There are a few ways that your breakfast nook can provide you with extra storage space. If your kitchen is anything like mine, you can use it. My kitchen is a gathering place. It is the room that everyone goes to when they first come into the house. Mail, homework, projects, bags from school or work all get put in the kitchen first. As a result, the room can get a little cluttered. Not to mention all of the nifty gadgets that you use for cooking and cleaning. It seems that the modern kitchen has so many tools to make cooking easier and more convenient that you end up with more than you can comfortably fit in the space provided. I am always looking for ways to increase my storage capacity.
The main way you can increase your storage with the breakfast nook is with under the seat storage in the benches. If your breakfast nook benches have solid bottoms rather than legs, then you can use that space under the seat for a storage chest. This is the perfect place for storing all those extra kitchen gadgets and small appliances that you want to have close enough for convenience, but out of the way enough so that your kitchen is not over crowded. I keep my rice cooker, pasta maker, bread maker, and extra mixer attachments under my breakfast nook seating.
Another way to utilize a breakfast nook with storage is with a table that has drawers. Of course, the drawers in a dining table are going to be thin and not be able to hold too much, but you can use them to store bills, extra paper and pencils for home work, or paperwork that needs to be addressed. Being able to put things in a drawer during mealtime or when you are preparing the meal makes the kitchen area much more pleasant to work in and much more pleasant to sit and eat.