When we told friends we were having a new kitchen this year, a predictable string of questions followed. ‘What colour will it be’, ‘where’s the wine cooler going’ and the big ‘gas or electric’ debate began. Ensuring we had answers to all of the above, they quickly moved on to the most important question of all; ‘but are you having an island!?’
Space permitting, a kitchen island is one of the most sought-after features our clients ask of us. Its origins lie in the humble kitchen table; used by servers in grand country houses to spread out and prepare the food, or in farmer’s cottages as a multi-functional workstation where space is limited elsewhere. Over time kitchens have increasingly become the physical and emotional heart of our homes; open spaces for cooking, living and entertaining combined. If you’re thinking of incorporating an island into your kitchen design, below are a few points to help you decipher what will and what won’t work best for you.
CIRCULATION – The position of your island is perhaps the most critical. A consistent gap of around 1m between your island and any surrounding countertops will ensure plenty of room for circulation, two users stood back-to-back and opening appliance and cabinetry doors. The position of your island can also be strategic in directing users or guests’ movement. An island placed between your cooking zone and a designated seating area will encourage guests to congregate where you want them to, by carving out physical walkways through your space.
SEATING – Depending on how you and your family intend to use the kitchen, you might want to incorporate some seating into the island itself. This could take a more flexible form in kitchen height stools; an advisable seat height of between 600-750mm from the floor. Avoid taller bar stools as legroom will be minimal when combined with a standard height kitchen worktop. For a more permanent and built-in option consider banquette seating, which can be as basic or luxurious as you like. Also consider the seating configuration. A group of 4 stools, 2 either side of a corner or 2 opposite one another, will encourage conversation far better than a straight row of 4. There are layout options with banquettes as well. U-shaped or L-shaped configurations that then wrap around edges of the room could work better in your space than one straight bench.
PURPOSE – How do you want to use it. The function of your island will determine the units underneath and any appliances or sinks built in. If you want to address your friends and family whilst you’re cooking, you may want to incorporate your hob so you can face them. If your island will mainly be used for cooking, ensure you have deep drawers built in to store pots and pans at easy reach and remember the need for extraction and connection to services. Likewise, if you’ll be using it for food prep or as a serving station, make sure there are deep drawers to store plates and shallow drawers for cutlery and utensils. Incorporating the sink for washing food and a bin underneath to catch the peelings would be a good addition. Others consider an island as the centre of their entertaining space; its function in this case may be purely storage. Open display shelves or glass fronted units could be a nice way to show off your glassware, recipe books or even house a mini bar. Last but not least; sockets. Again, depending on the purpose of your island, it may require power to carry out these tasks. In a standalone unit, they can be built into the surface of the worktop as pop-up components or the sides of the island cabinetry itself.
FORM – Don’t limit yourself to a fixed, standalone unit in the centre of the room. They can be static or moveable, depending on how you want to use them. Bear in mind that a flexible unit will not be as easy to move if filled with heavy pots, pans and plates. Appliances requiring connection to gas or electric will also limit this ability. Depending on your space, a peninsular as an extension of other cabinetry may be the better option. The shape of your island should complement the proportions of your surrounding kitchen, in length/width/radius or square/rectangular/curved.