How big is your kitchen and do you have a table in it?

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

We have decided to have a kitchen extension built and It's going to be about 3.5msq.
Originally, I thought I'd have plenty of room for a small table or seating area but now that I've started looking at kitchen units/cookers etc I don't think there is going to be room.
I don't need a big dining table but would like a small table for the kids to eat breakfast at.
I'm finding it very hard to visualise, so I need to know, will I be able to fit one in?

[MrsJohnDeere]

Mine is 5m x 5m (16ftx16 ) and we have a small Ikea table in the middle with 4 chairs around it. It would be a squash to have anything bigger.

[Catsmamma]

similar to mrsjohndeere 5mx5m.....round table gives enough room, but when it has the leaf in and is oval (six seats) it's a squeeze and if I get teh other two seats out, you have to file in and out in strict order and woe betide us all if the fridgefreezer meeds opened.

[DENMAN03]

Mine is only 12x14 but I have a table that seats six quite happily in it.

[Mandy21]

I think one of the main issues is access and lay out. We have a 13ft by 10ft kitchen, and have a small square table (ikea extending table), plus stools that are stored underneath. Have door into kitchen and external door in 'odd' places so limited space for table.

Did you mean 3.5sqm, that does seem a small space to want to accomodate table.

[thenightsky]

About 30 x 14. We have kitchen units on one side and table with 6 chairs on other.

[CalamitouslyWrong]

My kitchen is about 3m x 5m. We have a small rectangular table in it and there's plenty of space.

[iggymama]

My kitchen is 7.5 x 2.7m so long and skinny. Hoping to have a new kitchen this year and I need loads of cupboards but a small table will suffice. I quite like the IKEA bjursta tables as they are small and neat, ideal for kiddy breakfasts but can be extended when needed.

I have a cunning plan to try and fit castors to my kitchen table so that I can use it as a portable work surface. Being only 5ft wish the lower height would be ideal for me.

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

Interesting - thanks everyone!
Yes, I did mean 3.5sqm - I'm hoping it'll be small but perfectly formed!
Mandy - A small table, with stools stored under is exactly the sort of thing I was thinking about.
There are going to units down the left and right hand side, french doors at the end. I thought I'd have a little table in front of the doors but maybe I'll have to forget the idea.

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

Iggy - what a good idea about the table/portable worktop! Hope you get your new kitchen soon.

[fedupandfifty]

I have a cunning plan too. I'm converting my kitchen table to a sort of island using add-on leg bits from Ikea, then adding stools rather than chairs to save room.

I'll have more worktop and somewhere to chill whilst cooking. I hope itvworks!

Have you looked on pinterest for ideas?

[MillyMollyMama]

Can you not go bigger than the 3.5m x 3.5m? This is challenging to put a table in and still be able to move around. Could you consider a small breakfast bar rather then a table? Building a bigger extension would give you many more options.

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

Yes, been spending half my life had a look on pinterest.
I'm going back to the plans now, to remeasure and plan some more!

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

MillyMollyMama - I need the extension to be bigger! It's as simple as that!

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

Just need to talk my husband into that!

[MillyMollyMama]

You do! Obviously I do not know what space you have available to extend into, but I do know that family kitchens sell houses! If you spend a lot of money on something that does not fulfil your dreams or wishes, you will regret it forever. You will always say "why did we not make this bigger when we had the chance?" Going bigger will not cost that much extra and will give you the kitchen you need for the size of your family. Go for it!

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

You are so right! We are only (hopefully) going to do this once and it's got to be right.

I've just looked at the plans again and once you take into account the units, and a 750mm table there would be 700mm each side of the table. That seems like a reasonable amount of space but I suppose if you have 600mm cupboard doors to opening out into that space it doesn't (IYKWIM!)

[wishingchair]

You've also got to consider the fact people will be sitting on the stools. Once people are sat round the table, would you be able to open cupboard doors?

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

Yeh, good point. I hadn't even thought about that. There's not going to be room is there? Hmmm annoying.
What to do?! I spend my whole life thinking about this kitchen extension at the moment!

[wishingchair]

See if you can build wider or longer first of all. Our kitchen when we moved in had a sticking out bit of worktop which we could sit around on high stools. There were cupboards underneath for infrequently used things and the stools could store under too. Could that work?

[crazykat]

Mine is 2.5m x 4.5m and I can't fit a table in without having to pull it into the middle to use which is a big pita.

Our kitchen door is on one of the long walls and we have a breakfast bar on that wall. We can't all use it at once (2 adults and 4 kids) but its fine for the kids to use together.

[GossamerHailfilter]

We had a kitchen extension so our kitchen is 12mx5m at its widest point. Its a T shape and the top of the T is the widest part, so thats where we have our dining table - 6 chairs.

[FancySpaceGloves]

3.5sqm is v annoying (I once had a similar kitchen). Assuming your cabinets will be 60cm deep, that leaves 230cm between them across the room. Annoyingly far to carry a hot pot but not big enough to fit a table.

Where is the door into the room? Opposite the patio doors?

Do you have a separate dining room? Why do you want the kids to eat breakfast in the kitchen, what's easier/better about that? Can you make it open plan to whichever room is next to it?

Breakfast like a teenager: eat bowl of cereal standing up while lounging against the cupboards, or munch bacon sarnie while walking to the bus stop.

If you keep it as kitchen "workroom" only, eating elsewhere, then it could feel like a luxuriously large space.

If you shoehorn in a breakfast bar/table then it will probably feel cramped. It would be tragic to feel cramped after spending all that money on an extension.

Personally, I'd choose letting the room do one job well, instead of two jobs badly.

[MillyMollyMama]

Hmm. Not sure I would say a 3.5mx 3.5m kitchen is a luxurious space though. I think it is a good idea to eat in a kitchen,sitting down, not lounging. My teenagers sat down! It also promotes a family feel if children can talk to parents whilst eating. OP try and persuade your DH to go for bigger,if for the only reason that small kitchens with everything squashed in are not a good selling point and, however inventive people might be,it still screams there is no space in this kitchen!

[Mandy21]

Sorry I thought you meant total square metres was 3.5, not 3.5 x 3.5.

I think it can be done, with a small table and careful planning, but it would probably mean a compromise somewhere.

[DancingRoundTheKitchen]

Ok, strongly feeling we need to find a way to make the extension bigger. Failing that I think I will scrap the idea of a table for now.

Fancy - thanks, your post was really helpful. The more I think about the size the more annoying it becomes! I think you are right, better to be a really nice kitchen than a crappy kitchen/dinner. We do have a separate dining room, so the kitchen could just be a 'workroom'.