ABOVE: A small bar-height pedestal table and a pair of leather bar chairs turn a kitchen corner into a dining space.
One-room living isn’t just an option for first-time home-owners, it’s a reality for a growing chunk of downtown-dwellers whose options are a long commute to work or 500 square feet of personal space.
I’ve done my time on the one-hour each-way daily commute and have never regretted taking the small-space option, but there are challenges. For one-room dwellers without even a bar counter extending from the tiny kitchen, the first challenge that hits is: Where the %$#@ am I supposed to eat?
When even a small dining-room suite sucks up half the living/sleeping space, it’s time to think vertically - counter- or bar-height, in fact.
A very small table that would ridiculous at regular dining-table height gains ground when it’s higher than everything else in the room, which is typically about three feet. (Test that generalization with a quick scan around your own living room. See what I mean?) Breaking up the surface height breaks up monotony and captures new space, which is why I often place large vases of twigs and column-like floor lamps in rooms. The eye no longer settles on the 36-inch mark but moves around to catch the higher points.
It’s much easier to find a wide variety of bar-height tables than counter-height – which is a shame, because there’s less feeling of ‘perching’ at counter height, and some people find the feeling a little unstable to be truly comfortable. However, this sensation can be reduced by choosing companion chairs that are more substantial than spindly, like upholstered leather or faux leather, available from low-end multi-merchandise stores (London Drugs, Great Canadian Superstore) to high-end boutiques and showrooms (Liberty; Ethan Allen). Avoid chairs with arms if you want to squeeze out precious more inches and consider a thick tempered glass table top to reduce visual space. I recently found the perfect high-quality glass-topped bar table for a client’s traditional décor at Bayside Furniture (W. 8th near Granville) but more modern versions are widely available.
More difficult to find is the counter-height table, which I prefer because it can double as a standing workspace and can extend an existing counter. I ended up knocking one together using four Ikea chrome telescopic legs and a small countertop for around $150. Despite the rarity of counter-height tables, companion stools are easy to locate, because they’re designed to tuck into built-in counter overhangs – the downtown dining room.
(Reprinted article)
