Turning Your Favorite Table into a Lovely Breakfast Area

Posted by Kathryn Greeley on 2 August 2012 | 2 Comments

Tags: Design

With work spanning from the mountains to the coast of North Carolina and across the Southeast, Kathryn Greeley, owner of Kathryn Greeley Designs, is proud to be celebrating 30 years in the design industry. She shares her love of collections, antiques and entertaining in both her book, The Collected Tabletop, and on her blog, The Collected Room.

Hello SavorNC readers!

It's so lovely to be back with you here today!

Here are three wonderful tables for almost any space, particularly to create a lovely little breakfast area. They are so versatile, they could also be perfect in a foyer or hall, library, sitting room, or even in a bedroom. I am doing a room in the Cashiers Designer Showhouse, opening August 18th, and I am planning to use the first table, which is an antique table that I found at Morris Antiques in Keo, Arkansas while conducting an antiquing tour. As a side note, this tour was a part of my good friend Tobi Fairley's Design Camp and I loved being a part of it — so much, in fact, that we are hosting a second one this fall (get the details on that here). But I digress...back to the tables!

What appealed to me about this table is its slightly oval shape and the size worked perfect for my rather small “Designer’s Sitting Room" space in the showhouse. Yet, it could also be lovely as a hall table or as a breakfast table in a small kitchen or breakfast area. I am pairing it with two of Hickory Chair’s Thurston-style dining chairs in a very sophisticated painted finish. Then I would pull out my sweet antique Old Coalport-Leighton Spray breakfast set that I found on an antiquing trip to Naples, Florida. Add a couple of vintage cobalt breakfast glasses and my Gorham Buttercup sterling pattern and I am ready for a light breakfast with a friend or business associate in my sunny sitting room!

Since I do love florals, I wanted to show you another completely different look for a breakfast table set with floral dinnerware. Another of my favorite small tables is a drop leaf table from Wright Table Company. It reminds me of a French wine tasting table and can even fit perfectly behind a sofa to create a breakfast area in a small house or apartment. I would pair it with a couple of Fauld Furniture’s Yorkshire Ladderbacks with rush seats. And oh so many options for a wonderful tablescape here! For a fresh and bright look, I would recommend Gien’s lovely Millefleurs pattern which is a contemporary interpretation of a classic, romantic floral design. Add Anglais-Ivory flatware by Alain Saint-Joanis and some colorful juice glasses by Iittala in blue or apple green from their Aino Aalto Collection to create a fun breakfast table. If you love this table and chair pairing, you could also create a more rustic look with Sologne by Gien paired with Tortoise Tortue flatware by Sabre and Juliska’s Colette Amber Glass juice glasses.

Finally, I wanted to include a modern look and I just couldn’t bear to leave out my favorite classic table from Hickory Chair, the Barbara Writing Table. This table has so many great design applications and is perfect for a breakfast table! For a clean and elegant transitional look, I might pair this table with two of Hickory Chairs’ Martin Host chairs with tight seats in a leather with a wonderful patina and antique nailheads. For a classic tablescape, add the Corail pattern by Medard De Noblat for your place settings, the Barocco Silverplate by Michael Fina and Hartland stemware by Simon Pearce!

And for all of these lovely tables, add your own unique preference of Deborah Rhodes Triple Braided placemats, which come in such a colorful array of options!

Enjoy your breakfast…think…fresh-squeezed orange juice; yummy, warm croissants with homemade jam; and some smooth Greek yogurt topped with a fresh, luscious local peach!

~Kathryn