Kitchens in Nairobi’s new apartments are losing their walls. In their place, developers are building a raised counter with a few tall stools, and some say a unit without one now struggles to match the price of one with it.
The feature is known as a breakfast bar, or a kitchen peninsula when it extends from the cabinetry, though the property trade usually calls it a breakfast nook. Developers say it makes an apartment feel modern without taking up much floor space.
Joel Chacha, who owns a furniture shop in Nairobi, says demand for tall seats has grown as homeowners set up these breakfast nooks.
“We sell the stools from Sh5,500, and that can go to more than Sh15,000 each depending on the design. Some are made of steel while others are of wood,” Mr Chacha says.
“They have become one of our fastest-moving items. Mostly, people take two or three stools. Sometimes clients customise the stools to match their dining area furniture,” he adds.
Kingmaxx Mbarire, CEO of Kingsville Real Estate, says his firm now includes breakfast nooks in its apartment designs because buyers like them.
“They are a standard design because clients find it attractive when there is a breakfast nook that separates the kitchen and the living room, especially for a small space. It also attracts the sale value of a property,” he says.
“For the bigger spaces, it makes an apartment or rather a house look more posh,” Mr Mbarire says.
He says the appeal goes beyond looks. An open floor arrangement keeps families in touch while someone is cooking.
“For example, mothers can watch their children eat while cooking in the kitchen,” he says.
The same layout works when entertaining guests.
“We are headed to festivities. This kind of arrangement allows interaction as some people will be in the living room area, others in the kitchen, and we just want to have a free-flowing conversation,” Mr Mbarire says.
A traditional breakfast nook is a small eating area with a table and bench seating close to the kitchen. In Kenyan apartments, however, the name is usually given to a counter extending from the kitchen and paired with tall stools.
Mr Mbarire says the nook is not meant to replace the dining room.
“It’s a totally different space from the dining area. A breakfast nook is set up as part of the kitchen nowadays; it’s not part of the dining area,” he says.
In small apartments, though, it can serve as the place for casual meals. Throughout the day, it doubles as a spot for breakfast, homework, remote work and conversation with guests.
“Most clients find it attractive. For example, in the tiny spaces where you can’t have a dining area, but you have that breakfast nook, you just add some seats, and it becomes very attractive. It is one of the considerations that buyers are looking for when buying and renting a property,” he says.
Interior designer Faith Kosgei says a nook works only if it is planned as part of the building.
“The design of the breakfast nook should integrate with the architecture of the house,” she says.
A well-designed nook, she says, makes use of awkward corners, improves the efficiency of the floor plan and gives the room a sense of balance.
“Lastly and most importantly, it should encourage family connections, be intimate and inviting. A real intentional design should bring out the potential to any underperforming space,” Ms Kosgei says.
She recommends warm wooden tones, curved or sculpted pieces, soft furnishings, and benches or leather banquettes that are easy to maintain. The nook need not match the dining furniture.
“The breakfast nook doesn’t have to match the rest of the furniture; it can actually be an opportunity to bring out your personal style, taste and identity to an otherwise functional space,” Ms Kosgei says.
Tailored for buyers
For developers, particularly at the higher end, the nook is another way to tailor apartments to buyers. Mr Mbarire says Kingsville uses finishes, lighting and cabinetry to set the space apart.
“We customise with nice hanging minimal chandeliers, then there is also the aspect of cabinets. Although there are people who request to design that space according to their liking,” he says.
“All our breakfast nooks are also marble or graphite, but you can choose a colour that you prefer, especially for the clients who are buying the units. When it comes to furnishing, especially for furnished apartments, we also add some cutlery. Sometimes, if the space is big, we customise a bar area for your liquor,” he says.
Cabinets add storage to what would otherwise be a seating area.
“A breakfast nook also adds more space, since some have cabinetry. In these cabinets, you can put cutlery so that, in case children or guests are coming to have breakfast, it’s easier to just whip out the cutlery and place it on top,” Mr Mbarire says.
Adding a counter and stools does not, however, automatically justify a higher price. At Kingsville, the gap between units with and without a nook reflects the extra space they take up.
“Our five-bedroom apartment with a breakfast nook is going for Sh55 million; the one that does not have it is priced at Sh53 million,” Mr Mbarire says.
“For a one-bedroom in Westlands, the price is Sh9.5 million for the standard one, but their size is a little bit smaller; their price is between Sh8.7 million,” he says.
“For a two-bedroom, most of our two-bedroom units come with a closed kitchen, but the ones that do not come with a closed kitchen, the price is Sh12 million. If we include the breakfast nook, the price is Sh13.5 million because, ideally, the space is also bigger,” he says
“So, the price does not change because of the breakfast nook; the price changes because of the price per square metre.”
The idea itself is not new. Breakfast nooks, breakfast bars and eat-in kitchens have long been common in the US, UK and Australia. There, dedicated breakfast corners have given way to multipurpose counters used for eating, working, studying and entertaining.
Kenyan developers are following suit, building the feature into the design and marketing of new projects rather than treating it as interior decoration.
Ms Kosgei says homeowners on a tight budget can still create one without structural work. She suggests making the most of natural light and using recycled materials, such as wooden pallets or bookshelves converted into benches with storage drawers.
“The breakfast nook is where mornings begin and the late night ends,” she says. “It should be a place of cosy vibrancy, beauty as well as warmth. It’s not merely an extra space to create but rather a better way to live.”