Best Kitchen Island Ideas to Incorporate in Your Home

Islands are the centerpiece of your kitchen. There are multiple styles, designs, and sizes to choose from. Selecting an island is extremely important as they influences the functionality, comfort, and visual appeal of your entire kitchen. Read on to explore various kitchen island ideas and learn more about the importance of choosing the right kitchen island for you and your home.

Why Kitchen Islands are Important

When you’re investing in a custom kitchen renovation, it’s vital to understand the importance of kitchen islands. Whether it’s in the middle of the room or at the side, islands are at the centre of every kitchen design. A small kitchen island can extend limited counter space and offer additional storage underneath.

A large kitchen island can provide extra seating as well as a spot for a big sink, cabinets, and a microwave. Without an island, your kitchen can become cluttered, appear as though the design is incomplete, and end up wasting usable square footage.

Different Kitchen Island Ideas

There are many types of kitchen islands for different purposes and styles. Take a look below to explore kitchen island ideas with seating, additional storage, waterfall countertops, and more.

Kitchen island cabinets are perfect for increasing the storage capacity of your kitchen. If you don’t have a pantry hanging counter cabinets and drawers may not supply you with enough room to store your food, dishes, silverware, cookware, spices, etc. You can customize your kitchen island to include wine racks, shelving, and appliances. On the side of your island, you can also hang hooks for towels, aprons, and utensils.

A waterfall edge is a countertop that extends from the top of the counter down to the floor. This edge can involve one or all of the sides of your island depending on your preferences. Leaving one of the long sides of your island open is often best, as you can fill this space with storage solutions. Waterfall counters are incredibly stunning and make a striking focal point to modern, contemporary, and elegant kitchens.

A two-tiered large kitchen island provides you with space for barstool seating, food preparation, and storage. One part of the island sits slightly higher than the other, which creates a sense of separation between the two sections. This design enhances the aesthetic appeal as much as the functionality of your kitchen.

Marble countertops are beautiful, durable and can greatly improve the resale value of your home. You can pick from a wide variety of colours and patterns to match the style you desire. Marble is also very versatile, which means you can pair it with a range of materials, patterns, and colours.

In particular, marble countertops look great with:

Bronze handles
Gold fixtures
Marble flooring or backsplash
Wood panelling or flooring
Dark hues of blue and green

Including a multipurpose island in your custom kitchen renovation allows you to get creative with your design. In addition to the regular countertop space, multipurpose islands can include appliances, storage solutions, and a seating area. Common appliances in a kitchen island are sinks, stoves, microwaves, and dishwashers. Typically, each section and side of a multipurpose kitchen island will serve a separate function.

A modern kitchen island is minimalistic in appearance, but that doesn’t mean it has to be limited in storage. The outer most visible part of a modern kitchen island may be bare or have a row of bar stools. The opposite side of the island is often where the drawers, cabinets, and shelving are placed. This keeps the design sleek and simple without reducing the functionality of the island.

A curved kitchen island can have completely rounded edges or be spilt into curved and straight edges on different sides. Curved sections are typically used for seating and are popularly paired with fluted designs. The curved design improves the flow as well as there aren’t any sharp edges to run into as you make your way around the island.

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Benefits of Kitchen Islands

Here are some of the numerous benefits of kitchen islands:

Extra Storage: Kitchens can get overcome with dishes, pots and pans, spices, and dry goods. Without enough adequate storage, people often end up cluttering the countertops with items or the floors with separate shelving units. This can disrupt the flow of your kitchen’s layout and create an uncomfortable and unappealing environment.
More Countertop Space: While an island can offer an abundance of underneath storage, you also get the bonus of surface storage. The additional countertop space gives you a place for fruit bowls, cooking utensils, and even décor.
Additional Seating: While a dining room can be perfect for family dinners or gatherings, a kitchen island makes the ideal breakfast and snacking spot. Having bar stools along your island also provides a place for people to sit and talk while you’re cooking, cleaning, or putting away groceries.
Versatility: Unlike a regular kitchen countertop, islands are incredibly versatile. You have surface and underneath storage, as well as the potential for an extra dining area. You can customize your kitchen island to have a place for family breakfasts, more room to cater dinner parties, or a spot to sip wine with friends.

Let’s Bring Your Kitchen Island Ideas to Life

Every household has a unique set of needs and desires which influences the type of kitchen island that’s best for them. It’s important to remember that choosing the right island doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style for functionality.

Contact NICKS Developments today to schedule a free consultation and learn about how we can turn your kitchen island ideas into a reality.

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FAQs

Does a kitchen island add value?

Yes, a kitchen island adds value to your home. Multipurpose islands especially add additional value to your property as they provide storage and seating solutions.

How can I add more storage to my kitchen island?

Here are a few additional storage options you can incorporate in your kitchen island:

– Hooks and hanging bars
– Open shelving
– Wine bottle storage
– Pull out spice racks
– Lazy Susan cabinets

What is the most common kitchen island shape?

A rectangle kitchen island shape is the most popular. Rectangular islands offer a timeless appeal and complement nearly every kitchen design and layout. L-shaped islands are a close second in terms of popularity.