OOPS sorry...obviously title should read 6 INCH, not 6 foot!

i don't have a pic....but its not going to be a great space...people like to sit with their knees under the counter...i think maybe my 2 year old has upper legs that are 6 or 8 inches....but for a normal human over 5....its going to be too narrow.

I think you may end up regretting not stealing at least another 6" from somewhere.

We were originally going to do 6", then 9" and then we removed a wall, and that gave us 4 more inches. Whew, even at 12-13" it's tight- and I couldn't squeeze anymore space out of my tiny DR!

However, must admit we have a 9" overhang on the end of our peninsula, and that IS enough to scoot up an extra chair. So, for stopping and sitting, 9" should be fine.

Oh, don't say it, igloochic!! We have had a 5" overhang at the end of our peninsula for years and no overhang on the outside. I am moving the peninsula IN 9" so I can have overhang on the outside of the peninsula. I know 9" is not standard, but it's all I can afford space-wise. This will also be a "stop and sit for a few minutes" type space.
Chrissie - couldn't you regain just 2 feet in your kitchen and add the other 6" to the overhang for a total of 12?

I'd say 6 inches is way too shallow. It would be a shame to put an overhang too small and then not have anyone choose to use it because it's uncomfortable...I'd say 12 inches would be the minimum. That's what I have and it is comfortable to sit at.

Six or nine inches is not enough to sit comfortably at a counter and eat dinner, however, as a stop and chat while you cook and I drink wine space it can definitely work. My mother has had a 6" overhang on her peninsula for 30 years and people sit there all the time. It's not ideal but it will work and it'll be better than nothing. Just my two cents.

I was concerned about the same issue. Our last kitchen had a 13" overhang, which was very spacious, but our current kitchen is smaller. I had one of our contractors be our "test guy" on templating day. He is 6', 247 lbs, and has "daily experience sitting at a bar stool in a real bar" (he says, ahem). He thought 10" overhang was a decently comfortable minimum for someone his size, so that's what we did. Our install is tomorrow, so I'll let you know!

i guess i sort of look to the resale issues and frankly basic ergomatics. on resale....most people who have overhangs seem to actually eat there...when its so shallow that even a stool can't vbe tucked under it, how would that look wen you go to market (and don't give me that "forever home" goober because YOU NEVER KNOW!!!) dh could be hit by a bus and now you need an accessable home....things change and no home should be considered a forever home. (this from the girl who spent more than her home cost ona remodel....but i never added anything that didn't make good design sense).

i call my place my "in five years i can afford to take a hit home" :oP

the thing with the 9" overhang is important to note. sit on a chair and slide in so youe knees are 1" from the edge of the cabinets 8")...lean now and rest your elbpws on the counter.

now try that on a stool. you will find that you are more comfy on a chair because they're made to support you better than a stool is...while its a bit tight..its possible but with 6 inches...the counter will look stupid with big chair like stools under it (since they won;t be under) and stools won't be comfy because its too far to lean.

if you can only do 6"...i'd raise that portion of the bar up to standing height and make it a standing bar instead of trying to force people to sit at what amounts to a tiny overhang, verses a bar.

We already had the counters installed. I'll have to post a pic so you can see how it would intrude on the other spaces...but 12" would have been too much. Dh did a mock-up of the counter with a 12" overhang and visually it really bothered me the way it jetted out into the hallway and blocked the breakfast nook (and then add chairs and it would have intruded even more).

When you enter my house the view is of the breakfast nook as you see in the pic. To the left of the BF nook is our keeping room but everyone tends to gather in that hall space in front of the BF nook.

I did want the extra counter space for workspace though, which is why I decided on an 6" overhang instead of the standard 27" (24" cabinet plus the standard overhang of 1 1/2" on both sides).

BUT...Dh misses his chairs (I don't...I was never the one that got to sit!) so I told him I'd consider it if he can get something narrow and low-profile. I'm just not sure if it would look silly or out of place. The penninsula used to stop about 2 1/2 feet back into the kitchen so the stools were fine then, but I would rather have my extra storage/work area and give up the stools if they are going to look ridiculous.

Here's a pic:
{{!gwi}}

Igloo...oh this most definitely will NOT be my forever home.

That was a very big consideration for us. We thought long and hard before entering this kitchen remodel. If it was my forever house I would have bumped my kitchen back to be in line with that breakfast nook and I would have bumped back my keeping room as well.

We have outgrown the rest of the house so we are just trying to renovate what needs to be done and wait for the market to pick back up before we build.

I really just wanted to put some pretty corbels under the overhang and call it good. He wants his stools so I told him I'd ask the wise people here if it would look out of place in that space.

Our overhang is 10", we're all tall (hubby/son both 6', I'm 5'8") and it's just fine - we sit there often. We use saddle stools.

I can't picture 6" being comfortable, but for us 12" wasn't necessary.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Eventually Almost Mostly Finished Budget Craftsman Kitchen

Our overhang is 8 1/2". It's the best we could do and it's absolutely fine. I'm 5'7" and I'm comfortable using our stools. You have to remember that the bottom of the stools still have to be quite wide (front to back) for stability--the Pottery Barn saddle stool we tried out was 15"--we ended up with stools just a bit narrower. We rarely eat meals at the peninsula (only when an unmovable project is on the regular table), but I love having a place for friends/family to sit when they visit, or a place for me to sit and chop veggies. Visually, I actually prefer a narrow overhang but I did worry about it functionally--it turned out to be a non-issue.

{{gwi:1595794}}

Our overhang is 10" and it provides plenty of space for sitting. I believe 10" is the maximum overhang that does not require any support.

Here is a picture:

We had the same problem as you in that we needed every available inch. I just measured and my overhand is 6 3/4 inches and I believe that will work for us. It will be used more for a sitting and talking space and only eat there on Thanksgiving when we run out of seats at the tables. If it was used daily to eat there, then you might want more. It also will not be used daily as a sitting and talking space.

I hope to post "almost" finished pictures tonight or tomorrow and you can see mine. One of my pictures shows a saddle stool beneath the overhang. I chose that style stool because I did not want a big stool for a small overhang. In the picture is a 29" stool, but I swapped it for a 24" stool.

We also had to use every inch. Our counter height overhang is 9 inches. The peninsula is 8 ft long and we have 4 swivel stools with backs (no arms). We have snacks there and use the space for entertaining. It works and looks ok.

I think you might regret 6" if it's at all possible to get more. I've currently got 8"; it's not too bad, but knees can hit the cabinets so you end out more pushed out from the counter than you'd like to be sometimes. For me, I think 10" would make a huge difference and be great so that's what I'm hoping to squeeze in.

I should have added that I plan to have only one stool. There are just the two of us now and the two sons are not home very often.

LMAO live wire!!!

I think what I'm going to wind up doing is NOT put stools there (I really would rather people use our keeping room, which is the purpose of that room anyway).

I discussed a compromise with him and we decided on getting a counter height table with 4 chairs and then if/when he wants to sit at the counter he can pull one over.

I really like not having the stools there visually so that's the plan for now.

Thanks so much for all the pics and input!

BUT, zelmar, just in case we decide that we do want stools there...I really like yours. Where did you get them?

OT: what is a keeping room?

I have no input on the question at hand as I've never used my 12" overhang counter as a table with stools. Sorry. I just get easily distracted.

I'm considering doing the 6inch overhang as well, just to gain additional countertop on the peninsula. Can't do more than that without it looking funny. Would love to see pics of people with 6-8inches of overhang. Some photos didn't show up on this thread.