There’s something special about the kitchen. Its a warm and inviting space, that lures people in with a bevy of delectable smells and savory foods that beckon to the entire house. It’s where you belly gets full and your mind is eased, and the world is made simple, and wholesome.
All of these qualities make the kitchen the perfect place to gather friends and family for social situations. However this is difficult if people don’t have somewhere to rest their feet and feel at ease. Even though the food and drink found within this space can make the kitchen an ideal social setting, if you dont give people a destination, a place to go, to sit, to gather, then they’ll end up wandering aimlessly through the space, and eventually floating their way out of it.
One of the best aspects of a table is that it provides a kind of beacon, it calls to people, drawing them into the space, and making relaxing within the environment natural and even comfortable. It gives them a place to sit and chat, to feel at ease within the room, and to take part in the kitchen community. It is an intrinsically social tool that brings people together.
It also has a symbolic value. Sitting down with the family to share a meal is emblematic of good, wholesale situations which tend to bring people together over the good things in life. In this way you will be working with archetypes to subtly alter the nature of the environment you live within.
The problem with kitchen tables is that not every space is big enough to fit them. Often you will have kitchens that are so small you don’t have room for anything except the bare necessities. Function generally has to win out over form in these situations because, in essence, the kitchen is supposed to be a functional place, a place to get things done.
There are a few alternatives however, if your kitchen is too small for a regular sized table. One is to play with angle, setting a square table butted up against a ninety degree corner. This effectively eliminates two of the side jutting out into the floor space. Another option is to have a small bar, or lunch counter installed along one of the walls. This can be coupled with some barstools to create a tiny, out of the way seating and eating setting. If construction is an option, you can often cut a hole through a kitchen wall into the adjoining room, creating a counter space in the area in between.
If you have the room, some people like to divide their kitchens into work space, and eating space, carving a small dinette out of a piece of the setting. This can serve as a backup dining room, or as the main eatery in the home, depending on how your house is laid out. The advantage of this is that you can divide the space evenly, putting all of your functional necessities by the sink and oven, and leaving the more social aspects of the space off to the side.
A kitchen table is a powerful social tool that can alter the nature of the space completely. However you have to be careful to make sizing considerations, and try to find a solution which flows naturally with the room you have available. A table too large can make the room feel cluttered and claustrophobic, removing much of the functionality from the setting. You also have a wide variety of alternative options as far as kitchen pieces which you can select.
