If you have a dining table, do you sit at your island at all?

[dreamersdown]

We are about to press the button on a new kitchen and my husband is keen to add a couple of stools to the island. They’d go on the far side of the island to the prep area (where the red cross is - we’d change these units to open bookshelves on each end, with a void for stools in the middle). The space between the island and the wall is 1.5m so I’m not concerned about blocking the walkway.

We’re a (sociable) family of 4 with toddlers - we’ll have a 6 seater dining table. if you have a dining table, do you ever sit at the island?

Yep! Every day for breakfast and actually
More and more for other meals as it feels more casual. Tend to use the dining table for more special meals now!

I did. I didn’t.

And if we hadn’t moved, I would have replaced the void with some much more useful cupboard space. I don’t understand why anyone wants to eat perched on a (usually uncomfortable) stool, facing the ( devastated) kitchen, when they could be sitting on a comfortable seat at an eating height table. We never used ours, eventually it housed a trolley which was handy for taking stuff outside to eat.

Especially those arrangements where the stools are about two feet away from the dining chair they back onto. What is the point?

I don’t but my kids do and love it

Don’t think stools are safe for toddlers. We are about to extend our kitchen and will be having a peninsula without any bar stools., will have extra cupboards instead. We too will have an 8 seater table just a couple a feet away. For us, we are a mature couple with grandchildren who we feel it wouldn’t be safe to use bar stools and we would prefer proper dining room chairs to sit on. Also we tend to socialise with other couples in the garden when weather is nice, or in the lounge or at a restaurant/pub. Hope that helps.

Yes all the time. I love it!

Yes. The dining table often becomes a place that things to clean go to live: freezer drawers, a secondhand exercise bike, etc. The island is an easy backup until I can be arsed finishing said cleaning or rearranging job.

Also, when we come to move house I imagine the dining table will be the main packing point, so the island will be useful then too.

Yes - we all eat breakfast at it, but not other proper meals. I love it that the kids can perch there when they come in from school & have a chat / sit there whilst I'm cooking. Ours is a new addition and it makes the two parts of our kitchen feel much more connected. Kids are older though, I wouldn't have let my toddlers on bar stools!

We use the island all the time - when we’re eating separately (older kids) it feels a bit weird to sit at the large dining table. Also friends will sit there with a glass of wine or cup of tea whilst I am cooking. Or dd will sit there to do food prep. Also like a pp said our dining table often gets used for ‘projects’ such as dds sewing machine and it’s easier not to have to clear it off if it’s just me.
I guess it is quite lifestyle dependent though.

DH has his lunch at it when wfh.
Otherwise no - but it only has space for 2 stools, so not big enough.

All
The time at the island to eat when it just dh and I and the kids sit there a lot. Dining table in same room gets used when we are all having lunch or dinner together. Rarely otherwise.

DH wants a breakfast bar but I really don't like them, I would much prefer a dining table in the kitchen.

My DSister swears her high stools are comfortable but I find them somewhat tortuous. I am very short with a bad back, I much prefer an actual chair where I can reach the floor safely!

I have a similar set up and chose to put 2 stools under the island. In practice they have rarely been used. We sit at the main dining table for all eating. Occasionally I will sit on one of the stools to sort out paperwork or similar but it is rare.
I wouldn't get rid of them though. I think younger people are more likely to use them.

Yes , the kids have their breakfast there.
DH and I often perch there to chat while the other is cooking.

Yes my kids love sitting at the island to have breakfast while I’m making packed lunches and doing the dishwasher. Or if the kids ever have an evening dinner at a different time to us, they eat at the island. It’s also great when I have a friend over for coffee/lunch - while I’m pottering around the kitchen they can be sat down close by so we can chat.

We eat most meals squeezed around the island, table only used for roast dinners and special occasions

We eat our dinner and weekend lunches in the dining room and use it when we have guests, and eat breakfasts at the kitchen island. I also sit there to read the paper with a tea or coffee, plus use it for food prep. I love having a kitchen island. :-)

We use both pretty much equally. Dinner is usually at the table, with other meals and snacks at the island.

Yes we use both. Table for when we are all eating. (Also used for homework, drawing, craft projects, etc etc). Breakfast bar when it’s just one or two of us. When we have friends round for dinner, the island seating is used for pre-dinner drinks and snacks (guests sit and chat while we do last minute cooking) and the table is used for dinner.

Yes, it's chef's table! I loved it on the rare occasion DH and I would cook while DC in bed, one of us doing the cooking whilst the other drinks wine!

Sadly we no longer have an island and I miss it!

We just had one added to our new kitchen and love it, when it’s just me and DP it’s nice for one us to sit there with a wine whilst the other one is cooking (usually me 🥂😂) but when more than two of us the dining table still used a lot! X

We have a large island and use this on a day to day basis for meals. The dining table is used for Sunday dinner and when we have visitors. Kids mostly do their homework at it too. We need both.

Toddlers and island with presumably bar chairs sounds like hard work!

The island is the informal bit in our house, we eat there a lot, and as it’s quartz then things like spaghetti Bol or stuff that the kids will make a mess with are eaten at the island. I like also how, because the kitchen/dining room are close to the entrance, people who pop in for tea have somewhere to perch. Sitting at the dining table feels a bit like you’re giving an interview if you’re not eating. We use the island also if I’m having a party or having a big dinner, I use the island to display the sharing dishes and stack the plates etc and everyone then takes to the table or garden. We use ours all day, every day.

DH and I use ours daily for lunch and I sit at it with a glass of wine while he cooks the evening meal.
We only use our dining room table when we have guests. Otherwise it’s tea on our knees in front of the tv.

It’s a great “glass of wine and snacks” seating area too, I wouldn’t be without mine.