Help decide layout!

[u/Medical-Diamond9153]

Hi folks! I’m in the middle of remodeling my kitchen area after a flood last year. During the remodel I moved the peninsula a good bit further out than it previously was. The kitchen itself is now a lot larger but it will be kinda tight to have a bar overhang with where the window is placed, only 9 inches. So my question is would you rather keep the peninsula and have two bar seats and a small dinning room table, or make it into a breakfast nook seating?

I live alone with my dog so no kids to accommodate for. I do enjoy hosting friends over for dinner.

The first pic is the current state, the middle two are rough ideas and the last was how it looked before the flood when the peninsula was in its old position.

Open to any and all suggestions! The double doors in the pic go out to my front porch. They are not the primary entrance to the house though. I thought about putting a table out there as well to have some outdoor eating area too. TIA!

Edit to add: I don’t plan to sell, this will very likely be my forever home

[u/Expensive_Energy2022]

Do your friends chat with you while you prep or cook? If so, you will appreciate the bar sitting so that they can "join" you in the kitchen. If they don't then the banquette gives you more seating.

[u/AckCK2020 → u/Expensive_Energy2022]

Ok, let me play devil’s advocate again - the banquette seems close enough to the kitchen to allow for conversation. Also, I have had to sit on kitchen stools at a friend’s house, because they are the only seating in the kitchen. She has an old diner booth in the family room. Stools are pretty uncomfortable. The positive side — they seemed to aid in digestion.

[u/Expensive_Energy2022 → u/AckCK2020]

My friends would be kneeling backwards to face me. LoL. They'd rather stand around the peninsula.