A breakfast bar turns your kitchen into more than just a room for cooking. It can be used for dining, catching up with friends over a cuppa, chopping ingredients, keeping an eye on the children or even working from home.
You don’t necessarily need a huge kitchen to have a breakfast bar either, as you can find many slimline and compact designs that fit snugly into small spaces.
Check out our round-up of 11 of the best kitchen breakfast bar ideas on offer right now. From minimalist, space-saving designs to all singing and dancing styles with everything from sinks to wine fridges included!
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Breakfast bar ideas
Marble breakfast bar
Get the luxurious marble look for less with stone-effect surfaces; laminate is hard-wearing and looks great teamed with on-trend green-painted cabinets. Love the green kitchen look? Check out more green kitchen ideas here!
Breakfast bar with hob
Get it while it’s hot! Incorporate a hob and extractor hood into a breakfast bar to cook, plate up and enjoy home-cooked meals from the same spot in your kitchen. This is also a great way to open up your kitchen space if you have an open-plan kitchen, dining and living room. With the hob facing outwards, you can keep an eye on other activities and remain social.
Island with sink
Install a large butler sink in a kitchen island/breakfast bar for plenty of space for washing pots, pans and baking trays and pair it with a classic swan neck tap for a traditional style kitchen, perfect for cottagcore aesthetics and period style homes such as Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian.
Breakfast bar accessories
Freestanding breakfast bar
Create a dining spot in an open-plan room with a free-standing island, which you can position to make the most of a window view. This would also make a lovely addition to a kitchen-diner scheme.
Breakfast bar hack
Place a second material onto a kitchen island or countertop for a dedicated dining area that adds contrast to the scheme, too. This wooden material pairs brilliantly with the slick metallic textures in the rest of the cabinetry, ideal for industrial-style interiors.
Top tip
‘Create a breakfast bar in a smaller kitchen by adding an overhanging worktop to existing units. This will mimic the look of an island without wasting space’ Lizzie Beesley, Head of Design at Magnet
Small breakfast bar
Even small spaces can fit an island. Ideally, you need at least 80cm around it so that you can open doors and drawers, with the minimum recommended size for the island 100 x 100cm. Tight for space? Check out helpful kitchen storage ideas here too.
Monochrome breakfast bar
Contrasting cabinets add interest; match the wall units with the worktops to tie it all together. Modernise the look with black accents, such as bar stools, radiators and appliances.
Kitchen island with wine fridge
Create more space in your kitchen and personalise the storage to your specific needs, from spacious shelving for a stylish stand mixer to a built-in wine cabinet!
Navy breakfast bar
Extend one length of cabinets in a U-shape layout to create a handy spot for dining or working from home. Add drama with dark units and warm wooden surfaces.
Top tip
‘Smaller kitchens can still play host to an island. If space permits, consider extending the countertop to create an informal breakfast bar with the added benefit of additional storage and an extra prep zone’ Sophie Devonald, Designer, Lifestyle Kitchens
Kitchen island with storage
A mix of closed storage and open storage, such as open shelving, allows for easy access to items as well as hiding clutter from view. Islands and breakfast bars can divide a large kitchen, keeping the cooking appliances tucked away from young children.
Kitchen island with butcher's block
Mix materials for a practical work surface; combine a wooden butcher’s block with marble if you love cooking, or laminate for a dual-use zone.
