Bar stools are fine. The only issue is that bars are in a line, which means in a family of four, it's hard for people not sitting next to each other to talk to each other. It makes a more difficult environment for conversation.

Only if you have plenty of room!

I love bar stools, but its necessary to have the space for your legs/knees and the bar must be wide enough to accomodate. We have them and love them, When we have guests they always gather around the bar and chat.

If you have a bar, I believe that a barstool is needed :)

Barstoola are perfect for breakfast for my little kids while I pack lunches or snacks while I cook dinner. Before we had them I couldn't get them to stay at the table if I walked away. So I love how it brings them into the kitchen without being in the kitchen. Same would go for guest.

We have barstools in our newly renovated kitchen. We did an island with a raised portion just so we could do the stools. One note, we went with a backless saddle type stool because we wanted to keep a cleaner look (no backs sticking out into a travel aisle.

I actually removed the raise but the island is curved for the stools. We just moved in so the bar / island is messy. Will post a picture later.