Barstool. I am up and down too much to sit in the kitchen. Barstools save space in my set up and I can sit and stir at the stove if needed.

Now that our daughter has moved into her own place, we use our breakfast bar for normal weeknight dinners, we use the dining table on weekends and with guests.

We have an amalgam of the two. Our breakfast nook is actually a counter height table. We use it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and food prep...and play dough play, reading, blogging, you name it.

I wish we had a nook, but we don't (and on place to put one) so it is seating at the island.

I wish I had counter-height stools. I find them much more conducive for conversation and mingling than low seating when I'm entertaining.

I agree with akay. I prefer island/bar stools when guests are over, but overall in day to day life I love the feel of a nook with benches.

I don't like eating at counters with barstools. I hate being lined up next to others rather than facing them. I have so many friends with good sized home who are completely doing away with dining tables and only having a counter with stools. My husband and I set the table for dinner every night we are home so I guess I prefer a little more formality for dinner.

Neither. I hate eating in the kitchen. Dining room.

Counter height stools for any eating especially weeknight dinner, breakfast and lunch. Table only for guests or a really formal dinner.

I really dislike counter height seating. Probably b/c I'm a shorty and don't like sitting high up. A nook to me is much cozier. When we redid the kitchen, we gave up seating space for more counter and storage, and it was the right choice, but I really miss having a comfy spot to sit in.

Our bar used to be the best place for our daughter to do homework while being a part of the action going on pre-dinner in the kitchen. It is still a great place for guests to congregate with drinks while we cook. But a place to sit across a table and converse should be incorporated whenever space allows.

I vastly prefer the feeling of seating at a normal height table -- which I learned after we bought a "gathering" height dining table. (Our kitchen has no room for a nook/bar/table, sadly.) However, we usually eat at the coffee table in our basement, since we're still kidless and like to watch TV/movies. Once we baby up, we'll probably switch to a normal height table and actually enforce eating meals at it.

Oh, and said "gathering" height (taller than dining, lower than pub) is truly excellent for parties, which is when it gets most of its use.

Breakfast nook all the way.

Neither. What happened to kitchen tables if space allows? I grew up with a nook and it's a pain to slide in for certain seats. I can't stand sitting on stools, whether they have a back or not. Uncomfortable and I don't like not facing my dinner partners. We are lucky enough to have space for a kitchen table. It is connected to our island in one seamless looking piece of quartz, but at a regular table height (think a small step down). People can sit comfortably and still be part of the action in the kitchen.

Most cooks must be neater than I -- else why would people want to face looking into their mess as a bar set-up usually ensures?

I prefer an island with seating to a breakfast nook. I have a huge island in my small space, we made sure the countertops extended a good amount for comfortable dining on counter stools.

If I had a bigger home, I'd also love to have a good sized dining room but would probably only use it for parties or guests. Day to day would be in the kitchen. But, I don't have kids so day to day is just two people.

Seated at a sturdy dining table. It is more relaxed and civilized, and if you are a gourmet cook, makes more sense than the snack bar/drink mentality associated with stools. Lingering and conversation naturally evolve, and you keep your feet on the floor instead of dangling or on a length of metal/wood, ready to get the hell out of there. It worked for centuries, so "if it ain't broke why fix it?"

Does anyone know where the barstools in the picture above are from?

I personally like both options: table for formal dining or anything else I might want to do at a table (e.g. play a board game). And the barstool / kitchen counter for cooking parties with friends and family.

A kitchen island with barstool seating is barbaric

I second virtuelsie's comment.