Casual Winter Breakfast Nook

We're not hosting Thanksgiving, and my dining room table is pretty much set everyday, so for Kim's challenge this week I decided to turn my attention to my oft-neglected breakfast nook. Mr. B and I eat at the dining room table every night, so this table really is just where I eat my breakfast before work. It needs a casual vibe - cause we're not fancy schmancy people.

This table is a dumping ground. Directly to the right in the picture above is the door to the garage. And with no mudroom to speak of, the table collects keys, handbags, bills, parking tickets, speeding tickets, hate mail and other crap. I keep my dining room table set to prevent the dumping ground scenario, but it's never worked in the kitchen. So we'll give it another try - and maybe paying attention to the speed limit and parking restrictions would help move us in the right direction. We're nothing if not imperfect over here.

I've always thought this space needed some warmth. So I relocated the burlap centerpiece I made for the Dining Room and placed it on a green placemat to add a little color to all of the wood. Then I grabbed my favorite green dishes for a little splash of color.

I love to use dish towels as napkins for casual dining. They're absorbent, actually cover laps and are made to be washed. The more washed, worn and mismatched the better, in my opinion, but for this challenge I went with my Williams-Sonoma candy cane striped dish towels.

I love red and green together - and not just for Christmas. So that's our table setting for this week. A casual place to sit and enjoy our cereal separately - and maybe we'll start eating dinners here more often if we don't let the junk pile up.

Linked up to Kim's Dare to DIY Challenge.