Island in kitchen w/seating for 4, do you have a separate kitchen table?

[AnnieW625]

This is our new kitchen with an island and seating for four:
A4E36CED-9736-45F1-AE15-25A0DC142539.jpg

We plan on putting our current dining table near the entrance to the kitchen (where the storage unit, and Peleton are.....we will not have a love seat either so the space should feel bigger)

E29E4A15-4A3E-492E-AF7D-E2C80E4DB495.jpg
AAC6CE71-19F5-4589-9214-0426FE63B5AE.jpg
(this is our dining table in our current house...we have 6 chairs, but can get 8 around it when we have the second leaf in it.....our china cabinet will go to the left of the kitchen entryway)

So if we do the dining room (as described above) does the fact that the kitchen has an island negate the need for a separate dining table for the kitchen area? I am thinking the island might be tight for four daily dining.

(FWIW...I have never had an island before and grew up in a home with a kitchen table, and a formal dining table in the dining room.....don’t have an eat in kitchen in current home)

Here are the poll options for mobile viewers:
Yes
No
I really want a table, but just have an island
I have a table and an island and just use my island
I have a table and an island and just use my table

[westwoodmom04]

This is our new kitchen with an island and seating for four:
A4E36CED-9736-45F1-AE15-25A0DC142539.jpg

We plan on putting our current dining table near the entrance to the kitchen (where the storage unit, and Peleton are.....we will not have a love seat either so the space should feel bigger)

E29E4A15-4A3E-492E-AF7D-E2C80E4DB495.jpg
AAC6CE71-19F5-4589-9214-0426FE63B5AE.jpg
(this is our dining table in our current house...we have 6 chairs, but can get 8 around it when we have the second leaf in it.....our china cabinet will go to the left of the kitchen entryway)

So if we do the dining room (as described above) does the fact that the kitchen has an island negate the need for a separate dining table for the kitchen area? I am thinking the island might be tight for four daily dining.

(FWIW...I have never had an island before and grew up in a home with a kitchen table, and a formal dining table in the dining room.....don’t have an eat in kitchen in current home)

Here are the poll options for mobile viewers:
Yes
No
I really want a table, but just have an island
I have a table and an island and just use my island
I have a table and an island and just use my table

Just personal preference.

Our current house has a large island in kitchen and the dining room is one of my favorite rooms in the house, so I opted not to have table in kitchen/family room area, just made family room portion larger.

New house has smaller dining room and island, and breakfast nook that really serves no other purpose, so will have tables in both kitchen and dining room. Try it without a table, you can always purchase once you move in the house if you feel like it's missing.

[PunkyBoo]

Sorry I can't do the poll on my phone. What would you put where they have the kitchen table?
At our house we have a kitchen island/peninsula with only stools for the kids. We eat most meals in the dining room. But the peninsula seating gets used daily- kids sometimes do homework there instead of at their desks, DH sits there to pay bills or do work on his laptop, we do crafts there, and during regular school days the kids would eat breakfast there while DH or I were making their lunches.

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[Liziz]

Lovely home! We have an island that would accommodate seating for 4, but we don't use it -- don't even have stools at it. I think it's 100% personal preference. My ILs have dine almost exclusively at their island and got rid of their table, so it's just what you like.

Personally, I hate sitting at an countertop for meals. I find it hard to have a nice conversation when everyone is in one single line, instead of sitting around a table where we can see each other and talk more easily. I also find that often the countertop gets cluttered from preparing food, and I like to be able to move our food to a clean table, instead of needing to clear a counter before eating (of course, maybe if I was a neater cook, but that's a different story! lol). I find it easier to pass and serve food when we're at a table, too. I also don't like the kids sitting on counter-height stools -- my DDs are always messing around, climbing up and down, etc. -- for some reason they sit more nicely in normal height chairs.

So there's some of my reasons for always wanting a separate table, but like I said, I think it's going to be totally a personal preference thing as to what works best for your family! I'll just suggest that if possible, find an inexpensive way to try out whether you like sitting at the counter before you buy expensive new furniture (either a table, or chairs for the counter seating), as it will impact what it makes sense to spend money on!

[georgiegirl]

So you plan on creating a dining room in back of where the loveseat is? In the corner of the living room? That seems very awkward. I wouldn’t put a dining table anywhere other than a designated dining room or dining area. I only like having one dining table in our house. In both our new and old homes, we had kitchen islands with 4 seats plus a dining table. We eat dinners at the dining table. Informal self serve meals ate at the counter. I’d just stick your dining table where they have their kitchen table and be done with it.


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[acmom]

We have an bar height island that seats 4 comfortably. Our kitchen is open to the family room and a sunroom, where we also have a large kitchen table. We use that for meals. We also have a formal dining room that does have a table (drop leaf so it is usually folded up), but functions more as a kids homework room. Each kid has a desk in there.

We occasionally eat at the counter, but more often use it for snacks/drinks, homework, small projects or for buffet type serving when we have company. The table is much more comfortable to eat at (as well as play games) and holds more people so I would miss it if we didn't have it there. Plus the combo of all the seating in the kitchen/sunroom/family room allows lots of people to sit comfortably when we have a party or guest.

[DualvansMommy]

So you plan on creating a dining room in back of where the loveseat is? In the corner of the living room? That seems very awkward. I wouldn’t put a dining table anywhere other than a designated dining room or dining area. I only like having one dining table in our house. In both our new and old homes, we had kitchen islands with 4 seats plus a dining table. We eat dinners at the dining table. Informal self serve meals ate at the counter. I’d just stick your dining table where they have their kitchen table and be done with it.


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That is my thought too. As it seems from the picture of your new kitchen, its very spacious so very doable to put a table of 4 with leaf of 6 for bigger company. The new location of table where the bike and removing love seat just look and sound awkward to me, based on your photo. Lots of steps to that table from kitchen to serve plates and platters?

In our set up, we have pennisula/island with 3 seats where our boys eat their breakfast and lunch daily (pre covid, the lunches was usually on weekends) and during lockdown they ate lunches break there and as a family we eat our dinners nightly at our kitchen table cuz more roomier, and we all can see each other while talking/discussing our days. We also have our dining room table but it is only used as an extra sit down table that pulls out to seat 10 comfortably, 12 in a squuze for our holidays or large parties.

I would leave your current table in the kitchen and see how it looks/feel for a while before deciding to move or get rid of it.

[AnnieW625]

Sorry I can't do the poll on my phone. What would you put where they have the kitchen table? ........
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Probably nothing, but then it is a big blank space and I would feel like something is missing.

So you plan on creating a dining room in back of where the loveseat is? In the corner of the living room? That seems very awkward. I wouldn’t put a dining table anywhere other than a designated dining room or dining area. I only like having one dining table in our house. In both our new and old homes, we had kitchen islands with 4 seats plus a dining table. We eat dinners at the dining table. Informal self serve meals ate at the counter. I’d just stick your dining table where they have their kitchen table and be done with it.


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We could do that and put another office space where the Peleton is now if need be.

Part of me doesn’t think our current table fits the style of the kitchen and would look better in a formal dining space, but the table is a family heirloom and we just had the seats reupholstered so I don’t want to get rid of (I have no other family close to me who needs a table). I found the previous house listing (thank you Redfin.com!) and yes the formal dining space was in that space now. I really think it is probably a style preference, but I don’t think it would bother me. The last picture shows that they had a couch and a dining table in the kitchen. I definitely wouldn’t put a couch in that space. IMG_6614.jpg
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[KrisM]

Well, we have a dining room with a table in it. We eat any meals we eat as a family in there. We have a peninsula that seats 4, not 5. The kids will eat breakfast/lunch there, but not all 5 of us. We decided the eating area of the kitchen is awkward for a table, so I have my desk and we have a 3D printer in it instead.

So, I think having a table is important, as I wouldn't eat all my meals at a counter/island. But, it doesn't have to be a kitchen table and a dining room table, IMO. What would you put in the kitchen area instead of a table? Why not the table there and not in the living room?

[fauve01]

we have 2 peninsulas on either side of our kitchen (not an island) and also a dining table in the "formal dining space." we have an eat in space on the other side of the kitchen. we eat family/group meals at the dining table because none of us want to eat in a line. Self serve meals and sometimes homework are done at both the peninsula and the table. In the eat in kitchen spot we now have a love seat that faces the kitchen. Everyone loves that spot for sitting/lounging/etc.

Same at my parents' house, actually, except they have a kitchen island not peninsula.

I would HATE not having a dining table.