Modern kitchens are not just workspaces for cooking and baking. They also serve as gathering and eating places for many homeowners. As you plan your kitchen remodeling project, you're probably including seating of some kind. But there's a common pitfall when it comes to kitchen seating: overdoing it. Why might this happen? And how can you avoid it? Here are a few tips to find the right balance. 

Why Too Much Seating Is Added

In general, there are two reasons that you might end up with too much kitchen area seating. The first is the power of trends. Everyone wants a modern and enviable kitchen, so they often turn to modern and enviable trends. The island's popularity makes it a go-to kitchen element, for instance. At various times, kitchen tables, breakfast nooks, and double islands all become trendy for a while. It's easy to want to add them to your plans. 

The second reason that you may install too much seating is that many people aren't honest about their actual needs. A kitchen table in the middle of a large kitchen looks cozy and comfortable in a magazine or on a renovation show on TV. But does it really match your family's style in real life? Simply adding the table won't necessarily mean that anyone uses it enough to justify the space. 

How to Avoid Too Much Seating

Find the right balance of seating and work space in your new kitchen by first recognizing how much seating you have planned. You might have several stools at an island, a kitchen table that seats four, a breakfast nook with more seating, and even a full dining room table next door! Sometimes, just adding up the numbers helps you focus better. 

Then, analyze how you use the current kitchen. If the family gathers around a kitchen table already, they're likely to fully utilize a new, updated one. Similarly, if you often stand at the counter to eat cereal, an island with bar seating is the perfect upgrade. However, if everyone just grabs coffee in the mornings, devoting the space to a breakfast nook is a waste. And a double island with more seating no one uses is even more so.

Think about what you could do with that square footage instead. Could you make the countertops wider and deeper, expand to a walk-in pantry, improve traffic flow, install more storage, add appliance lifts, or create a coffee bar? There are exciting alternatives. Envisioning these helps you fight against the temptation to include seating elements just because they're popular or attractive. 

Where to Start

Ready to start planning the right amount of seating in your new kitchen? Meet with a kitchen remodeling contractor in your area today to draw on their expertise. 

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