Houzz Logo Print
jamesborjas

Kitchen island as only dining? Ideas for small kitchen/living room?

5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Hi all; longtime lurker in these discussion forums but first time posting.

I'm designing the kitchen layout for our new home (900sqft, 3 bed, 2 bath, and 1 shared living room/kitchen area) and am looking for any comments, criticisms, or feedback on the current design plan I've come up with. It's going to be shared by myself and 2 other adult family members, but we may have kids in the future.

The shared kitchen/living room is 23'7" by 13'7". It is also where the front entrance to the house is.

I'm trying to come up with the best idea to maximize kitchen space (since we spend most of our time in the kitchen) without overly sacrificing the living room portion of the space. My current idea is an island with wrap around seating for up to 5 (3 on the 6' side, and 2 on each end) but this would be the only dining space in the house. Does anyone have suggestions for a better layout that would allow for a more "usable" dining space, with more comfortable seating? The island is fine for everyday eating, but on the rare occasions we have guests over it might be a bit strange, and I would prefer for my parents to have a more comfortable seating than bar stools if something else could fit. I thought about a dining table but wasn't didn't want to sacrifice too much counter space.

I've been looking into "kitchen nook" ideas (see photos below; they are just very rough illustrations of what I am picturing) where bench seating is incorporated along a peninsula to make the seating area a bit more comfortable for everyday use but am not sure if that would help or how it could be incorporated. In this limited space it seems like the choice has to come down to island, kitchen nook seating, or dining table, as theres not room for any more than one of them as far as I can figure out.

Thank you for any feedback and suggestions!

Here are some links to the layouts in higher resolution if it is helpful:

https://imgur.com/a/WcfwjRG

https://imgur.com/a/QiBJqsK

https://imgur.com/a/kA1FCew

Thank you!













Comments (3)

Sponsored
SK Interiors
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars51 Reviews
Loudoun County's Top Kitchen & Bath Designer I Best of Houzz 2014-2022
Best of Houzz 2025: The results are in!