10 intelligent methods so as to add a bar space in your kitchen

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Our breakfast bar concepts are all about maximising the performance of your kitchen. Of all of the kitchen diner concepts on the market, incorporating a breakfast bar is likely one of the greatest for versatile dwelling. Excellent for having fun with a fast espresso break, lunch on the hop and simple household suppers. When entertaining, a breakfast bar may also double up as a buffet space to serve drinks and canapes.

A breakfast bar will take up much less house than a eating desk surrounded by chairs and can be utilized to spice up the prep areas in your kitchen, too. The place to put in a breakfast bar relies on your kitchen structure and the way a lot house it’s a must to spare.

Probably the most in style kitchen island concepts is so as to add a breakfast bar. ‘Positioned away from the ‘working zone’ of the island, a breakfast bar permits family and friends to comfortably socialise with the hosts, with out getting in the best way when cooking is in full circulate,’ says Richard Moore, Design Director, Martin Moore.

Breakfast Bar Concepts

Earlier than you get carried away with Insta-worthy breakfast bar concepts, determine what number of stools you wish to accommodate. If you happen to’re simply searching for a quiet spot to examine Socials, then a single stool tucked in a nook is good. However if you wish to take pleasure in breakfast collectively as a household, every member will want a seat.

Permit not less than 50cm width per stool, plus about 15cm both facet for straightforward entry. ‘Don’t neglect to contemplate how a lot house the stools will take up within the room when in use,’ provides George Forsyth, Director, Drew Forsyth & Co. ‘You’ll want to permit enough house behind seated visitors for others to go by with out getting caught!’

1. Tuck a breakfast bar into the nook

If you happen to don’t have an island or different kitchen floor to spare, take into account constructing a standalone breakfast bar in a quiet nook away from any busy entrance or exit routes. Carry it away from the nook to accommodate further stools and create a extra sociable expertise with out sitting together with your again to the room.

Make it tremendous useful with storage above and beneath for breakfast provides and tableware. Utilizing the identical worktop because the kitchen will obtain a way of cohesion and show sensible by way of straightforward cleansing and stain resistance.

2. Elevate the bar

Excessive-level breakfast bars have a bunch of advantages. When it comes to design, it permits a swap in floor supplies that may create a placing characteristic and permits one thing a bit extra forgiving to relaxation your arms on than chilly stone or quartz.

From a security level, a raised bar can present a stage of safety from sizzling oil splashes if there’s a hob on the island and retains youngsters away from sharp knives if you’re prepping. Don’t be tempted to go too excessive although, ideally not more than 106cm/42in, otherwise you’ll wrestle to supply stools which might be tall sufficient to sit down comfortably.

3. Add a easy island overhang

In smaller kitchen one of many easiest methods so as to add bar-style seating is to overhang the worktop on the entrance or ends of an island. If you happen to’re overhanging worktop with none further nook helps, don’t go deeper than 30cm/12in to keep away from load-bearing points when visitors inevitably lean on the bar.

Two or three customary 60cm/24in base items with a 90cm/35in-deep worktop above is a straightforward, off-the-shelf resolution that gained’t break the financial institution. Select backless bar stools that may be tucked beneath when not in use.

4. Work with a wall-mounted breakfast bar

No island? No downside. A bit of kitchen worktop put in shelf-style on the finish of a run of items can present a quiet spot on your morning espresso. Sure, you’ll have your again to the room, however that’s not all the time a foul factor, particularly should you’re busy at a laptop computer or youngsters are beavering over their homework.

Be as beneficiant as doable with house so the realm doesn’t really feel compromised or cramped. Intention for not less than 1m-width of worktop for 2 stools, 1.5m for 3 if doable.

5. Get extra bottoms on seats

Use benches as a substitute of bar stools to accommodate extra visitors – good for youngsters’s events, and it seems nice, too. This stylish design thought requires a lower-level breakfast bar for ease in the case of getting on and off the benches as these sat within the center might want to slide alongside.

Add cushions and fake fur to spice up consolation ranges and create a comfortable Scandi-inspired look. Be sure the benches you purchase are solidly constructed and heavy, so that they gained’t tip backwards when loaded up with children!

6. Impress with a floating bar

A cantilevered breakfast bar is tough to beat on the wow-factor entrance. This structural bar additionally presents loads of leg house beneath for seating consolation.

‘A floating breakfast bar requires cautious engineering for stability – normally a metal body is hid underneath the worktop and bolted to the ground underneath the island,’ explains Andrew Corridor, Director, Woodstock Furnishings. ‘However the outcomes are nicely price it. Not solely is it assured to impress, but it surely additionally leaves extra flooring seen, which boosts the sense of house.’

7. Contemplate stools on two sides

A linear line of bar stools could also be probably the most in style breakfast bar concepts for an island but it surely’s not probably the most sociable method to sit. If you happen to’d favor to make eye-contact whereas quaffing that wine, go for an L-shape configuration.

Containing the breakfast bar in a single nook of an island may even depart extra worktop house clear, leaving room for a beneficiant hob. Use lighting to outline the bar space – a low slung pendant on a separate gentle swap will illuminate the bar by night time, whereas throwing the remainder of the kitchen into darkness.

8. Drop a breakfast bar all the way down to eating stage

Perching on a bar stool isn’t any downside for brief intervals, resembling a fast lunch cease or espresso break, however should you’re lingering for longer eating chairs are undoubtedly comfier. Go for chairs with cushioned seating and excessive backs for max help.

Dropping a breakfast bar all the way down to eating peak (76cm/30in) may even present a small splashback space to put in electrical sockets – good for plugging in a laptop computer or charging units when working from house.

9. Save house with a slimline bar

Consultants suggest leaving a walkway of not less than 90cm-1m vast round an island or eating desk to stop obstructing the circulate of motion when cooking. One of many benefits of a breakfast bar is it may be made a lot narrower, with out effecting performance.

‘Freestanding breakfast bars take up a lot much less house than eating tables or islands, notably when styled with stools that will probably be tucked beneath,’ says Melissa Klink, Head of Design, Harvey Jones. ‘Earlier than investing in a breakfast bar, be sure to select the suitable dimension on your house. A small breakfast bar will look misplaced in a big room and vice versa.’

10. Take an ornamental method

The empty void beneath a breakfast bar is ripe for an injection of color and sample. Because the floor usually comes underneath hearth from flailing toes, particularly these of babies, selecting finishes which might be scuff-resistant and simple to scrub.

Patterned tiles can look notably placing and might be matched to a kitchen splashback thought for a coordinated scheme. We additionally love metallic cladding like aged bronze or copper sheets, which might be made-to-measure and hooked up utilizing adhesive.

What’s a breakfast bar?

A breakfast bar is actually an off-the-cuff spot to tug up a stool in your kitchen. It might probably run the total size of an island, full with four-to-six stools, or be little greater than a shelf within the nook, or a brief overhang at one finish of an island.

‘A breakfast bar is a good way to get extra out of your kitchen,’ says Graeme Smith, Head of Retail and Business Design at Life Kitchens. ‘Breakfast bars hold everybody socially linked within the house and may make it straightforward for hosts to prepare dinner away whereas visitors chat.’ In more moderen years, breakfast bar concepts for kitchen life embody one other place to do business from home – one the place you’ll by no means be too removed from the espresso machine!

What do you have to take into account when planning a breakfast bar?

Location is prone to be your first consideration. Some layouts, for instance one with an island or peninsula, lend themselves extra readily to a breakfast bar. The keys factor to consider location-wise is whether or not there may be sufficient house behind the breakfast bar for folks to go by – permit not less than 60cm, however ideally 90cm. It ought to by no means trigger an obstruction.

‘When it comes to supplies, any floor used for a breakfast bar ought to be straightforward to wipe clear, sturdy and ideally immune to scratches and stains too,’ says Simon Boocock, Managing Director, CRL Stone. ‘Quartz and stones are very low upkeep however might be unforgiving on glassware, to not point out chilly in your arms. Switching from quartz in your foremost kitchen surfaces to a hotter floor like wooden for the breakfast bar is a superb resolution.’

What peak ought to a breakfast bar be?

There are not any set guidelines on what peak a breakfast bar ought to be, however you’ll make stool purchasing simpler should you plan the peak in response to the scale of the 2 hottest stool choices, that are counter stools or bar stools.

A counter stool, generally referred to as kitchen stool, is aimed toward breakfast bars that sit at customary kitchen worktop peak. That is round 90-95cm/35-37in from the ground, with the stools starting from 60-75cm/24-30in excessive (to seat peak).

A bar stool is aimed toward larger breakfast bars, be {that a} standalone bar or a raised part on an island or peninsula unit. If that is your desire, go for a peak of about 100-106cm/39-42in, and purchase bar stools with a seat peak of 75cm/30in or above. You’ll be able to take the stress out of bar stool purchasing by selecting a peak adjustable design that may be made larger for youngsters and decrease for adults.