How do you like your black tap? I was itching to use black in our home but my husband is against it. Thinks they won't stand the test of time. He's probably right haha

thank you bigreader but I haven't posted a photo of them yet. They are not my ideal choice. I only went with these at the time because they were cheap from fantastic furniture. I originally wanted blue stools but the price was out of my budget considering I could get four grey/silver ones for the price of 1 blue one. I can post a photo of them in the morning

Hi Lil, I believe your original plan works much better than the revised version. While the notion of ideal working widths is great, the larger problem here is the post. I worked on a project very similar to this last year where a post could either be connect to, or separate from the island. What we found was that by separating the island the space between island and post became very awkward. It's not enough of a space to comfortably walk through or be seated at the island in front of. Instead of your room feeling open and generous in proportion, it is going to start to feel cramped and awkward. We have a kitchen in our showroom (Kitchen Studio Tauranga NZ) with a 6ft gap between bench and back wall and it works wonderfully. It allows someone to work at the sink and a second at the island with ease. Stick with the original plan. It will feel a lot more spacious, without compromising work flows.

I think you have several options here. 1. Have a small round table and chairs that are light in frame - as you may end up lifting them around and also to lift the area visually- the ones you have chosen could look heavy and block light. I would also avoid fabric chairs while you have little ones. 2. In the shorter term until you use your other more formal space utilise a high chair and the breakfast bar. 3. Find an easily washable throw and place it over the couch and place a rectangular table that backs onto the sofa with the chairs one on each end and two on the side - this would ensure you retain the flow to the outside of the house.