Maybe you could post it to Apartment Therapy. They always have great modern design ideas.

And also, at my last weigh-in before giving birth, I had gained close to 40 lbs because I am totally a top performer. And heifer.

Oh my god…such a beautiful pic!

I love that you almost whizzed your pants…just moved into a new home and the icemaker noise almost made me do the same the other night!

That photo is SO adorable!!

Great shot and god help you with all of that dirt. My cleanliness is next to godliness OCDness would be flipping out. Also? Who only gains 25 pounds with a baby? Evil magic witches, that’s who.

The weather here in Mass has been weird lately, one day it’s hot the next day it’s cold.
I gained about 50 pounds when I was pregnant, and let me tell you I just LOVED everybody asking me “how many babies are in there!” and telling me I was HUGE! I think I realized how big I was and didn’t need co-workers pointing it out everyday.
As far as the kitchen goes, I would go with the built in booth, only because that is what I always wanted.
Cute picture, my dog also loves to lay on his back with that hairy wart thing on his chin exposed. Not sure why dogs have those.

I saw on one of those house remodel shows a bench for a breakfast nook that had hidden storage compartments/hinged-lids on the seat. Then they made cushions to put on top. Who couldn’t use some extra storage?

me again…try this:
http://tinyurl.com/2xbtnl

He even makes baby farmer’s tans cute!

I would decline the booth idea but that is just me – it just seems like in my unscientific mind that on HGTV they always yank those things out. Also did a little Google search and OMG unless you want 50s nook… ack run.

They have such cute little table and chair sets or you could do benches for
If you are really set on breakfast nook stuff, here are some none vinyl and less country looking designs:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100430609&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&PID=500871&cm_mmc=CJ-_-nextag-_-D59X-_-100430609&cpncode=12-27174369-2&URL=http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BuildLinkToHomeDepot?linktype=product&id=100430609&cm_mmc=CJ-_-nextag-_-D59X-_-100430609&AID=10368321&cj=true&srccode=cii_9324560
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-0210615-0179865?asin=B000PAXWFK&AFID=Nextag&LNM=B000PAXWFK|Ardmoore_Nook_Set__White_Natural&ref=tgt_adv_XSN10001

I personally like the pub table thing – I have seen other people do that in their homes and it looks great.

You are very calm with this home remodel thing – I so would be a freak about on top of being pregnant!??! ACK!

It’s supposed to go up to almost 100 here in Kentucky on Friday. After school events and athletic practices have been cancelled or moved inside. Whoever says there is no such thing as global warming can just come on down here and warm their hands on the front seat of my truck before I get in it this afternoon. Or maybe their bare ass. And then they can try to unstick them. Or it.

The only bad thing about anything built-in your kitchen is that you have no flexibility in the future if you change your mind. But the space saving is a plus. What a quandry. I’m no help. Sorry.

I definitely saw a modern take on the built-in booth in a recent design show. For the life of me I can’t remember which one but I’ll ask my mom, who watches nothing but design tv and is SURE to remember seeing it.

Something like this could be made more modern based on the type of wood and color stain you use for the bottom. http://1352house.com/Gathering%20&%20Eating_files/Kitchen-Banquette.png

Your cute little family makes me want one.

And I like Lynn’s booth that she found!

We have one of those corner breakfast nooks you can have cheap. They are a major pain in the ass. Imagine sitting in a restaurant arched bench seat where someone in the middle always wants out. If I was to design a breakfast nook I would have octagon shaped table with built in benches on one half and three chairs on the other. That way a family of four can sit with easy access and in a pinch you can have room for six. You might want to pickup a roll of heavy paper to put down on the floor to minimize damage from dirt. Toaster Ovens are great too. Cheap and opens up a whole new realm of junk food you can ‘cook’.

I hear you on the weather. I think the PNW is suffering from extended spring. Hopefully, one day, we’ll have a summer. Maybe before the rain comes in the fall. Oh wait… the rain is already here. Sigh. Remember last month? When it was hot for like 3 days and everyone said, “YAY!”? Yeah, that was good. Maybe that was summer…

You make remodelling sound like so much fun! But I will match your swampy Bog with a few giant fir trees full of branches just fallen (taken down yesterday) on my front lawn. Looks like a couple feet of limbs and pine cones. Smells like Christmas so I guess it isn’t all bad.

I saw a ready-made booth set at Target. That would be an inexpensive option though I can’t say much for the style. You be the judge. Otherwise, you can always hold out the booth set for later when you have found the perfect one. No need to rush and then later regret your choice.

Adorable photo!

LOVE the family pic! So, who likes having the belly rubbed more?

I second Pete’s argument that they can be a pain in the butt. I grew up with one and I was seated on the inside beside my Dad. If I had to get up to go to the bathroom or when I was finished, I always had to duck under the table and climb out, step behind him, or have him move. I usually stepped behind him and to my horror, did it once out of habit in a nice restaurant when I was 18. I was in a dress and heels. Classy.

I sent you an e-mail with a link to a couple of really great, modern, leather sets (for some reason I couldn’t paste it into my comments here).
Good luck.

I live in your neck of the woods and feel like, overall, summer has forgotten about the Pacific Northwest this year — and I don’t like it one bit! (pout) I definitely gained more than the “recommended amount” with my pregnancy — I had gained 5 pounds in one week at one of my last weigh-ins — but you know what? I had a healthy baby and that is all that matters.

Oh, and the leather sets would easly sit 4 without anyone having to get up for anyone else, and easily 6 if you have two people on each of the benches. I’ll try this stupid cut and paste again…

http://www.homedecorators.com/Furniture/Kitchen_%26_Dining_Room/

“Sure, they say you should only gain 25-35 pounds in pregnancy, but I figure those numbers are for low performers.” MWHAHAHAHA. Also the pic? Awwwww. Finally, on the breakfast nook? Just. Say. No. I lived with one for 5 years and HATED it every second. Also I grew to hate all the guests who came over and said “A breakfast nook? HOW CUTE!” They are horribly uncomfortable, inflexible, space-eating contraptions that will hurt your back, suck up space, and leave you NO OPTIONS once they’re installed. A breakfast nook is the furniture equivalent of a tattoo. If yor ever change your mind too bad because YOU’RE STUCK forever.

For your breakfast nook…how about a variation on this?

http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Soho_Delfino_Breakfast_Nook_Set/840/

I guess I am going to recall my comment about getting the built in booth, it actually sounds like they suck!

The New Zealand Pine set is kind of modern and chic…

http://www.wards.com/wards/page2All.asp?PID=694&NoCnt=Y&CMB=301&CP=00&pp=yes&afsrc=1

I’ve decided it must be Armageddon, because surely it is not rainy and 58 degrees for three days in NEW JERSEY in AUGUST.

I’m afraid summer has passed us by- have you noticed that the trees here in Seattle are already starting to change their colors?

No built-in booth. Keep the space flexible, just get a bench/chairs and table.

Don’t worry — I gained close to a whopping 60 lbs with my pregnancy, and was also regularly told “Wow, you’re huge!” and “Are you SURE you’re not having twins??” Good times… However, the breastfeeding diet was good to me, and I was back down to my normal weight in no time at all.

One of the houses I almost bought years ago had an awesome built-in booth, but it was so uncomfortable getting in and out that its cuteness wasn’t worth it.

Another vote for no built-in nook here. You could get a very modern-looking table and bench set, though, and it would look a lot less crowded than a bunch of chairs. DWR, CB2, and IKEA all have benches designed for the dining room.

Target to the rescue?

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=bxgy_cc_img_b_14339561/601-6057542-9239328?asin=B000PC388O

I like the booth idea too… I saw it on a show on HGTV a while back. So I went looking for it, and they have cancelled the damn show! BOO! Oh well… they still have pictures online. The show was called Get Color, and it was fabulous. Here’s a picture of a kitchen with a booth… it’s way at the back of the picture, but maybe you can get the idea.
http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2005/05/26/hgcor112_1aft_redkitchen_e.jpg
The upholstery fabric was this really vibrant red and green and turquoise and yellow print with fish on it.

Oh, and such a cute picture!!!

Holy cow… the cuteness of that picture is overwhelming. I can almost feel the love, even through a computer screen.

Good luck surviving the remodel hell.

Adorable picture!

You just reminded me of the awfulness that we discovered under our kitchen linoleum a couple of years ago — 2 more layers of linoleum, each shockingly uglier than the one before it. It was truly horrific.

I think you should skip the booth idea and install a giant metal throne. You could sit high atop it, almost invisible through the gleam of jewels and lasers. (yeah, it would have a laser show) And you could velcro kittens and ducklings onto the seats for padding. And there would be robotic arms to give you massages and pedicures, like some inspector gadget shit. And of course one of those gerbil drinking straw things. But instead of water, blamo, ice cream! And if you got tired of basking in your own glory, it would transform into one of those old people bathtubs that you sit in, and the door closes, then it fills with water. The ones with four million jets of bubbly comfort.

But that’s just my opinion. Ask JB if he can make you one of those. I know he built some chairs once. Or maybe planters, I can’t remember. The point is he seems handy. You never know, he suprised you when he vaulted over that fence.

And once again, I forgot my real point. That being, thank your lucky stars you aren’t getting summer. I wish you were, because summer decided to spend all of it’s time in the south this year. Last week we had three record high temps in a row. Three! And they are predicting another one this week.

It was 101 today. And that’s the bull shit weather service reading that is always at least four degrees cooler than the thermometer at my work. And I was putting up walls in an unheated trailer from six in the morning to five thiry at night. How much bull shit is that? A lot, that’s how much. I drank two gallons of gatorade, two energy drinks, two 12 oz. cans of soda, and a 32 oz. cup of Mountain Dew Baja Blast, all in twelve hours. And I didn’t pee a drop.

You should be glad it’s raining there, because that is probably the only thing stopping my stink from reaching your nostrils right now. It’s bad, I’m telling you. And our lakes are like eight feet below where they should be. Crops are dying. Heat advisories are being tossed about like frisbees. The news is advising people to take extreme care with their pets, so they don’t die. The ANIMALS are in dager from this heat. They are supposed to live outside. Not people. We belong in air conditioned pods with no humidity or sunlight. GraaaaaaaaaH! I hate summer. Where’s my snow? For the love of god, where?

I was waxing nostalgic over the booth we had in our house when I was small until I read all the comments. Guess I hadn’t thought of how it would be to s-l-i-d-e into one as an adult but probably not near as easy as it was when I was a child. And, now that I think of it, the vinyl/leather/whatever was always coated with stickiness from baby brother’s fingers and general messiness. Ugh.

Loved the picture. Can I borrow Riley once in awhile? I have a growing need for g’children and it ain’t happenin’. Damn, I need some little cuties around.

The Picture, as usual is wonderful.

But as for the nook question. Kill two birds with one stone, use refrigerator top cabinets (ya know the ones you put over your fridge, or stove) on the floor (you will likely need to build a little “lift” for them, so they are seat height), top them with a finished board (nail that down, don’t want any Riley accidents) and then top it off with upholstered pads (I’m using leather for durability). There’s your bench. Then add a table that matches the cabinet decor, and you have a nook. You also have a butt-load of additional storage. We put all our big kitchen stuff in there (serving platters that only come out at the holidays, they HUGE crockpot, things like that). We stole this idea from Ikea a few years ago. It is our kids’ favorite place to sit!

hey, about the nook. whatever you do, get it with storage built in. our benches around the back and side have seats that lift up and we store all kinds of…well, crap, mostly, but it’s nice nevertheless. :)

I think that photo might sum up what I want in life.

I have long voiced my opinion in favor of the banquette. I think a banquette could be modern and stylish depending on the fabric used on the seat cushions (and draperies if you’re using those – though definitely not the same fabric on the seats and the windows).

The lighting fixtures chosen could also make a difference in whether or not the built-in area seems more like a modern home, retro diner, or country kitchen. You could also consider painting the wood or staining the wood an unusual color – a slightly glossy black would be awesome, or so would grey. Probably the biggest factor aside from the fabric will be the chairs you pair it with. Especially viewed from behind they need to look modern.

Here are some websites with pics of more modern takes on the banquette:

http://tinyurl.com/26e6ce
http://tinyurl.com/2t62fw (click on the 2nd smallish pic to get a better sense of what it looks like)

an article on why you should choose a banquette and also hints on sizing and style http://tinyurl.com/2lrhzy

i can’t remember if you said you have space for a dining room table or whatever. we have both–a breakfast nook and a fancy dancy dining area. the nook has been great when the nieces and nephews come and we can keep them in the kitchen area (the dining is carpeted, which was NOT my idea) and also, when it’s just me and the kiddo for lunch or whatever. when my in-laws were in town, we sat all four of us around no problem. two on the unattached bench, one of us in one built-in corner and the other on the other built-in side. ?? i guess everyone to their own.

also, i was catching up with a friend yesterday who is seven weeks along. she’s LOST 10 lbs. so far. i hate her. i know that isn’t healthy or right or anything, but what the heck? i mean, i guess it would be one thing if she was a bigger chick, but she’s average, and…okay, i guess it’s not good at all to be losing weight when pregnant, but still. argh.

Ooooh! I have a GREAT contribution! That just never happens to me. Our neighbors – retired folks – remodeled their house and put in a little breakfast nook. The modeled it after a MOTOR HOME. It looks all custom and homey. But the table drops down and it makes a BED! How cool is that???

If you get a booth, like the old fashioned soda shoppe kind, you’ll be tempted to eat homefries and eggs over easy for breakfast and sundaes and banana splits in the afternoon. Nix that!

woohoo! i win – i gained 55 pounds this pregnancy. super achiever!
i blame the donuts i *had* to eat every day. (mmmmmmm, donuts)

try dwell magazine or else atomic ranch for ideas? i remember seeing something in sunset magazine too like you are talking about, but i’m no help cause of course cannot remember which issue.

As to the table/banquette question…when we renovated our apartment two years ago, we built in a banquette for the kitchen. Its a half circle. We use a round table in front of it and a few chairs on the other side. Its a nice compromise. There are times I like lying on the banquette and times I like using the chairs. The banquette is great for kids because it doesn’t move and its easy to kneel on. My one piece of advice (which we didn’t take the first time around) — any fabric can be laminated. We used Sunbrella indoor/outdoor fabric the first time and its just not as stain resistant as I would like (seems its not built to withstand rainstorms of tomato sauce). We then reupholstered with the same fabric that we had laminated. Its softer than vinyl with a muted sheen. And everything just wipes right up. Our upholsterer was able to do the laminating for us so you’d have to ask around. But it frees to you to choose any fabric you like and not limit you to the diner-issue patterns that come in vinyl.

Just passing by via google looking for the same thing! I found a great pic in Cooking with Paula Dean this month. It is an ad within the first few pages, hope it helps. Perhaps I will remember to come and post ours when finished.
Good luck!

I love the last comment because I was googling to try to find a design myself to get one made and happened upon your blog. I have kids and noticed your description of the “whale shark” stage – so now when I need to refer back to your blog for the breakfast nook – I do a google search:

“kitchen nook”+”whale shark” and it always comes up! : )

I too will try to send a picture if we end up designing our own.

thanks!