I personally don't like the eat at island concept; usually our island is the slice and dice area and is messy with meal preparation, as it should be. With more open eating areas, and no more formal dining spaces, the dining table should be adjacent to the kitchen and used for eating. We designed our new house, additionally, with an "anything" booth in the living area adjacent to the kitchen. This space can be used to eat and watch tv too, kids homework, laptop computer use, games, and just anything that can keep us in the mix of family events with a large enough table to use for anything. Our "formal" dining table is also adjacent to our kitchen and along a bank of windows in the dedicated dining space.