Find Your Dining Style: 9 Strategies for Eat-In Kitchens
What kind of seating do you request at a restaurant? It may hold the key to setting up your kitchen table
Becky Harris
13 mars 2016
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.
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.
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.
Find pub and bistro tables
Find pub and bistro tables
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.
Here’s a look at the same idea used in a smaller space with a round table.
See the rest of this house
See the rest of this house
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.
Browse modern glass pendant lights
Browse modern glass pendant lights
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.
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 Seinfeld when 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?
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?
The hybrid option: If high-top dining isn’t for you, a dining-table-height extension to your island is another choice.
Show us: Do you love your eat-in kitchen? Post a photo in the Comments and tell us about it.
More
Goodbye, Island — Hello, Kitchen Table
Browse kitchen and dining furniture
Show us: Do you love your eat-in kitchen? Post a photo in the Comments and tell us about it.
More
Goodbye, Island — Hello, Kitchen Table
Browse kitchen and dining furniture
Vad arbetar du med just nu?
Liknande artiklar
Livsstil
Vilka gröna växter kan jag ha som tål att stå mörkt?
Älskar du gröna växter men har knapert med dagsljus? Experten tipsar om 6 krukväxter som frodas även i mörker.
Läs artikeln
Badrum
Renovera smart: Så skapar du ett tidlöst badrum
Av A
Att renovera badrum kan kosta en slant, därför gäller det att välja en stil som inte blir omodern. Här hittar du åtta tidlösa tips.
Läs artikeln
Kök
Modern snickeriglädje: 21 exempel på hur trä kan förhöja ditt kök
Välgjorda snickeriarbeten är som väl valda smycken till en outfit – en liten detalj kan skänka glans till hela rummet.
Läs artikeln
Vardagsrum
Experternas råd: hur högt ska TV:n sitta?
Hur placerar man TV:n så att det passar både nacken och det estetiska ögat, enligt experterna?
Läs artikeln
Arkitektur
Stora expertguiden: Hur anlitar man en arkitekt?
Vi har gjort en djupdykning i arkitektyrket, och fått svar på de allra vanligaste frågorna med hjälp av tre experter.
Läs artikeln
Badrum
Så döljer du tvättmaskinen – 17 eleganta exempel
Tvättmaskinen och torktumlaren är inte det vackraste i hemmet. Här finns tips på hur du effektivt kan gömma dem,
Läs artikeln
Inredning & dekoration
Stora expertguiden: Varför ska man anlita en inredare?
Vi har gjort en djupdykning i yrket, och fått svar på de vanligaste frågorna med hjälp av fyra skandinaviska experter.
Läs artikeln
Inredning & dekoration
Gör ett rum till två – utan att bygga en ny vägg
Skapa avskildhet enkelt och snyggt med rumsavdelare, från fönster till tyger – och trädstammar!
Läs artikeln
Inredning & dekoration
Lär dig expertens trick – möblera med soffan mitt i rummet
Få mer förvaring, bättre socialt umgänge och lättare att städa bara genom att tänka lite utanför ramarna – vi visar hur.
Läs artikeln
Kök
25 geniala förvaringsidéer att pröva i ditt kök
Platsbyggda lådor, gömda arbetsytor och hemliga hyllor i köksön – här finns smarta tips som gör köket effektivare.
Läs artikeln
1945shadow, plus, not being able to put your feet on the floor is bad for your back, especially the lumbar area.
I had also put storage furniture under a peninsula, never even bothered to buy stools in that house. Worked just fine.