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?

No. We have actually put the stools away because we found they were totally unused

Yes, often. Not really for dinner but for breakfast, snacks and drinks. DC like to sit there and chat to me when I'm cooking.

Oh I also sit there to work as it’s right by the garden doors in our layout.

If you have small kids, don’t get rotating bar stools or they become a (somewhat dangerous) indoor toy!

Yes, we use both too. Island for quick breakfasts, informal meals and chatting while someone cooks. Sometimes work there too for a change of scene. Large dining table for dinner most evenings and weekend brunches etc. Works well for us. No spinning or padded stools though - we have very severe science lab style wooden ones, so they're not comfortable for too long, and I wouldn't want them as my only seating option in the kitchen!

We have both and use both. You could always keep the cupboards if you preferred and have a larger worktop so it over hangs, you could tuck the stools underneath? That's what we have I just use the cupboards for stuff we don't use all the time.

My kids used to sit at our island to chat and cook and do homework. We used it loads.

The kids do. And guests do if they pop in for drinks.

The island was in constant use when DC were younger. They would sit on stools doing their homework while I was cooking. Now that they are older nobody sits at it. We use our table for nearly all meals. It's more comfortable

yes all the time despite it being just a few steps to big table.

very sociable if one of us is cooking, we always sit there for breakfast too

We're use the dining table for special occasions only since getting our island (with enough stools for all 4 of us). Currently the dining table has our car roof box on top following our return from holiday a week ago 🤣.

We eat at the table and ignore the peninsula which I wouldn't have again. DSis eats breakfast and light lunch at island and main meal at dining table. They have a huge kitchen/ dining/ tv space which benefits from being broken up by large bits of furniture.

Yes we use ours plenty: quicker meals (breakfast, lunch) are eaten at the island, and dinner is usually at the dining table. People gather socially at the island in a way they don’t around a dining table.

You have an exercise bike sitting on top of your dining table ?!?!

Haha, have you imagined me as some daredevil sort who also uses a zipline instead of the stairs to go downstairs in the morning?

Sorry to ruin the illusion.

Sadly, it was only to clean it after buying it secondhand. It now lives firmly on the floor.

We use the island seating more than the dining table. Each to their own but this works for us.

We have half depth cupboards under the seating for extra storage (which we don't use anyway as we already have loads of storage)

Yes, we eat most meals around the breakfast bar and use the dining table for Sunday lunch type meals or when we have guests.

Yes have both and use both. Island great for kids especially in the mornings.

Thanks to all, hugely helpful. I think we’re going to go for them. Worst comes to worst they don’t get used, but I could see us regretting not having them in the future when the kids are older. Thank you!

We use ours a lot.
I advise investing in decent foot quality stools/chairs. Everyone comments on our comfortable our chairs are, they're more comfortable than the dining chairs!
Don't get those uncomfortable wooden stools. They're fine for perching on for 10 minutes but if you want the space to be used, invest in comfort!

We have these....

www.danetti.com/products/clara-velvet-bar-stool-dark-teal

I felt the concept of an island with bar stools made me feel like a servant in my own house, serving the masses. A dining table feels more equal.