Do you mean an eating counter ("breakfast bar", though in my mind, breakfast bars have granola and nuts in them) in addition to a kitchen table? I don't know, other than to seat people around a prep area for easier conversation. I think of think of them more as a replacement for a kitchen table, but a nice addition to a dining room table.

mayflowers that is exactly what I mean. Its right next to the table anyway. Toronto Veterinarian that must be an american thing. Its called a Breakfast Bar both in CA and NY, tho I can't speak for the rest of the country. I think I've seen it called that on all the HGTV shows as well...

They're a punch list item. That's really it.

The only time I think one is needed ( and not raised at another level ) is to help create an eat in kitchen - remove a small table to get more cabinets and counter space.... other wise it is just one of those things....I put one in my own small kitchen.... I love the added counter it gave me but really didn't need the seating area - could have used the storage more!

I eat at mine--but my dining table is in another room.

My mom has a combined family room, breakfast area, and kitchen, and when she remodeled she really wanted seating on the new island for people to be able to "perch" in there while she's cooking. I don't think it's used a ton, but she has a fairly large kitchen, so not much trade-off to have the seating.

I've also seen people want them to keep kids close for homework while parent is cooking (no experience with that myself).

We have frequent guests for days at a time and it's nice to be able to visit while cooking without having the workspace crowded. The bar also makes a handy buffet for seving. Dining table is nearby. When it's just us, it's a great place for quick breakfast or lunch and much easier to clean/clear than the table.

I have put a couple in relatively small houses (almost always with overhangs too shallow to be considered adequate for mealtime seating, as a compromise) as a place for someone to perch, to chat with people who are cooking, to help with a little prep in an out of the way spot, for kids.

The issue with keeping kids close for homework is that when they need the most supervision, the breakfast bar will be the most impractical for their sizes unless you drop it to table height.

It's a great way to have an eat-in kitchen when the dining room is too far away and the kitchen is too small. It's good for teens and adults to hang at without getting in your space. But the island-table layout get pretty silly in most cases.

Mine was already there...but it was narrower. More like a place for passing plates in either direction. We widened it slightly and added a couple stools.

The advantage for me is that it's a shield (from the family room) from the inevitable kitchen clutter...

I, too, live in the land of tiny houses and think bars are quite practical in a small space. I don't have a separate dining room in my small house, just a dining "area" adjacent to the kitchen with a table that only seats four. The bar is wide enough and deep enough for two stools so it gives me two extra seats when I need it, and when I don't, it's a "shield" (per pennydesign) so that my prep area is hidden from the living room. It's extra counterspace, too, which is pretty handy if I have a lot of ingredients out. I also don't particularly like having people in my kitchen workspace, so having a counter and stools there allows others to hang out without actually being in the kitchen. And having it raised keeps them out of my prep space, too.

Our young attorney 30something neighbor just put a "breakfast bar" in his new 700 sq foot apartment, he said it made him very comfortable with his long legs, plus he likes that it has a "coffee house" feel to it.

He (very respectfully) said that most people his age prefer this, and that he likes sitting there with his laptop, and that the above pendent light is perfect for working as well.

For me, the question is if a breakfast bar is "in addition to or in lieu of " other seating...for our neighbor, it was in lieu of.

"For me, the question is if a breakfast bar is "in addition to or in lieu
of " other seating...for our neighbor, it was in lieu of."

Yes, I can see that. I live alone (but I'm 50something, not 30something), and I would have been perfectly happy without any type of dining table in my apartment and a "breakfast bar" type of situation instead. But I have a family heirloom antique table and I figured a dining area in a 1200 sq ft apartment would be important for resale, so I put it in......but, for me, I would have been good with a few stools attached to my island.

I think a breakfast bar in lieu of table seating is good for people who live alone or do not eat in. I find it hard to have a nice long conversation over a meal seated at a counter. I used to do this all the time when my children were little and they loved counter seating at our local diner. Now that they are big, there is no way it would be possible to have a real meal seated that way. Personally I like breakfast bar or counter seating for having coffee and reading the paper (dinosaur that I am,) or socializing while kitchen work is being done.

I put in a very untrendy RAISED breakfast bar (I only call it that so people know what I'm talking about) to hide my grubby kitchen work area. I wanted an entire wall, actually, but then the kitchen would have no windows.

It's close to my kitchen table and close to my dining room. I don't have stools. If anyone wants to sit there they can get their own darned stool.

Hi Toronto Veterinarian,

I say this with much respect & reverence, many 30somethings do not want any "heirloom" furniture. It's lovely that you are utilizing it and I hope you have someone who will inherit the antique table.

I completely agree with you that a larger dining space is smart for resale.

And just to make you laugh, I have made friends leave numerous restaurant/bars upon seeing that they do not have backs/padding on their stools.

I have a girlfriend who loves meeting up for Happy Hour, she knows she can only choose establishments that meet my criteria.

They get extra points if the stool has arms.

Yup, I'm that old.

never had it myself

but in my dear friend's previous house, that's where the family usually ate..including guest (me. lol)

they had a dining area, very cozy one, that had some pleasant open storage and a table that was usually dedicated to studying/crafts/art projects..and used as a dining table for big gatherings.

worked very well for them

frankly I'd rather my kids work on assignments etc in a dedicated space. even better in their bedrooms. but I was raised up (oops. wanted to say "by wolfs" lol) by stricter family. even when I was in primary school and most assignments were as easy as a game to me and I'd do them sometimes with a friend, for fun-they dissaproved..they let us, but dissaproved, saying too much distraction..one should study then play..

I don't think I'd be allowed to study in our kitchen for example even though it was an eat in kitchen where everybody spent lots of time. Reading-yes. Talking-yes. Homework? Go to your room.

"I say this with much respect & reverence, many 30somethings do not
want any "heirloom" furniture. It's lovely that you are utilizing it
and I hope you have someone who will inherit the antique table."

I'm not offended if no one else wants it -- I don't really have any emotional attachment to it. I do have an aesthetic attachment to the matching buffet and hutch, though, so the table has to stay by default. I expect I will sell the set when I'm ready to get rid of the other pieces, but for now I want to keep them all together.

Pfffth. I'm a 30-something. I also bought my first house at 23 and have lived as a competent adult for a long time.

The OP's question isn't about breakfast bars but about breakfast bars three feet away from a dining table in a small home.

Stop knocking the 30-somethings. Some of us are old fashioned and stuffy and want to eat at a real table sitting on a chair, not a countertop perched on a stool :-). We're currently designing a house and our architect keeps drawing in tons of stools at our island and we keep taking them back out (we're okay with a couple, as others mentioned, for our daughter to help in the kitchen, do homework, etc., but that's it).

And I know many a 30 something who would kill for Toronto Veterinarian's antique heirloom table and buffet...

Ours is for "perching" also...I don't want to eat in a row. I see restaurants are doing long tables where you sit with strangers to eat. Hate that, but it's another topic...

CA (LA area) can also have good size houses! My kitchen can currently fit 8 stools! I also have a breakfast area and a dining room. I am gutting the kitchen and plan on getting rid of the overhang on the island and end of the peninsula. I will keep the overhang on the back side of the peninsula and will be able to fit 3-4 stools depending on their size. By getting rid of those overhangs I gain 14" on the island and peninsula to make wider drawers. Much better use of the space.

All my counters are counter height and I much prefer that to bar height. Perching on a high stool isn't comfortable if you have lower back problems.

I don't like the eating areas with different levels of counters. They are confusing. I have a center island with stools opposite. The dining table is about three feet behind this area. Most of the time, we eat at the table, because it faces the TV (sadly). Yet there is the rare occasion someone eats at the island, usually late at night, or during a party. It makes for extra seating at a party. Our table seats 10, but we usually have about 20-25 at a party, so the island squeezes in a few more people in the general area.

No breakfast bar and we have a large kitchen. We do have an island but we very rarely eat there and it is mainly used for prep. I prefer a formal table.

When you ask what is the draw to putting in counter seating even if it does not make sense for the space- I think it's about people feeling like the seating extends the usefulness of the kitchen by making the space more multi-purpose.

Plus I think people in general want what they see and we have been seeing counter seating as de rigueur in kitchens for a long time now, so not having it looks like a minus/deficit.

One of the hardest things to do from a style perspective, whether for one's clothing or one's house, is to look at the thing in question objectively and see if it enhances how you look or how your house looks. People's judgment is often clouded by the commercial images how how things look in glossy magazines or Instagram.

My mother used to say people don't buy designer jeans for how they look in them. They but designer jeans for how they think they look in them.

"One of the hardest things to do from a style perspective, whether for
one's clothing or one's house, is to look at the thing in question
objectively and see if it enhances how you look or how your house looks.
People's judgment is often clouded by the commercial images how how
things look in glossy magazines or Instagram."

I think that's OK -- that's what "fashionable" is, and being fashionable matters to everyone to some extent, and to some people to a great extent. We all had hairstyles in the past that we thought looked good on us, because our concept of "good" was partially determined by what we saw around us.....that's normal. They don't look good to us today, not because they weren't good then, but because our concept of "good" has changed since time.

Anyone who thinks they have an objective sense of style is kidding themselves. There's nothing wrong with being influenced by what you see around you, but it is a mistake if your style is determined ONLY by what you see around you.

The issue I tried to address was not fashion, as in bell bottom jeans were fashionable in the 70s and now we think they look silly. The issue is whether or not a style suits the person or the house wearing the style. A tiny island plopped into a kitchen with no space in it does not suit the kitchen. A maxi length dress might not suit a short woman. Rust colored clothing, no matter how fashionable does not suit my auburn haired husband. The scope of fashion is one thing the scope of suitability is another.

I went back and forth on this one...we did not want to use the space in the kitchen for a table, because the kitchen is small and we eat together in the dining room. We currently have a place for stool under the counter now in the center of the kitchen that we do not use, but it is more of a missing cabinet location than a breakfast bar. We are putting a single stool under the window next to the microwave/baking area. This will give us a little bit of "in a pinch" under counter storage that is out of the way and will be a place for my son to eat his breakfast. I am hoping he eats his breakfast there! Currently he eats it in the living room, etc. We just decided that for a single person eating when we were not eating together we would take advantage of a nice few out of the window.

I loved the well-planned kitchens of the '40s-'50s that had a spot for a stool to work at.

Fori, that's what I want!!!