10 kitchen island ideas – how to create a practical and stylish focal point in your space

 

Looking for modern kitchen island ideas? Aside from gaining additional worktop space for cooking, plus extra storage space, kitchen islands make great informal dining spaces – for breakfasts and morning coffees – and often act as the heart of the home. Plus, now we are all working from home a whole lot more they can be a nice spot to set up with your laptop for a few hours.

‘Kitchen-diners and open-plan living areas have become more popular over the past year with the kitchen acting as more than simply somewhere to cook, and is now somewhere for families to congregate, work, as well as cook, eat, and clean.’ explains George Miller, Home Designer at Nepune.  ‘This ties in with adding an island or a kitchen table, as well as extra seating in the room for more multipurpose use. It’s important to consider lighting within your kitchen diner, where you will need as much light as possible for cooking and cleaning, but more ambiance for when you sit down to eat.’

They’re also ideal for defining spaces, like zoning an open plan kitchen and creating two ‘separate’ spaces for cooking and dining. And then, of course, they look lovely too and can create an instant focal point in a kitchen. From metro tiles, marble, and metal, to rustic wood, concrete, and stone, whether you are into period-style Shaker kitchens of fiber modern sleek designs, we have plenty of beautiful ideas that are sure to persuade you an island is now an essential in your space…

1. GET THE SIZING RIGHT

How beautiful is this kitchen island idea? The inspiration for the look came from French bakeries, with tall glass fronted wall cabinets and a compact island sat in the center.

If you are blessed with a small kitchen the best way to go when adding an island is to keep it simple and symmetrical as you can see here, place the island in the middle of the space with the same amount of room on either side and match the design to the style of your cabinets. Add a couple of stools that can tuck neatly under the counter to double up the island as a breakfast bar and hang the same amount of lights above to create a subtle, but stylish balance.

3. MIX FINISHES FOR A TEXTURED LOOK

A kitchen island is a lovely way to introduce a second finish to your kitchen, adding texture and depth to the space. You can go bolder with your kitchen island materials, and even choose something more luxurious and expensive that wouldn’t be an option of all your kitchen cabinetry.

Marble is a popular choice, as is concrete for a more industrial look, but we are loving the aged brass mixed with the off-black wooden cabinetry and the sleek green Victorian wall tiles.  For a more cohesive look, you could copy this kitchen island idea by Wallcorners and take the same material into just one of your kitchen cabinets to really up the two-tone effect.

4. MAKE THE MOST OF AND ISLAND WITH PLENTY OF STORAGE

While we all love the look of a kitchen island, they are designed for functionality over form – an extra surface space to cook and eat at and prime real estate for adding lots of extra kitchen storage. Make use of both sides of the island, and ensure you add either deep drawers or, as can be seen here, plenty of shelving that can be used for cookbooks, crockery, and any other general kitchen clutter.

5. PLAN YOUR LIGHTING CAREFULLY

Getting your kitchen island lighting right is key to it being a practical part of your kitchen. You’ll want to make sure you have enough task lighting so you can use your island to prep, cook, and work at if you need to.

Pendant lighting is a good option for an island as not only do they look lovely and make the island even more of a focal point, they provide a strong overhead light. However, if you can add a dimmer switch so you can change the mood of the area from practical and bright (perfect for prepping or working) to softer and more ambient (perfect for eating or entertaining).

6. USE A KITCHEN ISLAND TO ADD A POP OF COLOR

Love colorful kitchen cabinets but no yet ready to commit to going all over? A kitchen island is the perfect way to bring a pop of color into a space while keeping the rest of the room classic and neutral.

We’re just a bit obsessed with Pearl Lowe’s new kitchen, designed by deVOL. While yes, that warm deep yellow is a bold choice, it doesn’t overwhelm the room, and works beautifully with the cream cabinets and splashes of warmer hues used throughout the space.

7. GO LARGE AND ADD LOTS OF SEATING

From one of Pearl’s kitchens to another. If you have the space, as this kitchen does, go big with your island, what use is a sea of floor with walls of cabinetry surrounding it? This kitchen has a three-meter island topped with seamless Arabesque marble. The island benefits from a double sink as well as glass-fronted built-in storage – so you can easily find what you’re looking for. Plus it fits in plenty of seating so doubles up as a dining room too.

8. USE A KITCHEN ISLAND TO ZONE AN OPEN PLAN SPACE

In a large open plan kitchen diner, an island can help to divide up the space,  creating almost a wall between the cooking area and dining area. This kitchen takes it even further by building open shelving from the ceiling above the island to create even more of that zoning effect. The island itself was inspired by an antique table, to contrast the industrial style metal cabinetry.

9. PICK A LUXURIOUS MATERIAL FOR A STAND OUT ISLAND

As we’ve mentioned an island is the perfect opportunity to go really bold with your choice of materials. The green and gold tones of the island were the starting point for the whole design of this kitchen, with the gold being reflected in the wall cabinetry and the ceiling being painted to mirror the color scheme of the marble. Also note how the same marble has been taken onto the splashback too create more of cohesive feel between the island area and the wall cabinets.

10. ADD THE HOB TO YOUR KITCHEN ISLAND

We’ve all heard of the kitchen triangle theory – the basic concept that the kitchen main workstations in the kitchen should form a triangle. It’s hardly groundbreaking but it does make sense, being able to move quickly and easily from the fridge to the sink to the stove, and adding a hob to an island makes that triangle a whole lot easier to create in your kitchen. Plus, it’s more sociable if you use your kitchen as a space to entertain as you can cook while facing into the room rather than with your back to your guests.

Do consider where the extractor fan will go though. You can get some lovely designs that come down over the hob, or worktop extractors are becoming more of a thing now, or you could do as in this kitchen and mount an extractor flush to the ceiling.