Embellish Your Kitchen With A Kitchen Island

Irrespective of how much counter space they have in their kitchens, most homeowners will tell you that they do not have enough. Whether you require an additional worktop, a space that you can use for a causal buffet, or simply somewhere to put the mail for the day, a kitchen island is a great way of maximizing the use of your kitchen space. The National Bath and Kitchen Association reports that more than half of kitchens built feature islands.

These days, with the broad range of ready to install kitchen cabinets, trim mouldings and accessories available, it is easy to create kitchen island designs that will be perfect for your kitchen. Better still, this will cost less than if you hired a professional carpenter. If you are intending to remodel your kitchen and include a kitchen island cart, take this advice on board:

The most important thing is to ensure that there is enough space in between the island and the other work surfaces. This is to take into account the opening of appliance and cabinet doors. Also, it allows a couple of people to work in the kitchen, without bumping into each other.

Based on your particular requirements, the island could be positioned so that it serves as a key feature of the main work area. Also, it could function as a partition between the family room and kitchen. Including an island allows for a reworking of the traditional work triumvirate of the sink, cooktop and refrigerator. This is because it is a perfect place to reposition either the main sink or the cooktop, or to fit an additional sink as the centrepiece of an extra work triumvirate. If the cooktop is going to be positioned on the island, and you are using a wall oven somewhere else, consider pull out drawers or trays beneath the cooktop to hold pans and pots. If the island is going to be an additional work station, featuring a prep sink to clean vegetables etc., it is wise to include a pull-out waste bin in the cabinet beneath.

Make sure that you do all the appropriate technical planning for positioning the sink or cooktop in the middle of the room. With the sink, you will require drain and supply lines. With the cooktop, you will require a ventilation system. This could be either a downdraft model, or an overhead unit. Both the downdraft unit and plumbing will need to pass through the ground. That’s OK, if you have crawl or basement space beneath, however it could be problematic if your kitchen is built on a slab.

Assuming your island separates the family room and kitchen, it could be a multi-purpose fixture that displays a different side to each room. Glass fronted, shallow doors could be used for display space, whereas the kitchen side could use regular, depth base cabinets. The generous worktop is perfect for staging buffets. Finally, remember that adequate lighting is crucial. Without this, your island will lack much of its functionality.

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