A breakfast bar in your kitchen doesn’t have to be used literally just at breakfast time. It can also make a great place to grab the occasional snack, add the finishing touches to homemade biscuits and cakes and chat with other members of the household.
However, while This Old House has a guide on how to build a DIY breakfast bar, you should – before actually building one – ask yourself the following questions.
How tall should the breakfast bar be?
The Homes & Gardens website explains that the standard height of a breakfast bar is 900mm. Now that you know this information, you can buy breakfast bar legs to suit.
If you would like those legs to look especially sleek – and perhaps even close to invisible at first glance – once they have been fitted, you could consider the breakfast bar legs on offer from The Hairpin Leg Co. – with these legs measuring 102cm tall, thereby leaving room for the bar’s tabletop.
How large should the breakfast bar be overall?
The amount the kitchen space you have available for a breakfast bar could, to a large extent, answer this question for you. In any case, though, you should only contemplate a breakfast bar in the first place if you will be able to make it at least 40cm/15in deep and give it a minimum overhang of 30cm/12in.
Ideally, your new breakfast bar should be capable of sitting at least two people. Therefore, you ought to build this bar about 200cm/80in wide.
How much space should you leave around the bar?
Kitchen designer Neil Lerner advocates leaving an overhang of at least 30cm for a kitchen island, as this would free up space for you to use in inventive ways – like including barstools. This is just guidance though, so do consult whoever is designing your kitchen, such as Glotech Kitchens.
“It’s also important to allow enough room, say 60cm/24in, between the breakfast bar and any wall behind it for easy access,” Lerner told Homes & Gardens, adding that this space can serve “as a barrier to keep children and guests from getting under your feet while cooking.”
What shape should your breakfast bar take?
As many familiar breakfast bar designs are shaped like letters, perusing pictures of these designs can feel rather like binge-watching Sesame Street. As for which of these designs you should choose – well, that will largely depend on what exactly you want to achieve with your breakfast bar.
For example, “Nothing Compares 2 U”-shaped kitchen designs if you want to create a breakfast bar by placing a set of stools just outside the peninsula. Meanwhile, L-shaped bars encourage social interaction.
How will you provide enough light?
Should you let sunshine trickle through the window, or invest in new electrical lighting fixtures? Either type of light can be a good source of illumination for breakfast bars – and the Homedit website has some ideas for how you could utilise both means of lighting for your particular bar.
For example, new light fittings can constitute eye-catching decor, while you could make the most of natural light by placing your bar right near the window.
Custom designed kitchen bars can be an attractive addition to your kitchen remodel project, but before you take the plunge you should consider a few things. These are some of the things I suggest you think about, to improve the chance that your project will be successful.