Eat-in kitchen concepts: 10 sociable eating areas
Eat-in kitchens aren’t any new phenomenon – for hundreds of years folks have gravitated in direction of the kitchen due to the fireside hearth and the communal must eat round a desk.
As of late, our kitchen concepts are dominated by kitchen islands with breakfast bars as must-have fixtures for consuming, socializing and hanging out. In contrast to these multi-focal kitchen diners, which could have an island, breakfast bar and even a dwelling house, eat-in kitchens characteristic the eating desk as their central point of interest. This most straightforward of kitchen structure concepts harks again to the idea of the entire household consuming round a desk that was most likely used for a lot of the prep work, too.
‘A kitchen desk is simply a kind of items that provides that one thing further to a room and takes it from only a kitchen into a spot that encompasses all that’s good about household life,’ says Helen Parker, inventive director of deVOL Kitchens (opens in new tab).
‘Gatherings round a kitchen desk have gotten increasingly more related to our lives in the present day, an outdated behavior that sadly died out when expertise and busy lives took over – however they is again. The phrase sobromesa actually sums up a deVOL kitchen, it’s that point after a meal if you simply keep and don’t go away the desk, a Spanish phrase that evokes extra than simply consuming however having fun with others’ firm within the easiest of the way.’
Eat-in kitchen concepts
Be impressed by these eat-in kitchen concepts – fool-proof examples of the best way to rework the kitchen into a spot for cooking and eating, collectively.
1. Double up on seating
(Picture credit score: Harvey Jones)
Massive kitchens equal extra seating and eating choices. So, why not have all of it: kitchen island concepts with bar stools for informal consuming or a fast espresso, and a separate, freestanding desk and chairs for sit-down feasts and get-togethers.
‘We like so as to add in a extremely purposeful island and complement it with tables and chairs to match close by in the identical setting,’ says Simon Allen, grasp kitchen designer at California-based Mod Cabinetry (opens in new tab). ‘This manner, as you’re cooking or plating, your visitors are close by and a part of the motion, but in their very own house. Past integrating the house and the folks, you’ll want to combine the look by rigorously deciding on supplies that harmonize every thing collectively.’
2. Squeeze in a desk for 2
(Picture credit score: Benjamin Moore)
For smaller households – or these with a separate eating room – attempt squeezing a petite eating zone into the kitchen hub. Interrupt a run of cabinetry with a low-slung, built-in bench seat and furnish with a neat, round, eating desk and accent coloration chairs. Max out the bench seat additional with kitchen storage beneath. If house is at an actual premium, put money into foldaway or cellular furnishings which could be introduced out, as and when required.
‘Make the most of house by a window for a pleasing outlook and many pure mild if you’re consuming,” says Joan Gair, inside design professional at Housetastic (opens in new tab). ‘You’ll be able to both go for a small desk by the window if in case you have restricted house or select a built-in fashion.’
This may imply compromising your design by positioning the sink on an inside wall, however typically seating and eating take precedence.
3. Maximize a redundant nook
(Picture credit score: Martin Moore)
Banquette seating concepts are supreme space-savers for eat-in kitchens, with L-shaped banquettes a intelligent strategy to make the most of a redundant nook actually usefully whereas becoming in a comfortable, communal eating spot.
Upholster the banquette in a troublesome but luxurious material – search out one of many new-generation of hardwearing, wipeable velvets to inject an additional pop of coloration and tactility to the scheme. Pair with a desk and a few occasional chairs for an eat-in kitchen that might be well-used and well-loved for therefore many various events at each time of the day.
‘Typically, banquettes gravitate in direction of corners; L-shaped banquette seating makes use of house that may in any other case be ignored and has a hotter, intimate really feel,’ says Richard Moore, design director at Martin Moore (opens in new tab). ‘This structure has a sociable really feel, mixing the cooking and eating zones of the kitchen.’
4. Play with sample
(Picture credit score: Kibler & Kirch/Gibeon Images)
Eat-in kitchens name for furnishings and materials which might be powerful and wipeable; alternatively, take into account upholstering in a busy sample that gained’t present up stains and scuffs fairly a lot as a plain.
‘Use good high quality efficiency materials for the chairs so meals and liquid stains are usually not an issue,’ explains Sharon L Sherman of Thyme & Place Design (opens in new tab). ‘You can too have some enjoyable with the fashion of the furnishings: eating room furnishings can are usually extra formal, however you’ll be able to take a lighter method within the kitchen and even use mismatched chairs to create your personal design vibe.’
Don’t neglect consolation on the subject of selecting kitchen chairs – snug seating encourages visitors to chill out and luxuriate in the whole eating expertise.
On this Montana residence, the tiled ground continues into the light-flooded, eat-in kitchen house, the place Jeremiah Younger, proprietor and inventive director of Kibler & Kirch (opens in new tab), created a ceramic tile ‘rug’ with a stylized flower design.
‘It is likely one of the many floral and botanical prints all through the home,’ provides Younger. ‘Atop the tile, a basic Saarinen Tulip desk affords curves to offset the room’s straight traces.’
5. Soften straight traces with curves
(Picture credit score: Havwoods)
Break up the exhausting traces of a kitchen by introducing a curved eating desk. An oval or round formed desk, with no corners, creates move of house and extra room for folks to get out and in of their seats. Spherical tables have smaller footprints than rectangular tables; it’s additionally simpler to squeeze in an additional visitor round a curved perimeter. There’s something very sociable a couple of curved eating desk and visitors can chat extra simply with extra folks, not simply these seated both aspect or reverse them.
‘A spherical desk in a kitchen helps to create a way of intimacy with a small group of individuals,’ says Alice Chui (opens in new tab) an inside designer from San Francisco. ‘It additionally gives a greater use of house in a tighter space and permits extra room for folks to navigate across the seats. A spherical desk is right for households with younger youngsters as a result of there aren’t any sharp corners; I at all times advocate spherical tables with a pedestal base which permits for extra leg room beneath.’
6. Combine and match classic treasures
(Picture credit score: deVOL)
On this coastal cottage, consuming, socializing and enjoyable are all prime of the agenda, so any eating space wanted to be centrally situated within the property and comfy.
‘This cottage kitchen is stuffed with persona and appeal in its scrumptiously, mouth-watering colours and informal air of sophistication,’ says Helen Parker, inventive director of deVOL. ‘We wished an enormous kitchen in a small cottage, we wished consuming, seating and prepping, we wished some classic and we wished simplicity and glamor.’
The combo and match temper features a classic prep desk on castors, painted in an uplifting inexperienced shade, alongside an outdated eating desk and chairs. The end result affords a low key cool that’s effortlessly charming with the central, freestanding prepping and eating zone the star of the room.
Scour flea markets, second hand outlets and classic gross sales for comparable tables – go away naked and unfinished or upcycle with a brand new coloration for a contemporary look.
7. Get the eating desk’s proportions proper
(Picture credit score: Drew Forsyth)
It’s vital that the eat-in kitchen has enough house for a desk and chairs, in any other case day-to-day eating experiences will show uncomfortable.
‘The eat-in kitchen requires more room than one may count on, for and across the eating space,’ says kitchen designer Susan Serra (opens in new tab). ‘So typically, the kitchen design will get all the eye with the eating space changing into an afterthought. The desk dimension and form is important and depending on the variety of folks within the family and the scale of the kitchen.’
Permit a minimum of 24 inches of desk house for every particular person as a basic rule, with house between a desk and wall behind it, a minimum of 36 inches – or 48 inches if the realm must accommodate passing site visitors with folks strolling previous the desk.
‘Play with desk sizes and styles on scaled drawings, then examine one drawing to a different to visualise the scale wanted versus the site visitors move round it,’ provides Serra. ‘Watch out of planning for a big desk and overlooking enough house round it. It’s uncomfortable when one feels they’re trapped at a desk with little room to navigate round it, so err on the aspect of more room.’
8. Select a hardwearing farmhouse desk
(Picture credit score: Future / Emma Lee / Sally Denning)
A preferred answer says Sharon L Sherman of Thyme & Place Design is to recreate a contemporary farmhouse look through the use of a desk because the island. It additionally provides double obligation to the desk so it may be tasked as a hardworking floor for meals preparation and baking in addition to a eating space.
9. Slot in a breakfast nook
(Picture credit score: Tom Howley)
Curved sales space seating is the right answer for casual eating or a spot of brunch.
‘Kitchen breakfast nooks are perfect for a small kitchen,’ says Bianca Trembly, CEO of The Better of Calgary. ‘It is going to be simpler for you and your loved ones to only plop down at your breakfast nook and have your eggs, cereal or no matter you need. No must mess up the eating desk for a easy morning meal. The house is small, so the clean-up is fast and you’ll hold the eating desk for larger household meals.’
In contrast to breakfast bar concepts, breakfast nooks supply more room, and a extra sociable really feel.
10. Swap an island for a desk
(Picture credit score: Inside Fox/Veronica Rodriguez)
This compact kitchen in a London house proves that island models are usually not the one answer for eating the place house is tight.
‘Because of the compact, open-plan house, we determined to go for a eating desk, moderately than an island, because the house owner wished an space that he might work in throughout the day and entertain visitors within the night,’ explains Jen & Mar, co-founders of Inside Fox (opens in new tab). ‘To enrich the black accents within the room, we selected this Perch & Parrow black marble desk as an actual wow piece. We then sealed the highest with protectant to forestall any stains, giving the house owner piece of thoughts.’
What is taken into account an eat-in kitchen?
An eat-in kitchen is a separate room that not solely consists of cooking and meals storage tools (ie, the kitchen) however a desk and chairs for consuming too. It differs from the open-plan kitchen and eating set-up which is basically two rooms stretched out over a wider house by both flattening partitions or reconfiguring a big space. Eat-in kitchens actually imply simply that: an space or a eating desk inside the hub of the kitchen the place household and pals can come collectively.
Do you want a eating room if in case you have an eat-in kitchen?
Whether or not you want a separate eating room to an eat-in kitchen is essentially down to private desire, your property’s dimensions and the scale of your family. Do you may have a big household that may’t match across the eat-in space of your kitchen all on the identical time? Do you wish to forgo a second front room and rework it right into a eating house? Are there partitions you might knock all the way down to create a steady, open-plan kitchen and eating room as an alternative? If you’re planning a kitchen revamp or a model new scheme, speak to your kitchen specialist, architect and builder who can counsel quite a few eating options on your wants.
