Island Layout- one height or two?

15 years ago

Hi, We are in the midst of building a house and I wanted to get some feedback on the island for the kitchen. Should we do one height counter on the entire 4 ft by 8 ft island? Or should we raise a portion of the island for high barstools? The entire first floor is open floor plan.

Featured Answer

Buehl

15 years ago

One!!!

Great expanse of work space for prepping, (future) homework and Science Fair projects, baking projects (children gathered around while you cut out & decorate cookies!), crafts, buffets, wrapping gifts, etc... the list goes on!

There are very, very few instances where a bi-level island makes sense these days.

Oh, and counter-height stools are easier/safer than bar-height for children and even your parents (although, even counter-height eventually becomes an issue for older people).

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Comments (6)

cpartist
15 years ago
Depends on the rest of your layout, your needs etc. Do you have young kids? What are you using the island for? Etc.
pharaoh
15 years ago
One
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brianadarnell
Original Author
15 years ago
There are no appliances, sinks, etc on the island. It will be used mostly for prep and for the barstools (whichever height I end up going with). No kids now, but definitely will have kids during the lifetime of this island...thoughts?
chicagoans
15 years ago
Most people here prefer one for the reasons mentioned above. But if you have an open space (e.g., great room) on the other side of your kitchen, then a two level island with the raised part/seating on the open side can help shield anything on the lower counter from view. That's one reason why I like mine and several of my friends' 2-level islands. (Ours also works well for parties when people inevitably gather in the kitchen. It's nice for leaning and chatting.)
julieh1926
15 years ago
Ok, my last response got sent into cyberspace! So, trying again....
We opted for a bi-level island for a whole host of reasons and couldn't be happier. We do have our cooktop in it, and it's quite large. I feel like I have the best of both worlds in that I have a large working space + a raised level that creates a delineation from our family room (open floor plan).

It does seem that the trend, at least on this board, weighs heavily toward a flat island. There are pros and cons to both, and plenty of valid reasons to have a bi-level island.

Really, I think it comes down to not only island space, but the overal use of the room, whether there are attached rooms, whether you have another flat surface (dining table) nearby, etc.

I'm attaching (or trying to!) a link to a discussion from last week -- I included pictures and some of our reasoning there.

It's a tough decision. Flat islands can be gorgeous and very useful, but we love our bi-level.

Here is a link that might be useful: Discussion about islands