By Hook or by Crook, It's Time to Make Way for a (Dining) Nook
These sophisticated dining areas have been custom-built for togetherness by day and night
Far from casual breakfast nooks operating as second eating areas, these glamorous banquettes set the scene for upmarket dining worthy of a Michelin star. Along with creating an attention-getting feature in a house, apartment or hideaway, a built-in dining nook can be a space-efficient way to gather as a family or entertain a crowd. See how the designers of these stunning homes have worked in dining areas that deliver. You’ll be tempted to find a way to include one at your house.
American diner
The owners of this meticulously restored 1939 Art Deco home in Adelaide saved the best for last – a personality-filled kitchen and dining area for meals, reading the paper over a cappuccino and croissant or gathering with friends for drinks. The diner-style nook makes efficient use of the space and ties in with the streamlined curves that emerged in American design in the ‘20s and ‘30s. Baby blue was one of the popular colours of the time, so the kitchen drawer and door fronts were painted in ‘Hazy Daze’ from Dulux, and the booth upholstery selected to match. Around the edge of the floor (commercial-grade Marmoleum vinyl), a black line mimics the shapely kitchen and dining nook, a move repeated in the upholstery piping.
See more of this award-winning kitchen
The owners of this meticulously restored 1939 Art Deco home in Adelaide saved the best for last – a personality-filled kitchen and dining area for meals, reading the paper over a cappuccino and croissant or gathering with friends for drinks. The diner-style nook makes efficient use of the space and ties in with the streamlined curves that emerged in American design in the ‘20s and ‘30s. Baby blue was one of the popular colours of the time, so the kitchen drawer and door fronts were painted in ‘Hazy Daze’ from Dulux, and the booth upholstery selected to match. Around the edge of the floor (commercial-grade Marmoleum vinyl), a black line mimics the shapely kitchen and dining nook, a move repeated in the upholstery piping.
See more of this award-winning kitchen
By the beach
This colourful apartment, located over the road from Sydney’s Manly Beach with enviable ocean views, has a vintage coastal vibe and a ‘kick off your shoes and relax’ feel about it, just as the owners intended. The beach pad is used by a young family of seven on weekends and holidays, so the space had to be carefully planned to accommodate this many people comfortably. Designer Brett Mickan used playful, bold colours (Dulux ‘Sea Legs’ and ‘Pale Tendral’) to focus attention on the views, furniture and art.
The banquette seating not only makes the best use of the available space, it adds interest and creates less visual noise than a table surrounded by chairs. The practical vinyl upholstery blends into the wall and adds to the vintage vibe, as do the four original Bentwood chairs around the table. Oval is always a wise choice for dining nooks to allow for ease of access and to avoid knocked knees.
Handwoven pendant: Orient House
This colourful apartment, located over the road from Sydney’s Manly Beach with enviable ocean views, has a vintage coastal vibe and a ‘kick off your shoes and relax’ feel about it, just as the owners intended. The beach pad is used by a young family of seven on weekends and holidays, so the space had to be carefully planned to accommodate this many people comfortably. Designer Brett Mickan used playful, bold colours (Dulux ‘Sea Legs’ and ‘Pale Tendral’) to focus attention on the views, furniture and art.
The banquette seating not only makes the best use of the available space, it adds interest and creates less visual noise than a table surrounded by chairs. The practical vinyl upholstery blends into the wall and adds to the vintage vibe, as do the four original Bentwood chairs around the table. Oval is always a wise choice for dining nooks to allow for ease of access and to avoid knocked knees.
Handwoven pendant: Orient House
New York state of mind
Why show decorating restraint if you don’t have to? This five-storey New York townhouse on Manhattan’s West Side embraces the owner’s flamboyant taste with clashing prints, bold colours and striking artwork. A banquette upholstered in white velvet is in keeping with the over-the-top aesthetic, but its neutral tone allows the other elements to shine.
Why show decorating restraint if you don’t have to? This five-storey New York townhouse on Manhattan’s West Side embraces the owner’s flamboyant taste with clashing prints, bold colours and striking artwork. A banquette upholstered in white velvet is in keeping with the over-the-top aesthetic, but its neutral tone allows the other elements to shine.
Retro, dramatic lighting sets off the dramatic but tasteful decor.
Pill Wall Lamp: Matter; dining table and FEBO dining chairs: B&B Italia; Kreme wallpaper: All Modern
Pill Wall Lamp: Matter; dining table and FEBO dining chairs: B&B Italia; Kreme wallpaper: All Modern
Mid-century modern
Banquette seating and mid-century style often go hand in hand, and in the case of this linear new home on the Gold Coast, the pairing is a perfect match.
Banquette seating and mid-century style often go hand in hand, and in the case of this linear new home on the Gold Coast, the pairing is a perfect match.
This restaurant-style dining area offers a cosy spot to gather in an otherwise open-plan design. The nook’s timber joinery and teal banquette upholstery are echoed in the kitchen, tying the two areas together.
George Nelson Saucer pendants: Designer Lights
George Nelson Saucer pendants: Designer Lights
Hollywood glamour
Where better to embrace Hollywood glamour than Hollywood itself? The tech entrepreneur owner of this hideaway in the Hollywood Hills had an impressive collection of artwork, and engaged interior designer Caitlin Murray to draw inspiration from it to give his mid-century-style bachelor pad a unique new look.
The dining area doubles as a breezeway leading to the outdoors, the pool and views over LA, making it a natural drawcard. Murray says people also gravitate to banquette-style seating, a cosier and somehow more sociable set-up than table and chairs. Eccentric but upmarket, the dining area features an artwork that’s actually a still from the movie Jaws.
Zanadoo pendant: Arteriors; Eero Saarinen oval dining table: Design Within Reach; chairs: ABC Home; custom banquette fabric: Spoonflower
Where better to embrace Hollywood glamour than Hollywood itself? The tech entrepreneur owner of this hideaway in the Hollywood Hills had an impressive collection of artwork, and engaged interior designer Caitlin Murray to draw inspiration from it to give his mid-century-style bachelor pad a unique new look.
The dining area doubles as a breezeway leading to the outdoors, the pool and views over LA, making it a natural drawcard. Murray says people also gravitate to banquette-style seating, a cosier and somehow more sociable set-up than table and chairs. Eccentric but upmarket, the dining area features an artwork that’s actually a still from the movie Jaws.
Zanadoo pendant: Arteriors; Eero Saarinen oval dining table: Design Within Reach; chairs: ABC Home; custom banquette fabric: Spoonflower
Island incorporated
The owners of this renovated California bungalow in Melbourne’s St Kilda were inspired by the area’s cool cafe culture – they wanted their home to feel just as sociable, warm and welcoming. When the lean-to at the back of the house was demolished to make way for a contemporary addition, off-form concrete was used to create bench seating at several gathering points inside and out. The kitchen itself fades into the background in the addition, leaving the integrated island to take centre stage – it also serves as a backrest for those seated at the table. The wire seating and bright yellow pendant, meanwhile, lighten the mood.
Browse more kitchen photos
The owners of this renovated California bungalow in Melbourne’s St Kilda were inspired by the area’s cool cafe culture – they wanted their home to feel just as sociable, warm and welcoming. When the lean-to at the back of the house was demolished to make way for a contemporary addition, off-form concrete was used to create bench seating at several gathering points inside and out. The kitchen itself fades into the background in the addition, leaving the integrated island to take centre stage – it also serves as a backrest for those seated at the table. The wire seating and bright yellow pendant, meanwhile, lighten the mood.
Browse more kitchen photos
The built-in seating extends beyond the table setting to face the two-way fireplace and matching window seat – another great spot to get together and connect with fellow humans.
The bench-seat theme continues outdoors.
Tell us
Which dining nook do you like best and why? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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Browse more dining room photos
Tell us
Which dining nook do you like best and why? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
More
Browse more dining room photos
Architects have to be especially creative when working within the confines of a small site, and that was certainly true when designing this Woollahra terrace house in Sydney. Economy of space was paramount in the open-plan dining/kitchen/living area, but the dining area also had to fit in with the sophisticated aesthetic of the rest of the home. The solution? A built-in dining nook inspired by iconic designer Eileen Gray’s Bibendum Chair. Architect Luigi Roselli says the nook was “easy to draw but difficult to execute”, with the sculpting of the foam stuffing and double curving at the ends proving challenging for the upholsterer. The stained American-oak joinery continues into the adjoining kitchen and reappears throughout the home.
The house that Eileen Gray built