Kitchen Breakfast Nook

To create more space and storage around my kitchen table I recently added this breakfast nook.

Now I have enough room to seat 7 adults or 4 adults and 4 kids comfortably.  And I have space in my cupboards for the things I use all the time since I was able to fill up the space under the nook with everything I use every now and then.  I love it!

What you'll need:

-Miter saw

-Circular saw (or have Home Depot make the cuts in your particle board)

-Sander

-wood putty

-white paint

-stain of your choice for glazing

-faux glaze (refer to my Glazing 101 tutorial)

-2" nails

-nail gun & compressor

-(5) 9' 2x4's

-(3) 4"x3/4" whitewood board

-(1) 4'x8' sheet of particle board (3/4" thick)

-2" screws

-(4) hinges

Start by framing in the nook area.  My nook is 8.5' wide, 19" tall, and 18" deep.  Use your screws to hit the studs and secure each piece to the wall and the floor.

I pulled my existing baseboards off, cut them down to size, and nailed pieces of them back on when I had the particle board on.

Cut from your particle board two pieces for the tops measuring 18"x4'.  Now cut two pieces measuring 19"x4'.  You'll also need to cut one piece measuring 6"x18" for the top middle, and one measuring 6"x19" for the bottom middle.

Now nail your bottom three pieces, and the top middle piece into place.  

Sand all the edges down that people would be touching.  

Find four studs in the wall (two for each top piece that will lift up) and mark where you need to place your screws.  Pre-drill the top three that will go into the wall so your 2" screws will go in much smoother.  I used the three smaller screws that came with the hinges on the bottom three holes so they wouldn't poke through the wood on the other side.

Using your miter saw; cut from your 3 pieces of whitewood board 5 pieces measuring 11" long for the front.  Two full boards (8' long) will go on the top front and bottom front.  You will need to add a piece to the top and bottom which will be about 6" long to make up the space.  

Nail your newly cut whitewood boards to the front of the nook.  

Refer to the picture below.

Nail your baseboard pieces back into place.

Fill the nail holes and any spaces with wood putty, let it dry, and sand each spot down.

Tape off the nook and wipe any dust off so you can paint.

When the paint is completely dry mix and apply your glaze (follow my Glazing 101 tutorial).

*TIP: when your glaze has had a week to dry apply a coat of polycrylic to it so it will last longer.

Now the nook itself is complete.  

For directions on how to make the cushions click here.

ENTRYWAY CLOSET MAKEOVER

I had a huge closet with a lot of space for coats.  My family doesn't need that much room for coats so I decided to change it up a bit to meet our needs. 

Now we have just the right amount of coat/jacket storage.  I made all sorts of shoe cubbies and a spot just for the diaper bag.  The bench was a must for us.  This allows us to sit down by our shoes and put them on.  And it's right by the door so we can walk right out.  The bench top lifts up so we have plenty of storage underneath for blankets.  I also made extra spaces for visitors so their shoes aren't sitting on the carpet.