When we researched it, I was told that a curved edge helps. (We have around the corner seating, so I can't help). Good luck!

Do you mean like this? (DS's dirty look is because he was unhappy about having to do his homework on a late start morning, but he groused at me the prior two nights and didn't get it done.)

We only have two counter stools. Two kids. For weekday breakfasts, the kids sit on the stools and eat while I fix breakfast and DS's lunch for school on the business side of the island. Sometimes, if I've gotten up early enough, I eat while standing and preparing. (Don't like this as it makes me look unimportant enough to sit to eat. Kind of like a servant to my kids who only exists to make their meals.) Most mornings I've slept too long so I sit at the island to eat with little DD while she finishes her breakfast (both my kids are sloooooow eaters) after we walk DS to the bus. For weekday lunches, it's just DD and I so we usually sit at the island together.

Dinners are a family meal (well, the kids and I since DH always works late) and we usually have a guest or two. Dinners are always eaten in the DR. Sitting, eating, conversing about the day, and looking my kids in the eyes is important to me and makes me feel more connected to my kids and DH. I don't think enough families do this nowadays. Since my kids are such slow eaters, I generally don't have to enforce the rule about them staying a reasonable time at the table a reasonable time for conversation after they've eaten. It is, however, a rule with me.

On the weekends, we're generally all home for meals, although DH travels a lot, so we sit and eat every meal in the DR. Once we get the kitchen banquette and table installed, I plan to have casual weekend lunches there when it's just the four of us. I purposely planned space for only four at the banquette so we are forced to use the DR when guests are present.

I don't like eating with everyone lined up in a row like at a diner counter. I cannot see eyeballs that way and make connections. It makes me cringe when someone has a kitchen layout for five stools in a row at the island as their main eating space.

(P.S. Did you email me with this question sometime ago? Someone here did, and I can't remember who. I was so busy at the time that I didn't get a chance to email them back, and now my inbox is so full that I'd never find the email. If it was you, I'm sorry I didn't reply!)

No way you can get around the corner seating? We (including kids) eat most meals in the dining room, but love the island for the occasional very casual meal. 4 seats on a gentle curve, then 2 seats perpendicular. The line of 4 is ok with the curve.

Total hijack... Breezy, my 6yo DD saw the above pic and said, "Who's that little boy? He's cute... But I see he has a kitty, and that's even cuter!" LOL! Well I think your DS is a cutie, even more so than the cat!

Breezy, my 6yo DD saw the above pic and said, "Who's that little boy? He's cute... But I see he has a kitty, and that's even cuter!" LOL! Well I think your DS is a cutie, even more so than the cat!

I dunno, I think I'd have to call it a toss up. That cat is pretty darn cute too, sitting up so politely and waiting for breakfast, lol!

We eat breakfast and afternoon snacks at the island (usually) and dinner and weekend lunches at our table. I am a short order cook at the island and tend not to eat with the kids then, but we all converse even at the island. The kids find a way to fight and annoy each other regardless of where they are seated. :)

Love the picture Breezy! Sometimes I serve everyone (sling food) and eat rapidly while standing. My favorite line: Can I get anyone anything while I'm up?

We have a peninsula with seating for four (3-person family). We use it for breakfast every day, lunch on weekends, after school snacks, and dinner for DD8 and I when DH can't be home. We have a separate formal DR, and that is used for most dinners and occasional "nice" breakfasts when we have overnight company.

I LOVE the peninsula seating, but I also love eating in my lovely DR where I can see everyone's faces. I firmly believe in having 2 eating areas - one purely casual, and one less casual (even if not fully formal). I think seating for 3 to 4 works. More than that... I would seriously look at a curved design or an L-shaped seating area.

Some other useful things that peninsula/island seating is great for:

1 - Kids can eat cereal while parent(s) pack lunches, make snacks - promotes conversation, including conversations about healthy snacks! Eye-contact is frequent during these times.

2 - A couple stools can be temporarily requisitioned for crafts/projects. The whole month of December, half our peninsula was functional, while the other half was covered with a diorama project. This also forced us into the DR a bit more often in Dec., which is a good thing!

3 - Countertop seating is great for MESSY stuff - i.e., your super sticky 3-year-old neice or the fondue that seemed like such a good idea at the time. I'm not a huge fan of really messy stuff on my newly refinished DR table.

4 - When DD has a friend over after school, they eat snacks at the counter, and I get to be a fly on the wall - doing dishes, sorting mail, etc. They forget I'm there, since a mom in a kitchen is almost like a decor item. So sometimes I get good info about who said what, or which teachers are mean - kid stuff, but it helps me understand them better!

Our last house had just a DR table in a separate room from the kitchen. I hated it. DD would eat breakfast all alone while I made her lunch. When other kids were visiting, it was like an exercise class for me - constantly jumping up and running to the kitchen to refill a drink, or get more strawberries, or replace a dropped fork. When she was really small, I had to sit with her while she ate - and she was SLOW (we had a super small house and no actual high chair, just a portable booster at the table). I never had the luxury of doing dishes while she finished lunch, hence the dishes simply never got done. With counter seating, we would have had a counter-height high chair, and I could have done something USEFUL while she played with her peas.

When I was a kid, we had a peninsula with seating for 3. We were a 4-person family, so my mom was a short-order cook in the kitchen, while my father, sister, and I lounged at the counter. I cannot *fathom* why my mother allowed my father to build the counter this way, nor why she never once kicked one of us off so she could sit down. I don't think I EVER saw her sit there. So, whatever seating you choose, definitely make sure you have enough for your whole family. Otherwise, you run the risk of your kids seeing you as (treating you as?) their servant.

Good luck with your layout!

Thank you all for the wonderful answers and sharing your real experiences!
Breezy: your son is a doll! and that look... lol
We are currently a 3 person family and are thinking of seating for 4 at the counter. I can totally imagine kid b'fast, snacks, etc happening at the counter. DH is often late from work, so dinner is also frequently a 2 person affair. However, even its the 2 of us, i'd still like to face him while talking to him. We are planning a single large dining room- open to the kitchen, with an 8-seater table. Overkill for 2 :)I eliminated a breakfast nook and separate formal dining, coz it hardly gets used in our home.
I think I will have to relook the idea of around-the-corner seating... aesthetically, i like the look of 4 counter stool along the long side of the island, rather than a seating side around a corner. Aah, so hard to predict all these things... guess after all this overthinking, we'll end up with a 3rd option taht hasnt even occurred to me now :))
PS: Breezy, it wasn tme who had emailed you re: this q earlier, but thanks for asking.

thank you!

This post was edited by piu007 on Mon, Jan 14, 13 at 13:04