Kitchen islands are a design feature that can make your kitchen much more efficient. But, a word of caution: this is one design item where you should definitely consult with a design expert while you are designing your kitchen. Unless you have lots of experience in kitchen design, or interior decorating, it is hard to get a good feel for how an island will work.
In order to make a kitchen island work, you need a fairly large kitchen space to ensure enough space around the island to move freely. If your space is large enough to accommodate an island, then a kitchen island will provide more counter space and more storage space. In an extremely large kitchen you can create two separate work triangles, or reduce the size of the main work triangle, increasing the efficiency of your design. To help you with the design element of incorporating an island an experienced designer's input will be invaluable. The arrangement of the appliances and service supplies may change when you add an island into your design.
Once you determine that an island will enhance your kitchen design, you have several additional options to consider. You can create another work space by adding a second sink and dishwasher into your island. This will allow a second cook to work in the kitchen or allow you to prepare two separate dishes without contaminating one with the other. The added counter space provided by your kitchen island will allow you easier food preparation by minimizing clutter and stacks of bowls and utensils
Adding an eating area to your kitchen island is a popular option, if you have the space. A raised counter, creating a two tiered island adds useful space to the kitchen while separating the eating surface from the food preparation surface of the island. This type of arrangement is great for families as the children can do homework on the raised surface, while other family members can be preparing a meal. The family can spend time together, yet keep their things separate from each other. The eating area added to an island can add useful space to the kitchen or help to define the kitchen space from other areas of the house.
If you have a smaller kitchen space, that doesn't mean that you can't add island space to your kitchen. A portable kitchen island or food preparation cart can add usable surface area in a smaller space. You can store the cart out of the way most of the time, and then roll it out for use during meal preparation. The movable island can match your kitchen cabinets or it can have a completely different style, the choice is yours.
Kitchen islands are a tricky item to successfully add to your kitchen design, but well worth considering when you are remodeling your kitchen. You may be surprised at the increase in convenience in meal preparation and added counter space an island will provide. But, it is hard to visualize the space required and the best size for any island addition, so be sure you get all the information you need to make the best decision for your kitchen.
