The island has become the crux of modern, openplan kitchen designs. Explore these ideas for making it function brilliantly and play a starring role in your scheme.
Image: Harvey Jones
If you're renovating your kitchen and opting to create a larger, more openplan space, then chances are you'll be factoring in an island as part of your design. Islands have a lot to offer these types of kitchens – occassional seating, which helps your space become more social, and extra worksurface for food prep to name but a few. More than that, it plays an integral role in the layout of your kitchen to create flow.
An island also represents an opportunity for an extra creative element in your kitchen design. Take a look at these six ideas which will make sure the island takes centre stage in your scheme.
Colour
Image: Martin Moore
Standing alone from the rest of your kitchen cabinetry, the island is an obvious place to look to introduce colour. Whether you opt for something bold or something subtle, perhaps tonal to the rest of your scheme, creating definition between the island and the wall cabinetry is an effective visual trick for an openplan kitchen.
Read more: How to use colour in a kitchen design
Uniform material
Image: Daniel Nicolas
In this kitchen scheme, the island appears almost like a monolithic slab carved from a single piece of stone. In fact, it's HI-MACS, a natural acrylic stone which can be easily manipulated to suit a range of design applications. Here, it has been used as a veneer for the island drawers, as well as heat-moulded to create a seamless sink within the worksurface itself.
Read more: How to choose the right cabinets for your kitchen design
Overhead objects
Image: Day True
Something hanging over an island will help ground it in the room. A common design choice is to opt for pendant lighting – perfect for illuminating the island as task lighting; however, ceiling-mounted shelving, as used in this kitchen by Day True, is another functional alternative. In this design, a hob with downdraft extractor is used on the island too, meaning that cooking supplies can be kept close at hand on these hanging shelves.
Moving parts
Image: Eggersman
Eggersmann's Motion, a moveable worksurface system, feature hidden rollers that enable surfaces to slide back to reveal sinks and hobs or to extend as tabletops for dining and food preparation. A clever way to add some adaptability to your kitchen island.
Read more: How to design an invisible kitchen
Freestanding furniture
Image: Neptune
A freestanding kitchen island has a few benefits for your space. Firstly, it can be moved as required, offering a more adaptable space. While they won't pack in storage as efficiently as built in cabinetry, they allow for open bases, which can help your space feel larger, particularly useful for compact homes. This Charlecote design from Neptune, comes in a variety of styles to suit function - including both storage and spce for bar stool seating as required.
Creative seating
Image: Roundhouse Design
From worksurface overhangs to raised breakfast bars, the options available for creating a seating element to your island are endless. Consider a different material to demarcate the space for dining from the space for food prep and you may just keep the family's clutter at bay - particularly necessary if your kitchen does become the heart of the family home.
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