Please take a seat. Your kitchen contractor will be with you shortly. And they have questions. Namely, do you want to incorporate seating into your kitchen design and if so, what do you want that to look like?
Kitchen Seating
Kitchens are versatile spaces. You cook, clean, and store food and dishes in them, and often use the space for a wide variety of other tasks. As kitchens expand or contract, there is one aspect of them that often carries across any design—kitchen seating. We all want a seat at the table, whether that is an island, peninsula, built-in bench or freestanding table. If there is the space, people want to sit there.
Designing for Chairs
So how do you go about designing for seating? Time to break out the tape measure. First and foremost, you need to decide if there is enough room to include seating in your space. Not all kitchens can or need to incorporate seats, but if you desire them, make sure there is sufficient room. That means measuring size of chairs and thinking about how much room is needed to push them in or out from the counter or table.
“A good general rule to go by is 60cm per person (24 inches). This allows for enough elbow room to sit comfortably and not feel like you are on top of the person next to you.”
Kitchen Islands: A Guide to Sizes – Kitchen Insider
As we have noted before, kitchen islands generally require approximately 42″ – 48″ of space around them for adequate walking and room for working. When stools or chairs are added to the counter, you need to ensure there is enough overhang to slide the stools up to it, but also enough room behind for people to sit comfortably away from the counter, but still have room to walk. That looks like approximately 3′ of space, give or take.
The same rule generally applies to peninsulas, but you gain floor space where it attaches to the wall. Where you need that 3′ of space most of the way around, there are only three sides at a peninsula.
If space is an issue, built-in benches are a great option for seating. You can use them as a banquette in awkward spaces. They can serve double-duty for storage. Most benches provide more space for seating too, especially if children are at the table.
Larger spaces offer the luxury of incorporating a freestanding table and chairs as well. If they are a part of the kitchen, you might want to consider having a uniform feel across the elements for an integrated look. A separate table allows you the ability to change things up though. Again, you want to measure the space to determine the size of table you can include and whether or not there is room for expansion. A 4-seater table would need about 36″ – 40″ wide and 48″ long. For 6 – 8 people, you need closer to 60″ – 72″. Of course you also need to take into consideration if the table is round, square, a rectangle, oval, or some other shape. It makes a difference when it comes to seating and the comfort of your diners.
This is meant to give you some food for thought. Ryan is more than happy to help you design and incorporate adequate seating into your next kitchen design. Contact Revival Home Renovations to start planning today.