I’m guessing many on here will say lose the dual height. I prefer it as I hate to have my mess on display when entertaining.

Me too, and my guests are always at the island...

That is where your STOVE is, so it's much safer to keep the dual height. Maybe you can enlarge the top level a bit? If you're redoing the whole kitchen, perhaps move the range to a wall.

(It's such a nice-looking kitchen I wouldn't redo the whole thing if it functions well.)

Thank you, it does work well, we are updating the countertops to sell our home of 16 years. We sadly are not going with quartz as it is at least triple the cost of laminate. I am trying to choose a countertop that won't show the seams too much as there are quite a few angles on the island. As for the depth of the eating bar, we could go from 12" to 14" max. Cheers

Price your house to sell and forget about upgrades.

Did you see the post abut a house hunter who found a house that she loved in all ways except that she hated the 'trendy' painted cabinets that were probably done to sell the house? Like Tootsie said, price to sell and forget the 'upgrades' that others will probably hate.

Is the counter damaged or worn out? If not, leave it. It's not really outdated.

Your opening says the cabinets have already been painted - is that correct?

If so I would post a picture of that so we can see what it looks like. I would keep the raised level instead of having to do all the work to lower it.

If not, I wouldn't touch a thing. Wood stained kitchens are back in style

16 years is quite a while, what changes would give you pleasure? Tastes and must haves are likely to shift quite a bit in 16 years. If you don’t want laminate check out Corian.

I wouldleave it as is price to sell and let the next guy do waht they like. BTW no one hides the mess in a kitchen anyone walking by or sitting at the bar sees it.

You are selling. How much money do you want to gift to the new owner? Most home renovations have a negative return on investment. Kitchen renovations usually have and ROI of 60%-80%, so if you spend $1000.00 on your kitchen you will get back $600-$800 when you sell and you just gifted the new owner $200-$400. I would keep my money in my pocket.

The counters are 16 yrs old, so a bit worn out in areas. The flooring is being changed as we just had a flood! I am going for a more lighter, beachy look. I will post a pic of the countertop...

I would definitely keep the dual height for safety reasons since you have a stove in the island, and I would increase the depth as much as you can.

I kind of like Breakfast bars on islands so I'd keep it. I know that a lot of people these days are generally in favor of getting rid of them and view them as dated.