Do You Sit At Your Kitchen Island?

[Amethyst]

We're going to re-do our 2004-era open-plan kitchen, with its white thermofoil cabinets and two-level island.

Two contractors have already told us that "everyone nowadays" is replacing the 2-level island with a big flat island full of cabinets, with no overhanging shelf. We can see advantages to this, but is it true that "nobody" actually uses those 4 barstool-type chairs you always see in real estate ads, nestled under the island's raised shelf. I mean, we never did that, but is it done (much)?

Just wondering whether it's wise to give up the option to have seating at the island.

 

[finnski1]

We're going to re-do our 2004-era open-plan kitchen, with its white thermofoil cabinets and two-level island.

Two contractors have already told us that "everyone nowadays" is replacing the 2-level island with a big flat island full of cabinets, with no overhanging shelf. We can see advantages to this, but is it true that "nobody" actually uses those 4 barstool-type chairs you always see in real estate ads, nestled under the island's raised shelf. I mean, we never did that, but is it done (much)?

Just wondering whether it's wise to give up the option to have seating at the island.

We don't have an island but we do have a 1 foot overhang on our peninsula countertop. Had stools there for years but hardly ever used them. Got rid of the stools and foot traffic is much easier in that area. Don't miss them but think I would keep the overhang just in case for family get togethers etc. Our stools are stored in the basement.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We might go against the grain, but we use our island almost every single day. Sometimes I eat breakfast or lunch there, but more often it's used when we have visitors. As others surely note, the kitchen seems to be the entertainment center, so having the seating available is nice. Also, our island is MASSIVE, so people LOVE to congregate around it. I like our bench since when it's not being used, it's not in the way.

Also, I know you didn't ask, but avoid the fancy 48" range if you can. They are stupid expensive and finding parts once they are a few years old is a royal pain in the arse!

 

[RunningBum]

I have a little different setup, but the short answer is that I use mine all the time. I only have thumbnail pics of it (too messy right now for a new pic), but I think you can see how I kept it all at counter height, with an overhang on both sides, and it's an L rather than an island. Sitting on the kitchen side gives me a great view to the outdoors, and also the TV in the living room if I happen to be watching something. I not only use it for most meals, but often between meals I leave the laptop on the counter and return to it from time to time, or sit for hours if the weather is bad. Of the decisions I made when planning this house, this one is one of my very best. I also use it when my son and/or GF come for meals, and when I have a party it's a very popular spot because people often congregate in the kitchen and this gives more seating and counter space since it's two sided.

If I only had the more traditional two level counter with seating on the side opposite the kitchen, I would probably still use it, but not all day like I often do because there is usually less depth, plus in my case I'd lose the view. It would still be nice to have for parties though.

 

[Midpack]

We have a large island with an overhang and 4 chairs, but with a COVID we can’t entertain at all, so we’re not using ours much now. We eat breakfast and lunch there some times. Pre-Covid it was fun to have folks over for dinner, they could sit there while we cooked, have a drink and talk, and then we’d move to a dining table to eat. If we have more than 6 guests, some would be at the island, some at the dining table and others at the breakfast room table. Or we’d put kids at the island or the breakfast room. Or guys would take over one area and women another to talk. Lots of options.

Instead of asking others who may have different options or lifestyles - I would think it would depend on what other dining areas you have, and whether or not you entertain much, and how many people at a time - those are the questions I’d think you’d have to ask yourself? We were using our island seating a couple times a week before Covid-19...

And the two level island are out of fashion now I’ve heard. They were supposed to hide stuff on the counter, but new construction island are one counter height.

 

[JoeWras]

Timely question, as we are considering remodeling our 1980 kitchen. We have no island, so for me, I will say no.

My sister, however, uses hers all the time. The seating faces a sink and some more counter. On that counter she has a small TV, so their family frequently sits there for breakfast and lunch, you know, the quick on the go stuff. When we visit, we sit there too.

I hate it. Makes my back hurt.

We won't have room for seating if we do an island, so our decision is made.

Can I ask you, Amethyst, what is a "2 level island?" We seemed to have missed a trend?

 

[Hermit]

I remodeled the kitchen in our last house. The island had a large stove top with a raised bar behind the stove. The stove faced the family room which is just what my late wife wanted. There was a pop-up air vent behind the stove top so the raised bar was necessary. The bar was used more when there was a gathering at the house. That was done around 2004.



My BIL has a very long island with a raised counter at the back and connecting raised round area at the end opposite the kitchen. That is their dining area/table for most ocations. They do have a formal dining room.

 

[Dash man]

We have a large island with an overhang and four stools. We’ve had to replace the stools because they were worn out. Whenever we have company everyone hangs out in the kitchen. It’s used all the time. We plan on remodeling soon too, but the seating area will still be there.

 

[Montecfo]

We have a large single level island which includes our cooktop and vegetable sink.

We have room for 3 chairs, we just have two chunky ones there. We use them frequently.

Never loved the 2 level look.

 

[Janet H]

We've done 2 remodels at 2 houses in the past few years. The first one had a small U shaped kitchen that included overhanging cabinets over the peninsula. You had to stoop down a little to converse with folks on the other side of the counter as the cabinets blocked the line of site. We removed them and disconnected the peninsula, opting for a single level island in the same place with some 24" bar stools. It was a great choice and the island was heavily used both for meals and a nice big surface for projects.

With the second remodel (different house) we made a similar choice and find that even though there is a large dining table adjacent to the bar, we mostly use the bar for casual meals.

U shaped small kitchen Old


Redone


Current kitchen mostly finished


My single criticism of the current kitchen is that the bar should have been about 4 inches wider. There is room for it and I allowed myself to be talked out of this. Mistake.

 

[aja8888]

Do You Sit At Your Kitchen Island?

Nope. No one does around here.

 

[tb001]

I think it depends on what’s on the other side of the island where the stools are. My parents use theirs all the time as a place to eat breakfast and lunch. It’s where everyone hangs out. The layout means the seats are in a living/dining space.

We’ve had bar areas in our last two houses. In both cases the stools backed up to part of the kitchen, so more of a walkway. Plenty of space but they got used far less frequently.

In all cases these were one level.

The house I grew up in had a shelf type bar looking into the kitchen. We used it for breakfast and lunch all the time, but it felt like a separate space.

 

[RunningBum]

Are you asking for resale? What's your time horizon?

I figure for a remodel where I plan to stay a long time, I do it the way I want, without regard for resale or what a contractor is saying is "in" now. Even if they are correct, things could swing back the other way by the time you sell. If I'm on the fence, could go either way, I'd probably take their advice.

Since you never used it, are you wanting more cabinet space by eliminating it? Is this going to be floor to ceiling cabinets/counters? Will you like having it more closed in?

 

[Gumby]

When we had the kitchen expanded and renovated in 2005, we faced this decision with regard to our 4 foot by 9 foot island. We went with the cabinets all around and flush to the edge (about an inch of counter past the edge of the cabinets). It is wonderful to have so much storage for all the electric kitchen gadgets, serving dishes, big utensils, storage containers and various bottles of oils, vinegars, etc, close at hand. And we have a kitchen table for sitting if we want (although we almost always take our dinner in the formal dining room).

If I could do anything over, I'd have the granite counter top stick out about another one inch all around, to better accommodate the clamps for the hand cranked meat grinder and the hand cranked pasta roller that we occasionally use. As it is now, we have to open a drawer to get enough room for them to clamp on well.

 

[Amethyst]

This is strictly a resale concern. I would like to live in this house for a long time, but things can change at our ages. So I don't want to make a major change that could matter to future buyers.

This is an open-plan, contemporary house, with a great room that contains living room and dining room space, plus a small wet bar.

The kitchen zone also contains a sitting area with two love seats, plus an informal round eating table with four chairs. So there are plenty of places for people to sit.

All I really care about is whether other people really crave that real-estate ad "look" of the stools/bar chairs around the kitchen island. In our case, the sink and dishwasher are in the island, so they would be mostly watching dishes being washed.

I think it depends on what’s on the other side of the island where the stools are. My parents use theirs all the time as a place to eat breakfast and lunch. It’s where everyone hangs out. The layout means the seats are in a living/dining space.

We’ve had bar areas in our last two houses. In both cases the stools backed up to part of the kitchen, so more of a walkway. Plenty of space but they got used far less frequently.

In all cases these were one level.

The house I grew up in had a shelf type bar looking into the kitchen. We used it for breakfast and lunch all the time, but it felt like a separate space.

 

[W2R]

I don't have an island, but I have a large, long peninsula with empty space underneath and bar stools. Yes, I do sit there often, especially when preparing and cooking meals. I take my portable video game console with me to keep me busy while I keep an eye on things.

I think when making this decision, the best approach would be to think about which you need most: a place in the kitchen to sit or possibly eat, or more cupboards. I already have way more kitchen cupboards than I could possibly use.

If you make this decision with the future owners in mind, guaranteed they will rip out the entire kitchen and remodel before they have been in the house a year.

All I really care about is whether other people really crave that real-estate ad "look" of the stools/bar chairs around the kitchen island.

I don't care one way or the other, and didn't when I bought the house either.

 

[Sue J]

We remodeled our kitchen last summer. No options for an island so I didn’t have to make any decisions about that!

But for those of you who have a sink in your island, do you find that you like the sink there? Or is there too much splashing, dirty dishes nearby and maybe a drying rack taking up a lot of room?

 

[GalaxyBoy]

We have a peninsula with an overhanging granite countertop facing the breakfast area. Never had a desire to even buy stools to put there. OTOH, the large wide countertop comes in extremely useful for all kinds of things like making bread, homemade pasta, cutting fabric for quilting (DW there), etc.

Edit to add: DW and I generally hate sitting on stools. Back when we actually went out to eat we would pass up seats at the so-called "high top" tables.

 

[Amethyst]

Your approach is basically the one I am using. I always need more storage space.

What people do after they buy doesn't concern me. I just don't want them to turn around and leave before buying.

To us, the island shelf is a useless piece of stone that sticks out and hits us in soft parts of our bodies. However, the contractors saying "everyone" is getting rid of it, was a sure way to make me not want to do it. I'm contrary that way. I also dislike white cabinets, but am being told "nobody" wants wood-look cabinets any more, which means I am nobody.

I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you - Nobody - too?
(Emily Dickinson)

I think when making this decision, the best approach would be to think about which you need most: a place in the kitchen to sit or possibly eat, or more cupboards. I already have way more kitchen cupboards than I could possibly use.

If you make this decision with the future owners in mind, guaranteed they will rip out the entire kitchen and remodel before they have been in the house a year.
I don't care one way or the other, and didn't when I bought the house either.

 

[RunningBum]

Edit to add: DW and I generally hate sitting on stools. Back when we actually went out to eat we would pass up seats at the so-called "high top" tables.

That's why I kept mine counter height. Plus on the kitchen side that I use most, instead of having cabinets with doors or drawers, I have open shelving. The bottom shelf is a few inches off the floor, perfect to rest my feet on. I know exactly what you mean about being uncomfortable at high top tables.

 

[RunningBum]

Can I ask you, Amethyst, what is a "2 level island?" We seemed to have missed a trend?

Joe, here is an example:

I think part of the idea is to hide any kitchen mess on the lower part of the counter from the dining or family room area.

 

[Dwhit]

We have a Galley kitchen with no island. If we had one I would defintely love to sit there. Good on you if you do have one and sit there.

I will say we (my wife and I) do sit in front of the television for many meals. Not sure how this would work for an island.

 

[jcretire77]

I'd be sad to not have our kitchen island to sit at. Power allows easy recharging for laptops, ipads and phones. We have breakfast there every day. Sometimes we force ourselves to eat at the new dining table because we feel guilty!

 

[MissMolly]

We have a peninsula, not an island, with 4 bar stools. We eat every, single meal there now that it's just the two of us. Sure beats dragging stuff all the way over to the table and the dishwasher is just on the other side so very easy for after dinner cleanup. And it's so handy to keep my granddaughter there with crayons or paints or watching TV while I am cooking.

 

[Dtail]

Only a small one level island for us, but when we looked at new models for fun, the predominant concept was a large one level island with cabinets.