peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 4,209 
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Post by peppermintpatty on Aug 10, 2021 13:39:13 GMT
My kitchen is small and we gave my counter height table (sat 6) to my nephew when he moved into his first place. I hated that table because the chairs were heavy and honestly, it was just too big for the space. So now I need to put something else there. My first thought was a round table (4) that was no larger than 50" dia. We NEVER eat in there. It is mainly used for food when we have parties and to drop my crap onto when I come in from the garage.
We have a dining room table that occasionally gets used but we generally eat in front of the tv unless we have guests. We just got into that habit. I have 2 kids but one is pretty much out of the house (grad school) and ds is a freshman in college this year so it's really just dh and myself.
My sister suggested getting an island so I could have more storage. I saw they have ones that have space to sit at. My original thought was to go back to the company that did my cabinets and have them do one but I checked and they just stopped selling my cabinets. It doesn't have to match and I know I wouldn't be able to find my granite anymore. I was thinking butcher block.
Would you do a round table or the island? While I could use the storage space, I don't NEED the space.
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Post by chitchatgirl on Aug 10, 2021 13:45:35 GMT
I would do the island since you already have a dining room table. It’s just DH and I too and we usually eat on the couch. I would rather have an island. The only time I use our kitchen table is when I’m icing cookies.
If you didn’t have a table somewhere then I’d do the table.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 10, 2021 13:47:31 GMT
I love my round 41" pub table with 30" stools, but at my age the stools are not so good. (There are chairs available and they are heavy and awkward. I don't have them )
I do have an island counter height with 24" stools. Much more useful for me, although I often stand there when crafting etc..
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 10, 2021 13:48:42 GMT
I think I would do an island as well. I only have one kitchen table and honestly it is used more for crap than eating. It's just me and my 13 year old and occasionally DH.
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Post by disneypal on Aug 10, 2021 14:01:13 GMT
As you described your situation and usage needs, it sounds like it would make more sense for you to have an island.
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rgibson
Full Member
Posts: 467
Apr 26, 2021 22:49:21 GMT
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Post by rgibson on Aug 10, 2021 14:06:02 GMT
We have all three - an island, a kitchen table and a dining room table - and I think I would give up the kitchen table before the other two. We sit at the island for breakfast and lunch, on the couch for dinner, at the kitchen table when we're having a casual dinner with friends or the grandkids and the dining room table when it's fancier or a bigger crowd.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Aug 10, 2021 14:31:44 GMT
We have a big custom island. It’s long. One side is towards the sink, the other side open to living area, and we have 4 bar stools. This is where we eat most of the time. I would not use or like a round table in that space. It would be a single surface use. Which doesn’t make sense to me.
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Post by Skellinton on Aug 10, 2021 14:34:07 GMT
Island all the way!
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,461
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Aug 10, 2021 14:34:51 GMT
100% an island. And island with seating is even better if you have the space for it. Our old house we lived in for 19 years had just a dining room with table and kitchen had a island with bar chairs. Never missed a kitchen table once. The new house we are building will be the same.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 19:52:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2021 14:46:27 GMT
Do an island with a large enough counter top that will accommodate seating.
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Post by katherinenaomi on Aug 10, 2021 15:02:24 GMT
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Post by melanell on Aug 10, 2021 15:26:50 GMT
I see a lot of kitchen designs these days where the island purposely does not match the rest of the kitchen cabinets, be in it style, color, counter top, or all three. So if you're okay with that look, I think others would assume you did that purposely.  I've seen people put specialized tops on their islands, too. Like butcher block, or a portion done in marble if they are bakers. I personally like a table in the kitchen, but boy, oh boy do I ever understand the need for extra storage in a kitchen! So in your case, where you don't eat in the kitchen anyway, the island sounds like it might be more useful to you. |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Aug 10, 2021 15:39:30 GMT
Another vote for the island. When we remodeled 8 years ago, we went with a very large island and seating for 4 on one side. There is a dining table in the old den which is now open to the kitchen. 99% of the time it's buried under "stuff". We are empty nesters and eat in front of the tv or our computers most of the time. It is nice to have to special dinners and holidays though. The space where the breakfast table was now holds a wine fridge and banquette. No one used it so I removed the small round table and now it's mainly a place for the dog to sit in the sun. In hind sight, I would have put more cabinets there. In your case, I would treat the island as an accent piece. It doesn't have to match, but should complement your cabinetry. A base in one of your accent colors with a butcher block or marble top would be on trend and suit your needs I think. If money were no object, I would own this island from Williams Sonoma just because I think it's gorgeous! |
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paigepea
Drama Llama
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Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Aug 10, 2021 15:48:01 GMT
We have a counter bar on the island, a kitchen table and a dining table. We rarely sit at the dining table unless we have guests. We use the kitchen table the most. I couldn’t be without it.
If you won’t use the table I wouldn’t get one. If you can have bar stools at the island I’d do that.
Our kitchen table is made with the same counter as our kitchen counter top. My kitchen is small and I wanted to make it look larger. This way I have a great kitchen table because I can put anything on it and it matches the counters so it makes my kitchen look bigger.
I would try and do that for your island or table.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 19:52:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2021 15:54:56 GMT
I specifically designed a long custom island for our kitchen and I LOVE IT!!!!
The gas burners are at one end, but I am able to access whatever is on the burner from all three sides. The other end, I made it so we could have seating there. We were actually able to find some beautiful bar stools here that are actually comfy. It is one of my favorite things about the kitchen.
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 10, 2021 16:11:13 GMT
If you didn’t have a dining room, I would vote for a kitchen table. But with the dishing room, I would definitely vote for an island with seating if that would work with your kitchen. Second choice would be an island.
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Post by bc2ca on Aug 10, 2021 16:17:42 GMT
We haven't had a kitchen table for 10+ years and don't miss it at all. An island with seating is a much better use of space for our family.
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Post by CarolinaGirl71 on Aug 10, 2021 16:21:36 GMT
An island would be more convenient for serving food at a party than a table because of the height.
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Post by papersilly on Aug 10, 2021 17:02:05 GMT
island. we eat at the island far far more than we eat at the table. it's just DH and i so it's fine.
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Post by lisae on Aug 10, 2021 17:25:29 GMT
Definitely an island. I can't imagine having a kitchen without one. We do not eat at our island. We eat at the dining room table. I don't like to have wasted spaces in the house.
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Post by ntsf on Aug 10, 2021 18:50:34 GMT
I have a big island with just flat surface --no sink or stove. it is almost at table height as I am short.. and so provides a comfortable work surface. I love it after 30 yrs.
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Post by stormsts on Aug 10, 2021 19:22:01 GMT
I love my island! It is 10’ long. The cabinets are the same style as the rest of the kitchen but a completely different color. That’s where my DH and I eat almost every meal. We still have a large table at the side of the kitchen but it is only used when the kids and grandkids come over.
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 4,209
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Post by peppermintpatty on Aug 10, 2021 19:38:38 GMT
Oh guys, don't hold back!!! LOL!! I do want to do an island (it won't be very big but big enough for probably 2 or 3 stools). I've hesitated because I just got rid of that stupid counter height table.
I don't like any islands that I've seen and since we are really handy, I don't have any issues with building my own. I checked around and while I can't get the same cabinets, I can get a nice complementary color from the same company. I would just have to find somewhere to get the butcher block from.
The company built the cabinets but we put them up when we redid our kitchen. The only thing we didn't do was install the granite bc it was too heavy. I still have more of my hardware so I could add it to the cabinets.
My cabinets are a honey color and the color that I thought would look nice is espresso. My granite is grey/brown with pink running through it. A warm butcher block would look nice.
Now I just have to figure out what cabinets I want on the bottom.
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Post by dewryce on Aug 10, 2021 19:45:21 GMT
Do an island with a large enough counter top that will accommodate seating. This is what I was thinking. The additional storage space could make your kitchen so much more organized and pleasant to use. The current trends of different color for cabinets and countertop for the island seems perfect for your situation. And hopefully it’s set up in a way you won’t feel the urge to use it as a temporary horizontal storage space like you did your table. Sounds like a win all around for me! Hm, now that I think about it…do you think there is a way to make an easy to use storage area for the items you store there? Like a big drawer or something? I’m a big proponent of using solutions that work, even if they seem odd to others. I use several of the drawers in our built-in china cabinet for non-dining things. Like, a drawer for DH’s crap. And one to hold things that I want to give/return to others and items for my mom’s comfort while she is here. |
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jayfab
Drama Llama
procastinating
Posts: 5,748
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Post by jayfab on Aug 10, 2021 19:54:45 GMT
We are in the middle of a kitchen reno and bought an island like this island from wayfair. I like that it has the folding side and wheels. It does have the butcher block counter. There's a bunch like this out there. eta, you could totally make one to match your kitchen |
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Aug 10, 2021 19:58:54 GMT
I would do a 30inch (w) x 30inch (h) bistro table and a smaller sized rolling island cart.
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Post by kelly316 on Aug 10, 2021 20:48:33 GMT
I would definitely choose the island. Far away from people and COVID.
Not helpful, but that’s the type of day I’m having.
Seriously, an island though. We have our best talks around the island.
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Post by katiekaty on Aug 10, 2021 22:54:05 GMT
An island. Just for the prep area. Seating is a bonus. If you still want a table go for a very small two seat bistro type table tucked away in the corner along with you island.
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momto4kiddos
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,156
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
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Post by momto4kiddos on Aug 11, 2021 15:05:18 GMT
Complimentary is in so the island is the way to go. Our neighbors opened their kitchen to their dining room so they kept the dining room table, ditched the kitchen table and ran an island through in a different color. Looks great!
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 11, 2021 15:20:07 GMT
I like the look of a round table, but the smaller ones never have enough room for me. I'd go with an island.
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