Kitchen Island or Dining Table

[FigandHoney]

We have recently moved to a new house and are planning to renovate the kitchen.
Our old house had a small kitchen and an adjacent dining room.
The kitchen in the second house is much bigger but there is no seperate dining room.
The room is a bit akward with 3 seoerate doors that are all required. The previous owners had a big dining table in the middle of the room.
I have played around with a variety of layouts. It would be possible to fit in both an island and a smaller dining table right beside.
However the layout is arguably better with just an island.
I am debating whether we need the table or not. We have a 3 year old son and now that we have moved are planning to try for a second child. Our parents also come and visit us fairly regularly.
Have any if you got just a kitchen island and no dining table?

I would stick with large table and no island. I can’t imagine eating all meals including Christmas dinner round an island .

I agree with PP. I imagine an island would work for just adults, could be very sociable, but with young child(ren) I think a table would be best. Could you fit a peninsula in for a breakfast bar and then a dining table?

I tried a layout with a peninsula and unfortunately it just doesn't work. The space is very awkward

Can you post a floor plan?

I couldn't imagine not having a dining table - we eat all our meals as a family round the table and I can't imagine not being able to do that.

In addition, the DC use the table for all sorts of things that aren't meal based - homework for example, craft and just hanging out.

What about an island with banquet seating attached to the back, then the table and normal chairs on the opposite side?

We have a bit of a peninsula with cupboards backing on, that separates the kitchen and dining sides. But only one little stool that hardly ever gets perched on because the dining chairs are more comfortable.

If it's more central in the kitchen a good robust table and chairs that are not too high backed would effectively be extra workspace if needed.

My sister has a big island with a few cupboards at one end and about eight chairs/bar stools around it, inherited from the house’s last owners. I hate it; it’s very imposing, because it’s the width of two standard kitchen units it’s wider than a normal table so you feel quite far away from the person sitting opposite, plus (like all islands, including my own) one end ends up being a dumping ground which needs cleared if you need to use those seats. As well it’s hard to dress and make “nice” for a more formal meal like Christmas or whatever, as someone said above. For these reasons DSis doesn’t plan on replicating it when they eventually redo the kitchen.

DSis’s kids were 3 and 2 when she moved in, and it was obviously longer before they could get themselves on and off the bar stools. DD is nearly 4yo and I’m still having to lift her on, whereas she sorts herself out on standard chairs. You’d also be limited to highchairs that attach to the island surface (eg. Phil & Ted lobster) if you wish to have baby no.2 sit around the table with you at mealtimes.

Basically unless the wall space for standard units is very limited I would steer clear and get a normal table.

A kitchen island was my dream until my sister got one! I went to stay for a few days and by the end I hated it! Bloody huge thing just sitting there that you always had to walk around! I was so glad then I never got one. Like you I had space for a table or an island and I am much happier with the table.

At one point we had both a long, narrow table (that we'd purchased for the hall of our previous house) and an island with four stools in the kitchen we fitted in this one. In addition we had a round table in the dining room.

For us, having three potential dining areas was overkill, but we chose to keep the island and the round table, losing the long narrow one which had bench seating.

However, there's just me and DH living at home now, so it suits us to have breakfast and casual meals at the island whilst using the dining table for dinners and special occasions. If we still had young DC and no additional dining space I think keeping the kitchen table as opposed to the island would have been a no brainer.

I do love an island for food prep and have had them at four houses now. I've tried prepping/plating food on a table and it wasn't for me, but if you've sufficient worktop space then that's less of an issue.

Thank you everyone for your input. Some great thoughts and ideas.
The problem is I am not sure we will have enough worksurface without the island.
But I am already getting really annoyed at walking around the table.
I have attached the florrplan and a couple of layouts I tried

I have an enormous table. I prep food on it, Kidd do craft on it, it’s very sociable.

id love a kitchen big enough for both but if I had to pick I’d stick with the table

We have the luxury of both and only the island is used. We have all our meals on it, children do homework on one side while I’m prepping dinner on the other, they do their crafts. They’ve been sitting on bar stools since they were 2 and able to get on and off unaided by the time they were 3.

The table is only ever used when we have guests

We have a round extendable table at the end of the island….eat there always.

occassionaly someone will perch on the bar stools at the island…but I find that annoying if I’m proper cooking. And they are a bit uncomfortable to sit on. If we got more comfortable bar stools they’d take up more space.

I have both and as a pp said the island is used 99% of the time. DH and I sometimes sit at the table but the kids always sit at the island - my youngest is 4 and can get up and down by himself.