Don't do the bar height seating. Do regular counter height seating, and have most of the island be at counter height. Then have a section that is lowered for your baking. That will give you the most versatility. Counter height is more comfortable than bar height for seating, and one end of the seating area can double as another prep area. Maybe add a prep sink to it if you'd like to prep facing out into the room.

Removing duplicate post.

This post was edited by GreenDesigns on Tue, Jan 1, 13 at 23:07

Oops, my mistake - I meant that there would be a raised area for counter height seating (not bar height seating). So, is 32" too short for chopping/prepping? I really like the idea of having a really large area for rolling out dough and baking.

Our mini island is at 34 inches, which at 5'2" tall I find to be very comfortable for prep work. In fact I find it downright cumbersome to chop on my regular-height counters (although I'm sure I'd get used to it if I tried). If we have a lot of chopping to do, though, my 6'3" husband works on the counters. All of that is a long way to say that I think 32 inches could be a little low for everyday prep. Perhaps consider splitting the difference?

Our entire island is barely over 33". We bake and prep there, and have seating at one end, using counter-height stools. I, too, at just under 5'4", find chopping at higher counters to be awkward, and prefer to work over my project and chop downward.

Having it all one height makes it fully useful and allows the most expansive work space, where a height change would detract from that, I think.

Our whole family preps and chops there, from just over 5 ft tall to 5'10". Those of us who use it most frequently are 5'3" to 5'8".

We also lowered our rangetop run to 34" and the counter where we use our Kitchen Aid mixer to 33". No one who comes in the kitchen notices, but it's nicer for us, physically. The only counters at 36" are the cleanup run and our breakfast/snack center that has our toaster oven. A taller person can always work on a thicker board, but a shorter person at a counter that's too high is uncomfortable or must resort to a step stool or something that can be a tripping hazard.

Hmm, if I can fit counter height stools under a 33" counter comfortably, that might be the way to go! This is all very helpful - thank you.

i'm 5'6 and could never chop/prep with a counter height of 32". our peremter counters are 35" tall with the counter in my baking armoire at 32". i prefer the lower area for baking since it's much easier seeing inside the work bowls of my mixer and food processors -i can only imagine what prep work at the lower counter would do to my back.

i would lower only a portion of your counter if you choose to do baking work at the island -or move it elsewhere. do you have a layout?
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

How about keeping the lowered counter and just adding a thick butcher block cutting board for chopping as needed. Or conversely, keeping the counter low and keep the cutting board out on the counter all the time except when you need the full larger space for baking prep.

If you had a dedicated end-grain butcher block for chopping on you could actually use the wood surface for cutting without having to worry about babying it. If it got marred from too many knife cuts, you could just have it refinished, something you can't do to section of a permanently installed counter top.

I am short and married to v. tall guy so the thick cutting board we use allows us both to use the same base height, just adding the thick board when my DH gets in a choppy mood. I am actually planning on lowering one of our counters even more (down to about 34" for the main run) and possibly as low as 31" for the bread-kneading area. Our sink run, on the other hand, will be 1 or 2" taller than normal to avoid bending down to the base of the sink. We don't use a DW so everything's handwashed.

HTH

L.

I did both in one island - standard height island with seating but also a baking height (32") portion on the other side. The baking area is revealed when a removeable piece of the standard island is lifted off - the baking level is underneath.

Would something like that work for you?

Good luck,
Doc

It depends on your height and how comfortable you are in different positions. I'm 5' tall and I love prepping at my bakers table which is under 34" with the countertop. I could go even an inch shorter no problem.

I love this idea! I'm short -- barely 5' -- and when I have LOTS of chopping or kneading to do, I frequently do it on the kitchen table, which is lower than my countertops.

I don't think it'd work UNLESS you also have the raised seating area on the other side of the bar. A whole island slightly shorter than the perimeter cabinets would look odd, but the raised seating would save you from that problem.

I'm now rethinking my island.

PS- We thought we might have to have our counter height stools cut down but it turns out they fit perfectly anyway : )

These are all great suggestions! At some point, I might even start a baking business out of my home, so I'd really prefer having a larger island space for baking vs. using of the perimeter counters. Since I'm 5'5", it seems like I could do 33" for baking and then chopping on a thick wood cutting board. Or, maybe doing a two-level island at 32" for baking and 35-36" for seating and chopping. The island is going to be 4'2"x5'6". Although, I'm having trouble envisioning what the two level would look like. If anyone has this set-up, I'd love to see some photos!

Your size island seems a little small to be two level. I would keep it all one plane. If you are doing a lot of baking, it gives you room to spread out over the whole area. I am 5' 2" and 32-33 inch is perfect height for me. I would think since you are taller that you might want to go up from that an inch or two.