A kitchen island should integrate seamlessly into your dream kitchen and never make it feel crowded. Avoid making costly mistakes; you don’t have to go it alone! For island design advice and practical considerations regarding your kitchen renovation, enlist the help of a professional designer. A kitchen designer backed by a company with years of experience can ensure you love your new island for years to come.
Here are some key kitchen design problems to avoid when planning your perfect island
𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞Kitchen islands can fill any of the five kitchen functions: storage, prep station, cooking, serving, and washing up. Before you design anything, however, you need to decide which role (or roles) your island will fill. This will have an effect on the width and depth of your island, especially if you need room for major appliances.
If you have a lot of room for a wide island, you can have multiple kitchen stations installed in it – for example, a stove and a sink. Most people want to incorporate seating on the kitchen island, too, although that’s not always a great fit with a cooktop if you have a more formal space.
If you’re installing a stovetop on your island, don’t forget you’ll need a cooker hood above it. (Otherwise, your home will smell like those fried onions forever.) To avoid having a range hood hanging down into the middle of your space, install a sink on your island instead.
𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐎𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥You may have a nice-sized kitchen now, but if your kitchen island is too large, it’ll make your kitchen feel cramped. This is one of the most common design mistakes we see: in an effort to maximize countertops and extra storage space, the walkways around the island suffer.
A kitchen island should be at minimum 4 feet long by 2 feet wide in order to be useful, but ideally larger. If you have a small kitchen and don’t have enough room to allow this, we recommend a mobile butcher block station or a simple table. Either will provide more prep area (and possibly additional kitchen storage space) but shouldn’t be used as primary workstations.
𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫For many people, the appeal of kitchen islands hinges on the ability to add a breakfast bar. This is a great way to add supplemental seating outside the dining room. One of the mistakes to avoid is packing the bar with seats.
The size of your bar stool (or chair) will impact how many seats you can have. Be sure to allow each person at least 24 inches of space. Otherwise, people will be elbowing each other by accident when they eat. Also, if you plan to incorporate additional storage or open shelving instead of cabinets into your kitchen island, opt for fewer chairs.
𝐏𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠Chopping food can be a dangerous activity if you don’t have enough light to see what you’re doing, so be sure to factor in lighting during your kitchen remodel. Learning how to properly light different areas of your kitchen, including the use of accent lighting, can really elevate your space.
A trio of pendant lights is an elegant way to boost illumination over a kitchen island. It pays off to make them dimmable if you’re eating at the island, too, because good lighting for cooking can feel painfully bright when you sit down to eat.
𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 a𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠
Islands are often used for prep work because they offer convenient counter space. Some prep tools require electricity, though, so avoid one of the most common mistakes and build outlets into the kitchen island. (It’ll definitely make using a blender and food processor much more convenient).
If you plan to use your kitchen island as your main food preparation area, seriously consider incorporating a sink into the island itself. You’ll find it is a huge bonus, as is a dishwasher! This addition does make your kitchen design a bit more involved, but it’s well worth it.
If your new layout features a two-tier island with a higher bar where your family can sit, that extra riser between the lower prep level and the bar is a handy place for the outlet. Of course, islands that incorporate stoves, dishwashers, and microwaves will need proper electricity and plumbing too.
