The new Breakfast Nook, looking from the Kitchen. Windows are true-divided, Fir wood, made by Northwest Door and Sash, Eugene, OR.

I built this Nook, and designed it with my friend Jim Givens, for his house.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

The finished Kitchen.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Looking into the Kitchen from the Dining Room.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

The Nook Addition exterior, with cast concrete columns and Fir wood 'brim".

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Looking into the Nook through one of the open casement windows.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Concrete, Wood and Glass.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

The terrazzo floor.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Cabinet detail, featuring Fir doors and deep red frames.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Carrerra marble countertop, and Fir and paint cabinets.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

The kitchen BEFORE. Note the blue tape, which was our early speculation as to the size of the new opening. The overarching goal was to make a strong connection out to the garden, something the house sorely lacked.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Here is a view of the garden, and some boards and ribbon showing a first look at understanding the mass of the proposed bay in the garden. The vertical closest represents an idea about a column for a roof structure over the back door. This column and roof structure turned out to be a bit damaging to the garden, taking away from the feeling of the space as a room. Also, we found that if the bay stayed under six feet from the wall, it still felt like it was a good scale, not too imposing on the garden. Even moving it a few inches farther made a huge difference in the feeling.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Testing the design, with a party! Here we were seeing if our idea for a step doen from the kitchen into the bay would work. We also tried two steps down, but it turned out that one step was best: making a strong connection to the garden, but maintaining a good relationship to the Kitchen proper.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Carbdoard mockup of the column.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

Formwork for the Terrazzo floor.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

The Bay in the snow.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.

The kitchen almost finished.

You can see a complete step-by-step unfolding of the project HERE.