[coffeebean]

We remodeled our entire kitchen a couple of years ago. We used quartz countertops and kept the raised bar. Our kitchen overlooks the dining room and living room. I decided to keep the raised bar to shield the main living areas from the "mess" that is created in the kitchen when preparing meals. I also much prefer the raised bar because I place items against the bar such as the salt and pepper grinders and the napkin holder for example.

When entertaining, I place the food and snacks along with the buffet set up on the upper counter and use the lower counter for a wine and bar set up. Keeping the items separate works out really well. I move the bar stools out of the way to another room to allow easy access to everything on the upper level of the countertop.

The new homes built in The Villages have one level kitchen countertops as that is the more "modern" look. The look of the single level countertop is beautiful but the functionality for me just does not work.