I had peninsula seating in a previous house. We rarely sat at the peninsula because we preferred to eat at the table. I enjoyed the peninsula for prepping and serving food when entertaining; however, I found that the stools were often in the way, and then where should I put the stools in a pinch to get them out of the way? Plus, I think island/peninsula seating can look unkempt when the stools aren't lined up just so. I feel the same way about kitchen chairs, so that's a lot of shuffling of chairs and stools to get them back in place. I think guests prefer to stand around an island and talk rather than to sit. And guests and family can help in the kitchen more easily when there are no stools in the way. Aisles are less congested too without the stools. Plus there's the wear and tear that islands receive from dangling feet, and stools can potential scratch wood floors just like table seating. My kids did their homework in the dining room, living room or up in their room--rarely in the kitchen.

first thing I did when I bought my current house was rip off the island countertop with barstool seating and replace it with a "lid" countertop (there is also a stovetop on this island, which I kept).

In a previous home I had an island with seating which no one sat at and I got tired of moving the stools to clean the floor so I just took them away. I often thought of putting shelving in the empty space, but it wasn't near the sink or the dining table, so I never bothered. When I put the house on the market, I put the stools back. ;)

I redid my kitchen about 10 years ago (with the help of this forum). At the time my 3 kids were in elementary and middle school. Yes, we used the island seating a little bit - mostly for breakfast and the occasional homework help. The counter stools seemed to be primarily used as a dumping ground for backpacks, purses and jackets. I am back now redoing a kitchen in another home and forgoing the island seating for a better design and more storage was an EASY decision.

It might depend on your layout (of the kitchen AND of the whole floor). Post it?

I have a moveable island with two stools. Never use them. We prefer to sit at the table.

We had an island with seating and almost never used it. When we remodeled, we enlarged the island and eliminated the seating. I loved the useful space on all sides during large dinner parties-everyone could help. Our current kitchen has an island without seating. Sitting at an island is not as amenable to conversation as a table with seating around it. Island seating reminds me of the lunch counter at the five and dime!

When we bought our previous house it had an island and a large peninsula. You could fit 2 stools at the short end of the island, 1 stool at the short end of the peninsula and 4 stools on the long side of the peninsula. When I remodeled the kitchen I got rid of the stool on the short end of the peninsula and the stools on the island. The other peninsula stools only got used by one of my kids for homework while he was small and when we had a large group of people over a few times per year. I had saddle type backless stools, so they disappeared under the overhang.

For the current house, a new build, I have a C-shaped kitchen and only put 2 stools at the short end of the island. Kids are out of the house. We don't use the stools, but guests will use them sometimes. Since we only needed 2 stools I ordered swivel stools with back, with custom fabric that complemented my kitchen and overall design. Don't miss having all those extra stools!

Not quite what you asked, but we also have a moveable island with no seating--because when we did our kitchen years ago, all the guidance was that it was not big enough for a "real" island--and I LOVE it. Our kitchen would not work without it, and I'm giving some serious thought to putting in a fixed island so we can add electricity. I will say that because I have a job that often involves evening meetings that are now on Zoom, I often pull up a stool to it in the evenings and have dinner on my own with a computer in front of me--so if we ever do a permanent version, it will have an overhang at the short end to allow for a single stool. But broadly, we sit in our adjacent dining room or on the patio. We also have two boys, though neither existed when we renovated the kitchen--but now they are tweens! One has a desk in their shared room and does his homework there; the other does it at the dining room table in the next room. Rarely if ever am I cooking at the same time they're doing homework, though, so even if we had a space for it in the kitchen, that would be moot. When we initially renovated we had a kitchen table in an eat-in area, but haven't actively used that in a decade--over the years it's been playroom space, dog space, and soon a home office space. We eat exclusively at the dining room table since it's right next to the kitchen, or on the patio if weather permits. When we entertain it's either on the patio or in the living/dining room space (sounds like we do much the same as you). I definitely don't miss not having seating at the island, apart from that one use case. And even that will likely be addressed when we finally put a real desk in the kitchen for a work space.

We had a peninsula with three very nice bar stools ... I think we used that seating area half a dozen times in twenty years. When my youngest's college apartment had only bar seating /no table space, she took my bar stools away for two years, and I didn't miss them.

I had an island without seating in the last house and always wished I had fit in space for a stool or two that could slide fully beneath the counter. The aisle was technically too narrow for seating but since the island was the main prep space it would have been really nice to have a spot to sit, or for others to sit, for brief stints. The island also tended to be the spot that people hung around and, if the stool can be fully slid beneath the counter, it would have been worth a tight squeeze to have a spot or two to sit instead of lean. We had a table 4 feet away that we ate every meal at but if just socializing with friends or family we rarely sat there.

I put in an island with seating a while back when my kids were little. We never did get stools and haven't missed the seating.

I don't regret having not had seating even though I kind of do but don't? I mean, I can have island seating just by getting stools but nobody seems interested...We all like the table though.

Our peninsula seating bar height stools are handy for one person sitting to converse while the other is in the kitchen working on something. Adult children visit and sit there while I prepare food. We sit there at times to sort papers. I like to put my grocery bags on the stools to unload as it makes for a good height. Yes stools are often in way for buffet style meals but no big deal as there are 2 sides to it. Forget about the homework thing, my kids often did theirs on the floor somewhere or any other random place and bar height stools aren't for small children really. So for now I like the seats. Last house had none on the island and it was useful too that way.

The best thing to do is to show the kitchen now, and your kitchen plan for reno.

What matters in a redo, island with seating, or no island , or a peninsula, or ANY other storage is the layout of what and where.

Draw and measure the kitchen, every foot and inch, every wall and window . Show the adjacent areas, dining, family or living room, where you enter from garage etc.

Quite often there are possibilities you don't see if only because you are used to living there!

Whether or what suits another is actually quite irrelevant to your OWN HOME. Nobody else has your kitchen : )

Absolutely not. No way in heck I want people sitting at my primary work surface.

So you will have 3 seating areas - dining room, kitchen table, and island seating? You don’t need that much. Also, you never want to cook and supervise homework at the same time. If a kid needs help and you are supposed to be stirring something, what are you going to do??? Kids do homework best in a quiet, dedicated spot. You should be available but not hovering. Ideally homework should help them develop independent work habits, where they review the days lessons and apply them to the homework. But you have boys, so good bless you.

Again....... we don't know if it's a primary work surface, we don't know what the kitchen looks like, we don't even know if the kitchen should have an island.......: )

We don't know, and until more info regarding THIS particular kitchen? It really is idle conjecture on even the part of the OP.

Kids love island seating but I wouldn't forego needed storage just for that reason. I don't think they are a great spot for homework, it depends on the kid. A lot of people really dislike guests sitting at the island while they prepare dinner, I would consider that as well.

We use our island seating. No kids, DH likes to sit there while I cook. Second house with island seating. He likes it. We use it.

Previous kitchen was ridiculously large and had island seating for four. We could put seating at each end, too. Very few people have island seating the size of that behemoth. Current island has seating for three. I do manage to keep DH's junk and assorted stuff under control because he puts it on the island and I put it away. I'm not certain why, but we are using the island for dining even though we have a large breakfast area with table and chairs and a full dining room. If I had kids and regular seating was available close by, I think they would used the table. It is more comfortable for writing and studying.

Our children sit at the island daily— to visit, to snack and drink coffee. It allows them to be where I am cooking and prepping, and I love the interaction. Of course, we designed our kitchen with 48” walkways from any other counter space so there is plenty of room for me to work at the sink in the island or prep on the one side of my 4’x10’ island and never interfere with the seating. It is perfect for this season of our life.
(And the view is pretty as well out of our three floor to ceiling windows on one wall of the kitchen)

We had expected that our island would only be occasionally used for seating, but the first day we moved back in after the reno, our kids (7 and 3) immediately were delighted by "our new table" and getting to sit on high stools, and begged for it to be our regular eating area, and that's what we've done ever since. It's especially convenient for weekday dinners where the kids typically eat early and the adults eat later after the kids go to bed-- because they are right there in the kitchen eating, I can be making school lunches, loading/emptying the dishwasher, or any number of other kitchen chores without feeling like it's distracting much from being "present" with them. But it works fine for full family meals too. It's also great because I feel like practically every 2 minutes at meals the kids are asking for something that a parent has to get up and get/do-- but now that we're eating in the kitchen, it feels much more like still being part of the meal/conversation/etc than walking all the way from the dining room to the kitchen.

Thanks, everyone, for the comments! Sounds like something we would potentially use if we had it, but not something that I would regret foregoing for extra storage.

Love this thread! I've been pondering the same thing for our kitchen reno. I can comfortably seat 3-4 at my peninsula. However, it is just me and the hubs here 90% of the time and we never sit there. My grandkids sit there once in a while when they visit. We have a dining table 10 feet away and if I'm being honest we eat in the family room the majority of the time. :-)

If I were putting in a new island, I'd put one with leg room which makes it flexible to either forgo stools or add them. One with no leg room is a bust if you decide you want them.

We remodeled our kitchen from one with a too-shallow peninsula with seating that was rarely used to one with an island with seating for 2 or 3. We have found that with a deeper and more appropriate space to sit, the seating is used much more often. We are a family of 3 with a child in grade school who often eats breakfast at the island, and does projects at the island seating while I’m cleaning up after dinner. I love it. We have a kitchen table nearby as well, and a formal dining table, and the island seating just feels homey.

One thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned is the different durability of surfaces. With kids, I’d much rather have them do art or a project or anything messy or with a potential to scratch on our island made of stone vs our much less durable wooden table. But I also spent more than I probably should have on our tables, so I’m not very laid back about it. Haha

I like sitting at the peninsula while having a meal by myself. I don’t need to use a placemat on the granite and love to gaze out the window or sliding door at the garden while enjoying my meal. When I dine alone it seems less lonely to eat at the counter than at the dining table that is merely a couple of feet away.

I love having an island but I never sit at it. I use it daily, but in the entire 12 years I've owned the house, I've sat at it exactly once. It's a very generous size and it's great for food prep, various projects, and spreading dishes, glassware, etc out to dry, or baked goods to cool or decorate. I would never want a kitchen without one. To me it's far more important and useful than a kitchen table. I just never sit at it, even though I have handsome leather stools that fit underneath. 

I think it would be a very different story if I had young kids. I would like the idea and ease of having them all corralled in one place. I'm sure the seating would be used all the time then. 

I have found that clients with children under 15, tell me they "live" at their island and that's where the kids always sit. That said, I see no problem with having an island with no seating if your kids have other places to sit, and you don't need to supervise them closely while you work in the kitchen. 

I do find that in most kitchens stools at an island or penninsula eat up space and add to visual clutter. For that reason I always choose backless stools for my own home. Let me add that if my stools didn't tuck neatly away under my island's countertop overhang, I'm sure I would forgo them completely for a clean, uncluttered look. Also, unless stools are used regularly, they tend to be just another surface people set things on. 

 usefuluseful than having a ki

My purse and jacket sit at my peninsula all the time. Clutter catcher.