Breakfast bar ideas to add another dimension to your kitchen

A breakfast bar is a raised counter in a kitchen that has room on one or more sides for seating.

While this setup is usually to save space in small or medium-sized kitchens, it also adds a designer touch to your home with multifunctional benefits - and works incredibly well in oversized kitchens. 

Installing a breakfast bar transforms your kitchen by making the most of the floor space available, while ensuring it looks and feels on-trend.

Done in an effective way, a breakfast bar area will add value and instantly elevate your kitchen design. 

Here are some kitchen breakfast bar ideas, as well as tips on how to make it functional for your family’s needs.

Benefits of having a breakfast bar

If you’re deciding whether a breakfast bar is worth the investment, here are a few reasons to give it some serious consideration:  

• They are practical - giving you the perfect place to enjoy light meals, snacks and refreshments throughout the day
• They’re great for families - enjoy sociable dining/snacking without the formality of a dining room 
• They’re great for guests - a bar area for serving food and drinks gives you an additional space to entertain 
• They look stylish - as well as being extremely functional, kitchen breakfast bars look fresh, modern and on-trend
• They’re versatile - use the space at breakfast time, for coffee breaks, for dinner party drinks, or for additional workspace when cooking 
• They are sought after - well-designed kitchens add value, so a breakfast bar could make your home more attractive by providing an extra function that buyers want
• They work in every kitchen - there are so many styles to choose from, with layouts to fit every type of kitchen, whether yours is big or small

4 design elements to consider

A breakfast bar has to be both beautiful and functional, and it should add practical value without blocking the natural flow of your kitchen. 

Here are the four most important things to consider when including a breakfast bar in your kitchen design and planning. 

Space

Firstly, you need to think about how much space you have to add seating to a raised bar area.

The whole point of a breakfast bar is to save space, but if you don’t have the right layout, it could be hard to achieve the results you want.

However, don’t think that you need to have a large-sized kitchen in order to install a breakfast bar. They’re ideal for small kitchens and take up less room than a table and chair setup. 

If floor space is not an issue, you may want to consider some kitchen island breakfast bar ideas that can give you a central zone for casual eating and drinking. 

Positioning

This part is key. Where you position your kitchen bar and seating impacts flow and movement.

The goal is to leave ample room for walkways, and not to obstruct the ‘golden triangle’ or get in the way of appliances. 

It’s also worth thinking about which direction your bar area faces. It can be good to position seating to face the main work areas (such as the stove), making it easy to socialise while cooking or preparing food.

Floating breakfast bar

Floating or cantilevered tables extend outwards from your work surface, and are a great solution if you have some additional space to do this.

Extending away from a kitchen island or worktop shouldn’t disrupt the traffic flow, so bear this in mind during the planning phase. 

If you don’t want this to be a permanent fixture, it could be worth looking at a bar table that slides in and out as and when you need to use it. 

For modern kitchens that double up as workspaces or family living spaces, being able to adapt the room to your needs can be an attractive feature.