The Kitchen Island – Storage + Style
7 Min.
The Kitchen Island has become a staple of the modern kitchen. Well designed islands offer expanded work space, additional storage and potential entertaining areas. That’s a lot of bang for your design buck!
Storage
Depending on your storage needs, a kitchen island can incorporate deep drawers for pots and pans, pull outs for spices, baking sheets or cutting boards, even shelving for cookbooks. If the island will be used as an after school homework area or work-from-home space outlets can be wired in for laptops, and shallow drawers added in for papers, pens and supplies.
Seating
A great benefit that the kitchen island offers is a casual seating area in the action of the kitchen. A countertop overhang of 10-12″ provides a comfortable seating space for pre-dinner drinks, breakfast and last minute homework or the inevitable crowd that ends up in the kitchen at every party.
Food Prep Space
In a house of more than one chef it’s important to create separate work areas! Kitchen islands give functional food work space – a prep sink in the island helps divide the space for multiple helpers – and give enough room that it no loner becomes a problem to have too many cooks in the kitchen.
Style Details
The kitchen island is also an opportunity to include design elements that reflect your personal style. Be it storage nooks that fit your needs or sly elements such as integrated cutting boards that slide away. The island also offers opportunity to mix up the colors and materials – adding reclaimed antique materials or adding in a contrasting color can bring your kitchen to a whole new level of style.
JF Content creator and marketing director. Olivia loves beautiful spaces, inside and outside. When she’s not writing and talking about gorgeous kitchens Olivia can be found riding her bicycle around the country.