The One Thing You Should Look For When Choosing Where To Build A Breakfast Nook

Even the phrase breakfast nook sounds soothing. It's cuddly, cozy, warm, and languid. Breakfast nooks are for knowing glances and footed pajamas in domestic coffee commercials. A great breakfast nook can make even the best scrambled eggs taste a little bit better. And whether you're choosing from oodles of seemingly ready-made corners, or you're cleverly reverse-engineering some random part of your home, natural light is clutch for creating an optimal breakfast nook.

In a perfect world, your nook — typically stamped in a somewhat delineated area in or adjacent to the kitchen — will face east to catch the morning rays. In the real world, you've got about a one-in-four shot for that to be the case. It's fine if your designated nook area isn't fully bathed in constant sunshine, but some window, somewhere in this designated space — a portal to the outdoors — is essential for capturing those dreamy breakfast nook vibes. Should the area in contention for the breakfast nook treatment lack this critical natural light, congratulations: You can now consider turning it into a terrific reading or dining room instead.

A large, beautifully framed mirror will reflect whatever natural light fills your breakfast nook, creating an even cheerier atmosphere. Lighter colors and pale wood finishes can also, obviously, keep things on the brighter side. Textiles can make a big impact, too. Soft throw pillows evoke notions of cumulus clouds in the sky, and beachy fabrics like crisp linen can further amplify the mood. Anything that draws the eye up — like an interesting chandelier or objets d'art arranged on high shelves — will likewise make your nook feel loftier.

You should also keep your breakfast nook somewhat simple. Clutter can quickly take a space from bright and airy to dark and cloistered. That is to say, don't try to jam in the oversized mirror, a bunch of knick-knacks, and a big old light fixture, but rather choose a few of these elements to create a lilting space. You'll be sipping bloody marys at breakfast and cuddling up to elegant coddled eggs at brunch in no time.