Thanks, P. I was actually thinking of maybe making the upper deeper than normal but higher. Clearly I have to think about this and do some mockups but as long as I can get away with the premise, I'll pursue it. It would be nice to get all the random little stuff out of the serious work area. And I didn't know what else to stick in that corner. It would be a great place for an oven stack, but I'm pretty sure THAT would be weird. (I can't convince the spouse that having the laundry room front and center of the house is a good thing. And since I don't do laundry, I can't really push turning the kitchen into a laundry room. :P)

A very nice restaurant, actually the only nice restaurant in the neighborhood, (we eat out a lot) has a bar at 43" (we measured, I'll explain). They used to have a able height bar, which was lovely. No climbing up a ladder to sit, and your feet touched the floor when you sat down. When they remodeled they went with the extra high counter. We quit casually dining there (we used to eat here a couple of times a week,now we don't eat there once a month). DH went to a food and beverage committee lunch there the other day and sat by the chef/owner, a lovely man who makes wonderful food. He asked why people don't visit as much, if the modern decor was an issue, layout, etc. Three people who used to visit more often including us, said "the bar". He said we weren't the only people to complain. This is a restaurant where you just visit on occasion (more for some than less) but we HATE it since they changed the bar, The food is still world class, but it's freaking uncomfortable. I personally dislike any bars, but over height ones....ya those suck. There's a reason for average heights...because they make the majority of people comfortable. Is there something wrong with that? No, not if you ever want to sell your home ormake a guest comfortable...but perhaps if all you care about is you and how you live in the house, then go for it...but please, remember that high bar stools are brain busters for children...so put in a soft floor? Can you tell I love bars LOL Really, we do eat at other restaurants and sit at the bar, but we don't enjoy the high bars at all and we make that known with our pocketbook...and would in a house for sale as well.

The problem with cabinets over a pass-through or peninsula is not just the "view" when seated - it's also when standing. Most people are ripping out these cabinets when they remodel. To make it "user friendly", they have to be mounted high enough so the tallest person in your family (or among close friends/frequent visitors) can stand and look through the space w/o having to duck. If you try to talk to someone on the other side, you will also have to duck to talk to them. My advice: Don't do it! Oh, and I would make the counter all one height on both sides. If the counter will be 36" (counter-height) high on the kitchen side, make the entire counter 36" high so you have a large enough surface for that homework you mentioned and for extra workspace when needed for large projects. When counters are two levels, the usable surface depth on the higher level is usually too shallow to make it really usable for much more than leaning on arms or for placing a drink glass. If you plan for homework, I would want a surface at least 24" deep, maybe more. I know my kids take up more than 24" of depth when doing homework on our peninsula...closer to 30" or 36".

I just read a blog post detailing a kitchen remodeling budget, and the author noted his breakfast bar cost him more than $500 for butcherblock and an additional $400 for installation. Wow! I thought this was pretty pricey and decided to share how my hubby and I did most of the work ourselves for under $500 - including a wall demo, new chairs, knee braces, paint, etc. Here is the first paragraph. If you want to see pictures and more, I detail everything in my blog post (link below). "Want a new breakfast bar but can't afford the steep labor and materials cost? Is your kitchen space too confined, narrow and secluded from the rest of your home? Suffer no more: You can demolish a wall and install a breakfast bar for less than $500! You just have to put in some manual labor, opt for high-quality but inexpensive products and hire help selectively." Here is a link that might be useful: HOW TO INSTALL A BREAKFAST BAR