Using readymade throw cushions out of a discount retailer, instead of having custom cushions sewn, helped keep the budget in check too.

Make Your Toilet the Hub of the Home Family and friends naturally gather in the kitchen so that which could be more suitable than eating right next to where you cook? Eat-in kitchens give anglers and diners the chance to talk, reevaluate cleanup and keep the vibe carefree and casual. So what do you do if your kitchen is too cramped to get a standard dining table and chairs? To get a work-around which lets you cook and dine in precisely the same area, have a look at these wise options by creative kitchen designers.

Think about a Banquette At just 120 square feet, with six openings interrupting the stream, this kitchen didn't offer many choices in the means of seating. So kitchen designer Angela Bonfante tucked an L-shaped banquette into a corner, around a very small table she found at a mail-order catalog. Using readymade throw cushions out of a discount retailer partition glass . instead of having custom cushions sewn, helped keep the budget in check too. "Little spaces can be both functional and enjoyable," says Bonfante. "It just requires some ingenuity!"

Or, a Space-Saving Booth Banquettes should not be L-shaped to conserve space. The configuration of this kitchen by designer Marika Meyer better lent itself to a restaurant-style stall with benches facing each other, providing chairs for four without blocking the window. Storage above and beneath the benches gets the most of this little space.

Get the Custom Look for Less If you like the notion of banquettes but don't want to get them custom-built, think about these dining chairs by the Itsy Bitsy Ritzy furniture store. Offered in many stock length-and-depth mixes, the seats can be used in even the tiniest kitchen corners. Bonus: Storage under the flip-up chairs supplements scant kitchen cabinet space.

Pull Up a Seat for Bonus Seating Here, inside designer Karen Soojian, ASID, supplemented banquette seating with two easily movable seats, leaving room for visitors in and out of the doorway. Portability is a plus -- and are design elements that are eye-catching. The table here was made from reclaimed wood from a felled tree located near this Minnesota home while the sculptural base was produced by furniture designer Tristan Thiel.

Lucite Chairs: the Obvious Option When you're selecting chairs to get a super-tiny kitchen, then consider transparent ones such as these chrome and Lucite barstools in a D.C. show house kitchen made by Aidan Design. Even the refective chrome and crystal clear plastic nearly disappear from view, helping the kitchen look and feel bigger.

Add Chairs With Stools Low, round stools are just another fantastic way to add seating around a small table without gobbling space up. The rustic wood pieces selected by designer Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design work well with the outdoorsy vibe of this room. In a more formal area, porcelain Chinese garden stools could get the job done really nicely.

Insert Casters for an Easily Movable Alternative If you want flexible seats, you needn't stick to featherweight chairs and portable stools. The substantial benches within this apartment by Studio Garneau are on casters, so they may be moved easily. Fast as you can say "after-dinner drinks," they are in the living room, offering a comfortable perch for lingering guests.

Add Flexibility With a Folding Tabletop The 13-foot-wide kitchen in this little home does double duty: It is both the laundry room and cook area. A smart custom table attached to the island creates family dining space and a surface for folding clothes. Design by Wentworth Studio

Folding Tabletop, Extended Clothes aren't the only matter folded here: The tabletop folds up to give extra seating for guests.

Or, Build In a Slide-Out Table When designer Cheryl Daugvila of Cheryl D Design revived the kitchen in this 100-year-old house, she wanted to upgrade the space but retain the appearance faithful to the home's heritage. This vintage-look tabletop she made pulls out like a drawer to accommodate up to five guests when entertaining or slides into position to free up floor space when it's not needed.

Clever Hidden Capabilities Can you imagine how architect Amy Alper added additional space to the 200-square-foot kitchen prep/dining surface? (Continue clicking to learn.)

Custom Countertop When guests come to dine, the homeowners shirt the island's range using a custom-made walnut cover that transforms the cooktop to a tiered surface for platters and serving dishes.

No Wasted Floor Space Within this 180-square-foot kitchen, Hamilton-Gray Design substituted a built-in breakfast nook with a dining table for 2, constructed around the back and side of this island. Fitting the table-height piece around the counter-height island gets the most of the accessible space and enables each surface to be at the right height for the designated purpose.

Create Multipurpose Pieces Part of Your Design If you only have room for a single prep/dining surface, it is ideal to place it at counter height, instead of table level. (It is a lot more comfortable to sit a couple inches higher up on a barstool while you consume than to bend over while you dip vegetables.) With sleek lines and a glossy surface, this dining counter tops top by Hong Kong designer Louis Lau looks nearly like sculpture -- without sacrificing any of its functionality.

Make the Most of this View The challenge of placing the dining counter in this small apartment kitchen has been ensuring that no one sat with their back to the living room -- or disrupted the cooking action. "I placed both chairs on one side of this butcher-block table so that both the living and kitchen areas are visible once you're seated," says interior designer Melissa Mascara. "The table's placement offers a fantastic view into the living room"

Do not Interrupt the Traffic Flow Sometimes, however, the best spot for a counter is right against the wall. Possessing the dining table counter/computer channel within this long, narrow kitchen with Affecting Spaces on the border of this space keeps traffic flowing easily, and the creamy white of the seats, counters, cabinets and walls gives the space an open and airy feel.

Consider the Rectangle When designing seats for a small space, it helps to think outside the box, in this case, past the rectangle. Inside this condominium kitchen with Krieger Associates Architects, Inc.. , the prep/dining island is wider at one end to accommodate diners, and thinner in the other to increase traffic flow.

Give a Triangle a Try Eschewing the typical straight lines maximizes space in this kitchen also. Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design chose a triangular table which takes up less space than a rectangular one would -- and enriches the Atomic Age vibe of this area's fun and funky layout.

Add Just the Amount of Dining Space You Want In the beginning, designer Emily Mackie's clients laughed at the notion of cutting a quarter out of a perfectly good round tabletop. But wrapping the dining area round the corner offers the ideal spot for your retired homeowners to linger over their morning java, and this particular configuration takes up less floor area than a whole table could.

Up On a Pedestal If you are choosing a more standard-shaped table for a tiny dining nook, interior designer Gina Fitzsimmons, ASID, guides you select one with a pedestal base so individuals can easily slide in and out of their seats. Another suggestion: "For optimum space efficiency, the table should overlap the seat by just 1 inch," she urges.

Insert an Easy-to-DIY Bar Top With no room for a desk in her own little kitchen, interior designer Melanie Coddington installed a walnut slab counter in an adjoining alcove. The barstools are in reality school-laboratory seats that Coddington sanded and spray-painted orange. A mirror over the bar reflects a fairly view of trees outside a bright window, keeping the tight distance from feeling claustrophobic.

Insert Dining Space into an Underused Room Even if you don't have room in or near your kitchen you needn't eat your dinner hunched over the coffee table or standing over the kitchen sink. With no space to eat within their 6-foot-long kitchen, husband-and-wife design team Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller of Carrier & Business turned into a spare bedroom in their new york apartment into a dining area. Lesson learned: The best kitchen design, indeed the very best layout for any room, is whatever works with your lifestyle.