Ironically I designed seating on a semi couch in the kitchen almost three years ago. It was for my dad so he can be comfortable taking a break while doing his daily cooking marathon.

I've been toying with the idea for a long time, replacing our current breakfast table/chairs with a sectional/sofa.

My grandparents had one in their kitchen where they ate all their meals. Not sure how to deal with table height, though. Maybe something to look into...

Do I search for a settee?

Well, the "trend" would be interesting if we're talking replacing counter seating or closeby eating areas.

Hmmm... 1st photo rather appeals to me - if one has room. I like the idea of people seated comfortably, including myself when I can take a break, while I'm in the kitchen cooking. I visualize a small group chatting and drinking coffee as I cook, watching a game on the small tv... or just me, sitting comfy in my kitchen as I look over cookbooks while waiting on something to bake... (not that I have time for that, but wouldn't it be lovely?). I would not eat at a coffee table other than snacks.

Now, the 2nd photo changes it a bit... That's a lot of seating when you add those at the island. With the size of the range, I'm guessing a lot of parties, group entertainment... so perhaps not overkill for such a purpose.

Add the 3rd photo... I get the bench seating at the table (although not the extended bench unless the table has leafs long enough) but adding that to a bar with seating PLUS the casual comfy seating in what appears to be a smaller spaced kitchen for so much... I find that overkill. In that case I'd leave out the sofa and coffee table.

nosoccermom, I think to use something more comfortable, like a settee, you'd want to be sure you could find a table the correct height, as well as chairs if you use those also.

I agree to the overkill, which is why I posted all three seating areas. But what something like this:

I'm such a traditionalist, a stick-in-the-mud at times, so my response surprises me: I like the first 2 photos above. The idea of more comfortable seating while eating very much appeals to me.

We've got uber comfy parsons chairs now which I far prefer to past wood chairs with padding on the seats. So, yes, I think if it corresponds with the kitchen theme/colors, it looks like a place I'd want to dine.

ETA: the last photo just looks like a last minute addition of a sofa they had leftover, and far too crowded at that tiny table.

I did a DIY settee that's chair height and a custom roll out table that's at the right height for my mom's wheelchair.

I simply cut down a dining table and put wheels on them. You can always adjust heights on a table if it's not too fussy design wise.

I don't mind the look of the sofa...the bench/table seating they have looks miserable though.

Anyone who wants this sort of setup should spend a few meals in a small RV. Individual chairs are nice for meals. (Coffee, however, can be perfectly good served on a sofa!)

I'd like to supplement Fori's comments (good ones to consider). The sofa idea might work for anyone not cooking and for adults (remember, you have to slide out to get out, and others have to slide out and stand up to get out of the way - think restaurants, booth seating where the seats tend to be slick and easy to slide on - and you are served all food). For anyone cooking or getting up during the meals, chairs work better, as Fori wisely states. I know one family who have bench style seating along the wall, with chairs at the outside, and they seem content with it.

I like the comfort of the soft seating, but I'd worry about clean up unless the fabric is geared toward repelling spills (not like typical couch upholstery.) I certainly wouldn't have wanted it when my kids were little, and now even for myself, I'd worry about a red wine incident on one of those lovely pale couches or benches.

chicagoans, we've got upholstered parson's chairs, lovely upholstery that I'd hate to get spills on as well (such as red wine!) but for about 5 years now, they've never had anything spilled I couldn't easily wipe up. They are, however, a mid-tone color, not light, with a pattern. It is heavy fabric, like sofa upholstery).

We have a large kitchen and have no use for a kitchen dining table, as we always use either our separate dining room or the island. So instead of the dining table, we have a couch, a chair and a coffee table. It's like a small family room area. We did this when we redid our kitchen in 2011, so we must be way ahead of the trend! It has worked out great for us. When we have just a few people, they are able to sit on comfortable furniture and enjoy cocktails and snacks while conversing with the cook. It is less intrusive to the cook than having people crowd around the island. At night, when one of us (usually my husband) cooks, I will sit on the couch and hang out with him. We have our morning coffee there, too. It's more comfortable than the island.

I do not like the idea of the soft seating bench style or closed in with a dining table-- I like chairs around the table so people can get up and down easily. But at least in our house, that's why we have a dining room.

Our couch is a microfiber and the chair is a Sunbrella fabric, so both are easy to clean. Though surprisingly, we have not had many mishaps.

I never knew I was so trendy! I will never have lounging upholstery in the kitchen. That is dangerous for the upholstery when children are nearby and a bad move with encouraging overeating, too.

But I have 1,3, 4, and 10 in my plan for sure. I considered 6 and couldn't make it make sense. And I am tentatively planning for 7 (trash cabinet!) and 8. 9 doesn't work with 10 well, so I'm considering a Tapmaster.

That gets me 8 or 9 of 10, depending on Tapmaster rating. Lol.

Milly Rey, is my page not loading something?

But I have 1,3, 4, and 10 in my plan for sure. I considered 6 and couldn't make it make sense. And I am tentatively planning for 7 (trash cabinet!) and 8. 9 doesn't work with 10 well, so I'm considering a Tapmaster.

That gets me 8 or 9 of 10, depending on Tapmaster rating. Lol.

I can't see what you're talking about? The numbers? And I don't see reference to ratings or the tapmaster. I tried cleaning my cache and reloading and still don't understand.

There is a list at the link at the top with 10 things.

A tapmaster is an alternative to a touch sink. I don't want a sink that turns on when I touch it when I have a workstation sink.

Sorry, it will be 7 or 8 of 10.

I love the photo with the dog. That is a space I'd enjoy spending time in whether cooking or getting some computer work done. I do not like the photo with the high backed couch and metal chairs. To me, it looks like the owner had an extra sofa lying around and decided to throw it next to a table. It is a weird combo of styles and doesn't look like a place you'd want to spend much time. The high back gives the impression to me that I would be stuck between the couch back and the table. I agree with others that the green print couch seems like it was just shoved into an open space. The table is too small and the chair seems like it will always be in the way. Its either in the position where it is in the photo and blocking the couch, or its in the way of the kitchen counters across from the couch.

Thank you for your patience with me Milly Rey - I feel like an idiot for not seeing nosoccermom's link.

Ok, for our new kitchen plans we have:

1 fewer upper cabinets (but drawers, drawers, and more drawers at base cabinets!) Our current kitchen has some ROTS in a base cabinet which DH added... I keep all our glasses, dinnerware in them, love it! Doing that again.

3 Breville steam toaster oven for the countertop... does that count?

4 Induction cooktop on our range

7 Servo drive for the trash cabinet

10 maybe... does a 24" prep sink with an inset cutting board beside it count?

Yes, we considered 6, column refrigerators, too, but also couldn't make it work for us. Going with a 48" wide integrated SZ. It's our huge splurge and may veto the Breville steam toaster oven if we get too close to our budget.

I'd not want 5, Smart kitchen technology, because technology changes. I'd seen the plugmolds that have USB's in them... then I thought, no, that will eventually change as well.

8, lighted interiors looks pretty fabulous, but with all the shelves, it's not doable unless you've got a ton of electrical running everywhere.

ETA: And 9, touch faucets or Tapmaster (IMO, nicer than a touch faucet) would be great, but won't fit in the budget with other things we have, also.

I do love 2 for coffee/cocktails, but no room.

No worries. I can't count today. Lol.

I want lighted DRAWERS.

My whole sink and appliance budget is $15k.

But isn't this what open concept plans are all about? Soft seating, seating at an overhang and then in-kitchen eating. This is what this, just on a somewhat smaller scale.

I like the first pic best ... perhaps becos the couch is not pretending to be a dining chair. A cosy couch to relax while drinking my morning cups sounds great !

Funny cos I was just the other day , trying to convince DH that we should swap the dining and living rooms so that the kitchen will open to the family room and not to the dining room as in current plan

reason being oftentimes one of us is cooking/prepping while the other is lounging .would've been nice to be within talking distance. Oh well ...

I like the soft seating option, although I’ve never had it. Most of the items on the list have been pretty standard here on GW for years though? I wasn’t surprised by anything. I will have a touch tap on my new kitchen, and the steam convection oven. Micro gets moved to pantry and maybe phases out eventually? Also doing a work sink which is new for me. Im doing induction again and no (well very few) upper cabs again.

I can just picture VERY sticky children climbing all over that upholstered furniture, with the sippy cup dripping as they go! Yikes! I think it must be hard enough to contain children in the kitchen area of an open concept plan but adding furniture to the kitchen? Utter madness.

My DD's best friend did an open concept kitchen with their family room, in a VERY custom built house when her children were quite young. She said she'd no more than get them at the kitchen table, eating their dinner, then the phone would ring or she'd have to let the dogs inside, and turn her back for 10 seconds. In that time, some child had climbed down from her chair and was now on the sofa or in a club chair, food all over her hands. She said she was about to chain them to their chairs as the cost of constantly reupholstering the furniture was outrageous. Said she'd never do that again.

Anglo, there is a simple solution for that now. You just upholster the family room furniture in the amazing selection of outdoor/indoor fabrics that are now available. Many of them look and feel like soft chenille and are stain proof and easily cleaned.

Anglo - I am going to sound old when I say this, but when I was a child, my siblings and I were not permitted to get up from the table whatsoever unless (A) we asked - and were given - permission, or (B) the course was finished and we were asked to help clear. It would have been beyond our imagining to get up willy-nilly, even when very small.

I don't mean to get off track of this thread; just had to say that. Back to topic!

Friedajune, my youngest child is 13 and he would not dream of leaving the table without being excused, so it's not an age thing ;-)

friedajune, my own children were reared the same way - you leave the table, you may not return and no food until the next meal. DD has done the same with hers. DD's friend was reared that way, too, but she was never very strong with her children and they took full advantage of the situation. I don't see a lot of strong parents today, but I sure see a lot of strong-willed children!

A few days ago, I was re-reading Alfred Adler's theory of raising children (I used this method) and I'd forgotten his biggest rule: "act, don't talk". I find most parents just keep asking a child to stop his misbehavior and never actually get up and make the behavior stop - they talk and don't act and their children know this.

About 16 years ago, DD and her first child (now 17!) were at the above friend's house, playing outside with her two children. One was about 4, the other the same age as DGS. Several other young mothers were there, too. The children were playing in the sandbox, and DGS picked up a handful of sand and threw it a the hostesses child who was his age. She said, "Don't throw sand". He did it again, and she came over to rescue her child and DGS then threw sand at HER - the mother. All the "witnesses" to this said my DD jumped up and grabbed DGS so fast one would have thought a cobra was about to strike. She grabbed her handbag, yelled "Sorry - we need to leave" and put him in the car, where he screamed all the way home. She very calmly told him that his behavior was totally unacceptable and that if he was being that antisocial, they could not stay - they would try again some day when he felt like behaving properly.

It never happened again! All DD's friends couldn't believe she left - they felt SHE was being punished. He answer was that it was appalling behavior and he needed to learn that now and that it would not be tolerated. She acted, not talked.

Anglo, with my youngest, you win eventually...but you would still lose a LOT of furniture along the way. He's my slow learner. Oldest? Never would have been an issue at all.

That cute little story above? My oldest would never have thrown sand ever. Not even once. NEVER. My youngest has been confined to his room with a spanking first AND no food for the rest of the day on multiple occasions for similar infractions. It takes that level of consequences somewhere between three and five times to stick.

He's actually my easiest child in most ways. My oldest, who got in the least obvious trouble of any of them, was by far the hardest.

You're always a parenting expert when you have one kid.

Even if you have a kid who is easy, you still have to deal with them forgetting to wash grubby little kid hands before touching upholstery. Easier to notice when upholstery is in another room.

I had upholstered dining room chairs for a while. Even though I upholstered plastic over them, it would eventually shred. And there's the food that gets down into the cracks.

Or would it replace the breakfast table that's 3 feet from the island seating?

Hm, here's the rest of the kitchen. Overkill or useful?

Kitchen soft seating that's 3' from island seating that's 3' from breakfast nook seating that's 3' from the open concept family room seating that's 3' from screened porch seating that's 3' from patio seating that's 3' from...... And then the medical research says we sit too much and don't move about enough.

The sofas are nice, but personally I'd opt for a pair of upholstered chairs with a small end table (just enough for a beverage and maybe a small lamp) between them. No reason -- just personal preference. Well, yeah, one reason: The chairs could be a nice leather, which would be more easily cleanable.Regardless, I don't really get the point of having BOTH this space and an in-kitchen breakfast table. The table is more versatile: It can be used for a meal OR it can be a sit-and-chat spot.

Kitchen soft seating that's 3' from island seating that's 3' from
breakfast nook seating that's 3' from the open concept family room
seating that's 3' from screened porch seating that's 3' from patio
seating that's 3' from...... And then the medical research says we
sit too much and don't move about enough.

A good point. I think some of the houses we see on this site are trying to incorporate ALL the options rather than picking and choosing ... and it results in what you're describing above: More seating areas than anyone actually needs.

We are doing a small 30 inch round table with 2 upholstered chairs in our eat in kitchen. Only my husband and I will eat there/drink coffee and it is for hw. Meals happen in the dining room where the children have wooden chairs. We waited until our children were 5 and 10 to get new furniture. Even the best behaved toddlers have accidents and their moments. Plus, once our children started school they are home a lot less.

The List

1. Fewer upper cabinets.
2. Comfortable seating areas.
3. Steam convection ovens.
4. Induction cooktops.
5. Smart kitchen technology.
6. Column refrigerators.
7. Servo drive cabinetry.
8. Lighted [cabinet] interiors.
9. Touch faucets.
10. Working [workstation] sinks.
11. Black stainless.

"May I please be excused?" did not exempt me from having to return to clear the table and load the dishwasher. And poor me, I felt so put-upon, as DWs were not standard in every home.

Sorry, occupational hazard, but my eye went straight to the strip of butcher block in the center of the island between the two pieces of stone. Whaaaaat????

Millie, I did not spank my children nor did either of them spank theirs. I cannot imagine withholding food for an entire day from a child. You don't seem to understand the difference between a "punishment" and a "consequence". There is a HUGE difference. With a punishment, it's about your power over the child, and not about the child learning to make choices about his behavior and learn the consequences of such choices. Children reared in a highly authoritarian household, often go wild when the exterior authority is no longer there.

When one uses natural and logical consequences, the child learns what happens from a behavior. If one touches a hot stove, one gets burned - that's a natural consequence. If one throws sand in the sandbox, one must leave immediately - that's a logical consequence as it's an inappropriate behavior and one can't be with others if one is going to indulge in such. The child learns to make choices that are in his own best interest (and that of a civilized society) and he carries with him his entire life. He has the internal self-control to do this.

Punishment often encourages revenge - "you'll pay for this someday - I'm just biding my time". It encourages power struggles between parent and child. NEVER a good thing.

Read Alfred Adler and you'll understand what I'm talking about. It's the best method of child rearing I've ever seen. One can actually enjoy ones children when they're young! And yes, their behavior WILL be appropriate! My own two children asked me the name of the book I used when they were expecting their first child. So, yet another generation using the same method. The book is called "Children the Challenge" by Dreikurs, Lots of info online about this very old book that is still the best and about Alfred Adler.

Ann, I must say, those chairs in the corner look so inviting.

Ann we did the same thing - made a big island and turned the breakfast area into a sitting area. Changed the dining room into something more casual. Overall the space is so much more useful. I don't know what we did without the island before.

And to the people with soft seating in the kitchen... Do you people have little kids? ACK! that would be disgusting.

Angles, thanks, but my kids go to college four or more years early, are happy and successful, are healthy, and they adore each other and have great relationships with their parents. They're usually so well behaved that I'm used to getting stopped by strangers telling me how wonderful it is that my kids clearly love each other so much. So glad you were so skilled at raising two easy children. It will be hilarious if/when a difficult one shows up in the line, or if a previously easy child has a hard time when they hit teen years.

If your daughter's child were BOTH mean enough to throw sand and smart enough to connect "going home" with "throwing sand," she would have now worked out a perfect way to manipulate her mom into going home exactly when she wanted the next time she was bored. Going home isn't natural consequences for sand throwing. A child who is deeply affected by her mother's disapproval will not throw sand after a major show of disapproval. A child who isn't very bright might perceive being removed from the party as punishment and not be smart enough to realize it could later be turned to her advantage.

Leaving the party is either unnecessary or simply counterproductive, depending in the child's intelligence and personality. If the child wouldn't try to pitch a fit, I would stand or sit the kid in a corner. If the child would, we would go home--for additional punishment, such as standing in the corner there. Nice and boring for a good long while. The punishment--because that's what it is; calling it something else is delusional--would escalate with each repetition of the unwanted behavior. Now, that said, none of my kids were mean enough to have a phase where they tried to hurts someone for more than a couple of weeks--with the most externalizing child, repeated three times, unfortunately.

The natural consequences for throwing sand are getting sand in your eyes or alienating all the other children. Going home actually isn't one. Not at all.