What kind of seating do you request at a restaurant? It may hold the key to setting up your kitchen table
The kitchen island has dominated kitchen floor plans for at least the last 10 years as kitchens became larger and more open, but many of you are hankering for a good old-fashioned kitchen table. I’m with you — I grew up eating breakfast and dinner at my family’s kitchen table. My feet are never quite comfortable dangling from a stool or banging up against the side of an island.
Perhaps the best way to imagine what’s right for your eat-in kitchen is to think about what you request at a restaurant — do you like a table or a booth? To eat in the bar? The private room or the one in the middle of the action? If your kitchen is so tiny that the thought of these options is making you laugh, don’t worry — we’ve got a few clever space-saving ideas too.
1. The breakfast room at a bed-and-breakfast. Typically a breakfast room is a separate space just off but open to the kitchen, but today many families are opting to combine the two by not putting any walls in between. The built-ins here give an otherwise open space a separate-breakfast-room look.
2. That great diner with the delicious soups. A booth gives a cozy little restaurant kind of feel in the kitchen. It can be right in the heart of things yet still out of the way.
What I like most about having a booth is that it can double as a workstation, unlike a countertop. (Laptops and food prep don’t mix.) If I’m working on a project at a booth, the clutter is contained and out of the way. The only danger is letting that project take over the booth permanently.
3. The European cafe. Bring in a cafe table. You’d be surprised — with chairs that tuck in underneath, a cafe table takes up very little floor space. How else do you think the coffee shop crams in so much seating? All it takes is one empty corner and it’s in. You won’t be able to set places for more than two people with the smallest versions, but it’s a great way to eke out an eat-in spot when space is limited.
4. The elegant steakhouse. Build a banquette that rounds the bend. Tucking a long bench along two adjoining walls is a great way to create a comfy built-in eating space. The benches can also serve as hidden storage.
5. The restaurant with a view of the chefs at work.Have you noticed how many restaurants have taken down the wall between the kitchen and dining room? I have a theory that popular shows like Top Chef are bolstering this trend.Combining the kitchen and formal dining room is a great space-saving solution when square footage is tight. Adding a chandelier or pendant lights over the table will allow you to switch the mood from casual to more formal.
6. The chef’s table. Most of us have only experienced this option by watching cheesy dating reality shows, but you can get the feeling at home. Drop a table right in the middle of the room. There’s a certain homey feeling to gathering in the center of the kitchen.
Here’s a high-top version of the idea. If you love having a workstation at island height, use a high table.
7. Staying in. If your kitchen is too small to fit a table in the middle, try an old-fashioned solution: Nestle a small drop-leaf table next to the wall. The sides fold down while you’re working and lift up when it’s time to set the table.
Tip: Put the table on casters or use felt pads on the bottoms of the legs to save your floors and make sliding the table out easier.
This drop-down table designed by architect Polly Osborne doesn’t take up any floor space when it’s latched into the clever built-in cabinet. There’s even a magnet on the floor to hold the legs in place when the table is down.
This kitchen employs a similar strategy.
Once the table is cleared, the legs pivot flush with the wall, the top flips down, and the chairs are hung on the wall.
8. That special table you get for a big birthday dinner. If you don’t have any room at all for a table but want an eat-in kitchen, bumping out a bay is a good solution. This type of
micro addition, which need be only a few feet deep, will give you enough space for a table in a cozy spot of its own.
9. Dinner in the bar, please. Still love an island? You can have the best of both worlds by extending it. Sure, sitting at stools placed along one side of the island is a good way to keep the cook company. But when a family of four or more sits together in a line, it’s not great for conversation. Remember that episode during the last season of
Seinfeldwhen the crew couldn’t score a booth at Monk’s and got frustrated trying to talk to one another at the counter? It’s can be like that when more than two people are sitting in a row.
Keep the island feeling with an extension that’s open underneath, where people can sit around three sides.
How Much Room Do You Need for a Kitchen Island?
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