#jnkmdesign

Can't decide between the kitchen island or the extra breakfast seating area, or maybe a combination of both? Here's a tip I carry home from the pub. This morning as I finished scrambling eggs, baking potatoes, flipping pancakes, cutting fruit and toasting bread I had a couple friends sitting on the sofa balancing cereal bowls and few more friends lined up along the kitchen island. Ugh you get the point - kitchens are crazy and cooking is messy. Luckily the kitchen island arrangement works best for me and performs the great for groups, gatherings and especially parties (both during or the morning after). A long kitchen island functions perfectly when making that 99 ingredient recipe you found on epicurious.com as well as those busy work weeks when your kitchen becomes your in-between office space. For more info on selecting kitchen counter tops click here.

Design Advice:

Select the right seating. As a designer I love stools, the long legs open up floor space and sight lines, they are more versatile as furniture and even the inexpensive ones look great! 

     #1 During university my industrial design friends professed that all stools should have a raised back edge, but not necessarily a full back. This raised back edge is to inform the body while affording acute support to the seated users back. For space planning this works well because a stool with a low back can be pushed under the counter area where as a full back extends beyond the finished counter surface. So a low edge stool can be out of sight if more people are there than there are chairs, everyone can simply share that space without block the counter. 

     #2 One cannot argue that there is something more comforting about sitting in a chair. When designed properly they support the body so much so that they feel natural, an extension of your body. They are ergonomically superior to a stool for long sitting times (nobody has ever designed the ergonomic reclining stool successfully) and historically chairs express comfort, wealth and class. However in our current society that psychological status is long lost since anyone can pick up a new chair from Ikea for under $20 CAD. Now picking the right chair is very difficult and we won't go into it here. Even the story of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears walks you through the difficulty of selecting the right chair for you. For more on chairs click here. However we just want to point out that unless you are planning a lot of formal dinners maybe the typical dinning room isn't necessary and you could use that space differently.

     #3 Some people have a two-tier kitchen island offering a lowered "breakfast" sitting area. This can be an intimate space and it works perfectly for some, however I think the raised section of the main portion of the counter always feels off and somewhat impeding onto the lower eating surface. Also consider that now you will have a mix of chairs and stools and you need to ask yourself should these chairs match the dinning room chairs, or if it is open concept how does this little zone flow for the rest of the room? 

Here's a trick that Pubs in the UK and Ireland use. High stools! High stools levels out sitting and standing height ensuring nobody is hovering above you while seated. So if someone walks over to your table to say hello or chat for a minute, they don't need to pull up an additional chair because they are already eye level with you. Perfect, they have been doing it for centuries, why change a good thing. Bring this idea back into your kitchen so while you are cooking away, your guests can be seated there at the counter with you and nobody feels awkward. 

In the end I always suggest going with your personal taste, however take the time to consider the advice, always try out kitchen layouts and act out different events imagining how your design solution will hold up. Kitchens are dynamic exciting and social spaces that and are the modern heart of the home. Long gone are the fire place gatherings and even everyone sitting around the TV glow. For more design advice contact us at [email protected] and we can arrange a in home consultation.