cat, who will have surely decided this space was created especially for her. (It was, wasn’t it?)
Would you enjoy your very own mini-episode of HGTV’s Love It or List It? Call me to get a fresh set of eyes on your home and see how it could be repurposed to get what you need.
You might also like: Surprising Living Room Makeover
Copyright © 2022 by Cynthia Gentry Black, Home Staging by Cynthia, LLC in Kansas City.
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