DIY PROJECT: Dining Nook

After a long weekend of work, we finally finished building our breakfast nook. I still feel like I'm only half done - I haven't yet refinished the table I found last weekend, wired in the blown glass pendant light, or found enough pillows to fill the whole corner. But at least the hard part is finished.

For this project, I taught myself how to use Google Sketchup to draft the frame. By that I mean I tried to teach myself how to use it, gave up and hand drew most of the plans, and then finally tried again and figured it out. I wanted to start learning how to use it for when we build the floor to ceiling shelves in my walk-in closet. I watched a few tutorials online, but honestly I learned a lot more by just trying to sketch up things that were already built (my kitchen table, a coffee table, etc...).

We built the frame using 2x4s and had planned on creating storage by using piano hinges along the top, but decided halfway through to add drawers on each side after I found this image of a custom banquette. I thought I'd get more use out of the storage if I didn't have to clear off all the pillows and cushions anytime I wanted something. We ended up just buying ball bearing track and basically winging it. They actually turned out great and are the perfect size to fit some little square baskets to keep everything organized.