Top Planning Tips for Kitchen Islands
One of the most requested features we get in our luxury kitchens are kitchen islands. Island units can be really practical, offering preparation space, possible eating areas and storage solutions.
Eating at the Island
When considering your kitchen island design you need to give thought as to whether this will provide an informal eating area for you/your family. In a lot of open-plan kitchens that we design, there is already a dedicated dining area with dining table fit for 8 or 10 people and so the island offers a slightly more informal area to eat. A kitchen unit is typically something like 90cm high compared with a dining table which is more like 75cm high. This is why typically you will see people have bar stools at their kitchen island and specifically at their breakfast bar (as the kitchen cabinets are slightly higher than a dining table).
We have designed some absolute dream kitchens which have dining tables formed off of the island where they have room for dining chairs also but this is normally reserved for larger kitchens (it’s much harder to plan this in small spaces)
Food Prep
When considering kitchen island ideas you must think about whether this space will be used for food prep. If so, the placement of units needs to be given great attention to detail. For example, if most of your food prep will be done on the island, there is no point in having the bin in another part of the kitchen, it should be practically located underneath where most of your chopping is done for example.
Further to consider with food prep is whether you have your sink on the island or not? Some people find it easier for prep but others don’t like the mess it creates which is easily visible from the rest of the kitchen. This typically though is a question of kitchen range – more traditional kitchens do have sinks and taps on the island compared to more modern kitchens which typically have the hob on the island.
Space
If you have a small kitchen do not worry – you could still consider a peninsula or a breakfast bar table against one wall that could offer part of what an island offers. Even such a small design feature could make a huge difference to your life.
Colours
This really is a personal decision – an island could be white in what is an otherwise white kitchen and still look nice – although a lot of our clients opt to add a pop of colour on the island as almost a separate piece of furniture. Either way, make sure you opt for the highest quality materials to ensure your cabinetry stands the test of time.
