Raised bar placement placement

8 years ago

We are building a new home and the final plans are done. I can still change some finishes and placements but not walls or plumbing or that sort of thing. I wanted a bar height counter to separate the family room from the kitchen and to hide dishes. But what I now realize is that the bar top will extend a little into the living area and that the arch over the bar will not extend over the overhang. Any suggestions or do you think it will be very noticeable? I don't necessarily have to have bar stools here. (I can put a couple at the end of the island in the kitchen.)

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Comments (4)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
Bar height counters are trending out. I've cut down my share and fabricators are selling bar reduction jobs at a premium. Your layout and preferences may be conductive to a bar. Choose wisely, please.
Fori
8 years ago
I think it will look fine. Make some scale cutouts of your future furniture and see if it will impact that. I am not sure that your proposed bar is deep enough to actually sit at. If nobody's going to sit there, maybe a bar height bookcase (glass doors, of course!) with a countertop would fit in better than an actual BAR. It would be sensible at only 12" deep.

Whatever you do, I think it is much nicer to have that raised bar (or other cabinetry) than to have it completely flat/open. You are building this house and not selling it or flipping it so you can put in what you like and not what is trendy. (It might be trendy again when you do sell. Nobody knows!) You have tons of workspace which is what folks that level their bars are after. It looks like the family room will be an elegant space with nice symmetry. Such a room should not have the kitchen sink in it!
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jpurcell15
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks so much for your comments. I will definitely look into the bookcase idea. I've drawn our furniture on the plan and it looks like even if we use the bartop for seating, there will still be at least 3 feet of walking space behind the barstools. I know that bar counter tops are not "in" right now, but my reasoning was exactly as you mentioned--I wanted some separation between the family room and kitchen (and I wanted to hide dirty dishes). And because I will have a huge island in the kitchen itself, I felt I would have a touch of "trendy."
chellefnp
8 years ago
Trendy or not, we love our raised bar area. When friends come over, they always seem to stand around the bar area, even though we have tons of seating. Everyone gravitates to that raised bar, which I love because it keeps them out of my work area.

Do what works for your home!