Informal Dining: Nook-Style

I love a dining nook.

via

I really feel like this is the way to go for us.  We wouldn't use a formal dining room and a nook though.  It would be a waste of space in our tight-on-space home. So I'm trying to come up with a design for a banquette nook area that is a little more formal looking, like the picture above.

I bought a new light for our dining room yesterday.  I think I need to get over my paralyzing fear of online purchasing.  I know, you all think that's crazy, but I have so much trouble actually pulling the trigger on a purchase online.  I like to be able to touch the item and see the scale, etc.

my new light from wisteria

I'm hoping it's the right size for the banquette we're going to build in the dining room.  This is the dining room:

real estate photo, not my stuff

It's quite a small room and it's open to the kitchen so I think the scale of the light will be right.  I have posted about banquettes before so if you've been a reader for a while, you know it's my longtime dream to have one.  We are casual people and there is no one who would ever come to my house for a meal and expect a formal dining experience.  We like good food, shared family style.  

On a side note, there is currently a  'boob' light in the dining room.  I know, how fancy!  We'll be removingit and the closet door at the back.  We are trying to determine if the bench seat for the banquette will be in an 'L' shape or just across the wall under the window.  

the dining room in one of our previous homes

curtain fabric close-up

Unfortunately, these are the best photos I have of the curtains fabric we will be using, since they are currently in storage. We will be using these curtains on the large front window in the new house. The living room is open to the dining room so things have to flow.  Seems like a lot of color for me, doesn't it?  I know!  I'm totally out on a limb here!

I don't think the curtain fabric is available any longer but there is a co-ordinating stripe that I love.  I already have pillows in this fabric and am thinking about using it on the window over the banquette.

via

(It doesn't look much like it co-ordinates in these pictures, but I promise, it does).

So, I'm on the hunt for some fabrics that will work for the banquette cushions and pillows, as well as the living room area, which is open to the dining space and kitchen.  That's a lot of co-ordinating for me.  We will see how this goes.  

Just for reference, here's a picture of the new light from the Wisteria site:

patina!

I'm open to any suggestions you might have for fabrics.  In fact, I'd love your help!  Also, what do you think of the light?

xo Meg