Dan Pacek, left, and John Roynon prepare cocktails at their 12-foot “display island” in the renovated kitchen of their home in New Jersey. The couple bought handles matching those on their Thermador refrigerator and used them on a set of pantry doors, one of which conceals the steps to the basement.

A 12-foot “display island” gives this kitchen programmatic function—food and drinks are prepared here; cooking and cleaning are consigned to the back—and helps make it a welcoming space, whether homeowners Pacek and Roynon are entertaining or simply enjoying time to themselves. The soft green hue adds an inviting touch.

The kitchen takes on a gallery feel. “I’ve got art on the kitchen counter. I really want to say to people, ‘Don’t take art so seriously,’” says Montague.

The custom zinc cabinets and quartzite countertops of Mark Berryman’s Tribeca apartment reflect the sun as it sets over Manhattan. Workstead designer Robert Highsmith kept the apartment’s original fir beams and painted its existing pipes Onyx by Benjamin Moore. The counter stools are by Sawkille, and the floors are white oak from LV Wood. The range is by Viking.

Cannery Bridge counter stool by Sauder, $99 For (slightly) less than a Benjamin, Sauder offers a no-frills, wrought-metal, counter-height stool with an industrial flair. Its base is slightly wider than the seat, which gives it a sturdy feeling. It weighs about ten pounds, making it easy to move around. Rotate the circular seat to adjust its height—it’ll go as high as 27.5 inches, just a bit shy of a comfortable bar height.

The backsplash is a tarnished sheet of bronze. Raft Stools by Norm Architects provide understated seating.

Dalfred bar stool by IKEA, $40 at ikea.com Why not outfit a kitchen island or studio benchtop with a fleet of these height-adjustable four-leggers? The price is right.

Louise Jenkins, left, chats with her daughter, Freya, who sits on a powder-coated Slatted bar stool by Jasper Morrison manufactured in Lancashire.

Made from Kartell’s signature plastic, the Charles Ghost Stool features a shape that evokes stools made in the 1800s, while offering a decidedly modern slant.

The Lowreys worked with architect Luis Sánchez and a team of local craftsmen to complete the build. The custom counters in the kitchen are terrazzo and granite; the oven and cooktop are from Teka.

Handmade leather Fernando chairs by Jayson Home surround a live-edge custom walnut table by Ben Riddering in the dining area.

A wall-mounted oak bar is where Siminovich and Kerner drop their keys, pound away on their laptops, and occasionally eat a quick meal with Matilda, their two-year-old daughter.

Also on the second floor, Bar Feroce’s Backyard features a terra-cotta pizza oven and a made-for-Moxy bocce drinking game. Vinyl artwork inspired by the garden of Eden, designed by En Viu, screens the windows.

The family shares a meal at the counter in the kitchen.

BURSA Hotel's 1818 rooftop bar.

Collage, designed by Stephen Ormandy: “The design was influenced by the floating nature of lily pads and the opportunity to combine individual sculptural shapes into a cohesive useful object”.

Manufactured in Europe, Fat is made from molded foam with metal legs. The line is launching in high-gloss black lacquer and made-to-order upholstery. Pictured in the lounge are Fat high chairs.

Gliss swivel stools and a Dowel bar stool share space in front of a custom maple kitchen island. The pendant lamps are by Lightolier.

"What struck me always is the way Frank Lloyd Wright used space," says designer Kevin Heisler. "I didn’t want to just copy the Robie house, so I just focused on things like the oak species and incorporated materials he used first-hand. We wanted to bring the outside in."

Alameda's centerpiece is a circular bar with a poured-concrete top. The bar, flooring, and light fixtures are among the custom elements of the space.

Along with the interior design’s emphasis on natural light, Montalba also wanted a minimalist look. That sense of “timelessness,” as he says, is achieved with help from the Bertoia counter stools in the kitchen.

The living room, kitchen, and dining room sit below street level in an open, communal area. A large, operable skylight measuring six by three meters allows light to stream over the dining table—the four glass panes had to be craned over the neighboring buildings.

A kitchen, complete with a small dining area, allows guests to reverse roles and host the hosts. The blue Muuto Unfold light accents against the otherwise black and white space; the chairs are Hay Copenhague bar stools.

Jean-Christophe Aumas’ multihued Paris apartment houses both the highly sought artistic director and the stunning assemblage of furniture he’s brought back from his travels. Aumas designed the kitchen island, which is covered in marble tiles from Carrelages du Marais—the geometric floor tiles are from the same place—and strung the matrix of lights up above it. The barstools by Charlotte Perriand were discovered in a vintage store in Antwerp, Belgium. The green wall is covered in paint from Emery & Cie.

Guess used inexpensive graded pine plywood so that he would get heavy grain patterns on the surfaces. One of the main goals in the kitchen was simplicity. To that end, he opted for a poured-in-place concrete island. "We didn’t know if we could afford to do that, but we found a great subcontractor [Nate Francis of Countertop Creations] here who had never really built anything like that," Guess says. "Because he was interested in giving it a shot and adding it to his portfolio, he didn’t charge an exorbitant amount of money because it was sort of an experiment for him as well." The kitchen features a GE Profile refrigerator and KitchenAid range, microwave, and dishwasher. The sink and faucet are from Kohler. The project's builder was Joe Doherty with Custom Homecrafters of Austin.

Translucent pendants hanging from a flora-laced pergola illuminate the outdoor bar at night. Local partnerships are an important part of the property’s offerings, and include a bespoke gin from Asbury Park Distilling Co.

The bar at American Son.

The bar is lined with vintage bar stools by Arthur Umanoff, which OMFGCO sourced from all over the world via 1stdibs, Pamono, and Etsy. Fritz Mesenbrink of OMFGCO tells us, “It was challenging to get that many of his stools in the same place, but we got them and had them all restored beautifully.”

Clad in copper, the bar at Yellowstone Garage is a statement piece.