Our mild climate in Santa Barbara, CA, encourages informal entertaining. When dining inside, the food prep mess on the kitchen counter is visible to my guests. The counter has a same-level breakfast bar on the dining room side which is seldom used. How can I attractively screen the kitchen counter yet still interact with my guests while I’m cooking?
Lacie ~ Santa Barbara, California
There is no right or wrong solution here, the key is to pick the solution that works best for you. Without seeing the actual kitchen/dining layout, cabinet configuration, ceiling height, type of cabinets and countertops, and lighting layout, it is going to be very difficult for me to provide you with a solution that will work for your situation.
I have dealt with very similar situations on past jobs, and one solution that I have used is to add a raised bar to the countertop, high enough to hide the clutter. You lose the single level countertop, but you may be able to hide the clutter when seated for eating.
Great advice! We run one of the Santa Barbara restaurants and this can really be useful. Thanks for sharing guys!