12 Breakfast Bars With Coffee Shop Appeal
Give even the smallest of kitchens a sociable vibe by inserting a stylish seating post
They’re that little perch where you sip your morning coffee, eat your porridge and skim the headlines on your tablet. There’s no doubt breakfast bars are a brilliant way to sneak extra living space into virtually any kitchen. Even the smallest, given a little planning, can accommodate one, and I speak from experience – my breakfast bar is where I start, and often finish, the day.
Breakfast bars are also ideal spots for perusing recipe books, sorting the post or for cooks to rest weary feet while keeping an eye on bubbling pans. All you need is a couple of stools and a skinny ledge to work that coffee-shop-at-home vibe: suddenly, your humble kitchen feels like a sociable place to hang out, instead of merely a place to cook, stack the dishwasher and load laundry. Here are some ideas for planning yours.
Breakfast bars are also ideal spots for perusing recipe books, sorting the post or for cooks to rest weary feet while keeping an eye on bubbling pans. All you need is a couple of stools and a skinny ledge to work that coffee-shop-at-home vibe: suddenly, your humble kitchen feels like a sociable place to hang out, instead of merely a place to cook, stack the dishwasher and load laundry. Here are some ideas for planning yours.
Zone with pendants
Low-slung pendants have become the de rigueur way to mark out a breakfast bar. Hung over an island unit, they provide softer lighting for cooking and entertaining than harsh spots. In this country-esque domestic haven, the pea green shades add a fresh, vibrant edge. Note also how the stools have been squeezed in around two sides of the island to accommodate big family breakfasts.
Low-slung pendants have become the de rigueur way to mark out a breakfast bar. Hung over an island unit, they provide softer lighting for cooking and entertaining than harsh spots. In this country-esque domestic haven, the pea green shades add a fresh, vibrant edge. Note also how the stools have been squeezed in around two sides of the island to accommodate big family breakfasts.
Love a ledge
Think whether you could utilise a wall for your bar, rather than place it in the centre of the kitchen. In this loft apartment, a skinny ledge has been slotted in by the window, away from the main chaos of the kitchen – ideal for contemplative moments. Exposed piping, industrial bar stools and metro tiles all add to the hip, metropolitan vibe. Flat whites at the ready.
Think whether you could utilise a wall for your bar, rather than place it in the centre of the kitchen. In this loft apartment, a skinny ledge has been slotted in by the window, away from the main chaos of the kitchen – ideal for contemplative moments. Exposed piping, industrial bar stools and metro tiles all add to the hip, metropolitan vibe. Flat whites at the ready.
Have a moveable feast
Breakfast bars don’t necessarily need to be built in, as this freestanding wooden butcher’s block demonstrates. It doubles up as the perfect place for a glass of wine and a sandwich (or a croissant and coffee). The wooden stools, red bricks and wicker baskets all add to the warm, country effect.
Breakfast bars don’t necessarily need to be built in, as this freestanding wooden butcher’s block demonstrates. It doubles up as the perfect place for a glass of wine and a sandwich (or a croissant and coffee). The wooden stools, red bricks and wicker baskets all add to the warm, country effect.
Create a breakout café area
You don’t have to sacrifice a slice of worktop or island unit when you build in a breakfast bar, especially if you’re fortunate enough to have a roomy kitchen like this one. Here, a separate high table adds the air of a continental coffee shop, the perfect perch for espressos on the go. The red metal stools also add some fiery colour.
You don’t have to sacrifice a slice of worktop or island unit when you build in a breakfast bar, especially if you’re fortunate enough to have a roomy kitchen like this one. Here, a separate high table adds the air of a continental coffee shop, the perfect perch for espressos on the go. The red metal stools also add some fiery colour.
Think small
It’s amazing how little space you really need to sneak in a breakfast bar. By extending the worktop over the end of this slim island, there’s just enough space to squeeze in two compact stools. The bright orange also coordinates cleverly with a painted feature wall, tying the room together.
Find more ideas for compact kitchen planning
It’s amazing how little space you really need to sneak in a breakfast bar. By extending the worktop over the end of this slim island, there’s just enough space to squeeze in two compact stools. The bright orange also coordinates cleverly with a painted feature wall, tying the room together.
Find more ideas for compact kitchen planning
Extend your worktop
In this long, slim kitchen the owners have extended the worktop beyond the island unit - meaning you can tuck feet under without knocking knees while you enjoy your cuppa. When you’ve finished, you can also tidy stools away underneath to keep things streamlined.
In this long, slim kitchen the owners have extended the worktop beyond the island unit - meaning you can tuck feet under without knocking knees while you enjoy your cuppa. When you’ve finished, you can also tidy stools away underneath to keep things streamlined.
Work a glam angle
Champagne and oysters, or cornflakes and PG Tips? The choice is yours, but this super-glamorous kitchen looks as if it could pull off either. It’s proof, if proof were needed, that kitchens – and breakfast bars – don’t have to be functional and boring.
Here, the winning ingredients are gleaming metal-framed stools, a pale, polished worktop and super-shiny silver lights, while even the cocktail trolley looks fit for an A-list nightclub.
Champagne and oysters, or cornflakes and PG Tips? The choice is yours, but this super-glamorous kitchen looks as if it could pull off either. It’s proof, if proof were needed, that kitchens – and breakfast bars – don’t have to be functional and boring.
Here, the winning ingredients are gleaming metal-framed stools, a pale, polished worktop and super-shiny silver lights, while even the cocktail trolley looks fit for an A-list nightclub.
Mix up your worktop
The cooking and eating zones on this island unit have ingeniously been divided up, thanks to different worktop materials. It’s a simple trick that means it instantly feels less like a workaday kitchen and more like a multi-functional space. Curvy, upholstered stools also help give the wooden bar area a more relaxed, comfortable feel.
Get expert advice on choosing the perfect worktop
The cooking and eating zones on this island unit have ingeniously been divided up, thanks to different worktop materials. It’s a simple trick that means it instantly feels less like a workaday kitchen and more like a multi-functional space. Curvy, upholstered stools also help give the wooden bar area a more relaxed, comfortable feel.
Get expert advice on choosing the perfect worktop
Add some metal magic
The sturdy metal Tolix stool is something of a breakfast bar staple and for a reason: this 1930s classic looks great in just about any setting. Here in silver, it gently toughens up a pretty white country kitchen (complete with sparkling marble worktop), but it works in modern, vintage and eclectic settings, too, and comes in a range of colours.
The sturdy metal Tolix stool is something of a breakfast bar staple and for a reason: this 1930s classic looks great in just about any setting. Here in silver, it gently toughens up a pretty white country kitchen (complete with sparkling marble worktop), but it works in modern, vintage and eclectic settings, too, and comes in a range of colours.
Raise the wooden bar
For a breakfast bar with a difference, think about using reclaimed wood: it has tons of ramshackle character. The smart owners of this charmingly rustic room used their old floorboards to clad the island. Painting the floor white stops ‘wood clash’, while the vintage stools add the perfect style note.
For a breakfast bar with a difference, think about using reclaimed wood: it has tons of ramshackle character. The smart owners of this charmingly rustic room used their old floorboards to clad the island. Painting the floor white stops ‘wood clash’, while the vintage stools add the perfect style note.
Go to the outer edge
If your kitchen-diner is open-plan, don’t neglect the outer edge of your worktop. Here, the breakfast bar looks into the kitchen area, ideal if you’re cooking for dinner guests and want to chat, but don’t want them directly under your feet while you season your casserole. Facing this way also means a lovely, leafy view of the garden.
TELL US…
What kind of breakfast bar do you have? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
If your kitchen-diner is open-plan, don’t neglect the outer edge of your worktop. Here, the breakfast bar looks into the kitchen area, ideal if you’re cooking for dinner guests and want to chat, but don’t want them directly under your feet while you season your casserole. Facing this way also means a lovely, leafy view of the garden.
TELL US…
What kind of breakfast bar do you have? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
An eye-catching set of bar stools can perk up the tiniest of breakfast nooks. These vintage metal and rose velvet numbers have elevated a cosy galley space into a chichi coffee stop.
Bar stools come in just about every style under the sun, so don’t rush your decision when planning your breakfast bar – take your time until you find a design you really love. And don’t forget to sit on them before you buy. Are they comfy enough, are they high enough, and will their dimensions fit your space?