If you’re a busy household, a breakfast bar can be an invaluable addition to the home, creating a relaxed and casual dining and meeting area.  If you’re wondering if a breakfast bar is necessary for you, here is some information to help you make up your mind.

What is a Breakfast Bar?

A breakfast bar is an area within the kitchen where you can sit to eat meals, pay your bills, or where the kids can do their homework.  It generally consists of a bench that overhangs from a piece of cabinetry enough to comfortable fit stools underneath.  Basically, you could call it a table and a countertop all in one.

Benefits of a Breakfast Bar

There are several benefits to having a breakfast bar within your kitchen.  Firstly, you have an informal area where you can have your day to day meals.  Your food is prepped in the kitchen and then you simply hop on a stool to eat it!  This is incredible convenience wise and it can save you a lot of time if you are a busy household.  Breakfast bars are also amazing space savers, and this can be important in smaller homes and kitchens where it is just not feasible to have a separate dining area at all.  Breakfast bars generally seat from two to four people, making them the perfect space saving option dining wise. If you want to entertain more people, you can go outside to your large alfresco dining area, or use your formal dining room if you are lucky enough to have one.

Breakfast bars are about more than just a place to eat, though.  Kitchens are natural congregating areas and so you’ll often find people doing a lot more than just working with food.  If you need a simple, quick area to pay your bills or do some homework while still talking with your family, the breakfast bar is perfect.  You can even use the breakfast bar to keep your kids entertained while you cook by installing a small TV or a computer!

Breakfast bars aren’t just functional, though. They can also be an important decorative item in the kitchen.  If you have a separate breakfast bar on your island, you can use a different benchtop material than you have in the rest of the kitchen to make it stand out.  Of course, the primary way that you can turn the breakfast bar into a bit of a feature is through the seating that you choose.  You can choose to have backless stools or stools with backs and even armrests.  Stools come in a range of materials from simple timber, to plastics, resins, upholstered models, metal and more.  They also come in a huge range of colours and patterns so you can choose the one that suits your kitchen the best.

To have a look at different breakfast bar options, visit your local kitchen professional.