Good question and I think it's a matter of taste. But, I've found that people who purchased "bar height" kitchen tables did not like the everyday "bar" feel of sitting at a table. So, in that regard, I would think a "normal" height eating space would be more practical than bar height at the end of your island. But, if you have a "formal" eating area where you can dine at a standard height table and will use daily, that would be a consideration.

It's an idea I've been contemplating myself so I did a search on "island with dining table", this was probably closest to what you described. I plan to convert our (never used) dining room at the front of Calif. bungalow into a bedroom and enlarge current kitchen into adjacent informal dining area so this option would work well (if I can get H to agree that is!)

A good rule of thumb is 1m from table to a wall, to allow room for the chair to go back when the person is seated without feeling too crowded. For a thoroughfare behind a chair I would allow 1.2 - 1.5 from table to bench, the more the better.

Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.