Kitchen Islands in 2011

Kitchen islands will become the icon of modern kitchens in 2011 and it's easy to see why.

Because it is true that "everbody ends up in the kitchen", a well-designed island offers a casual place for people to congregate, cook and just eat snacks.

Kitchen islands are functional. They save space, are accessible from all sides and serve the function of a variety of tasks. Space saving is such an important consideration these days when many people have very small kitchens and no room for the old big kitchen table and chairs. Kitchen islands can be designed for many different uses. It really depends on what you want to do.

Fitted with a kitchen sink, hob, warming drawers, refrigerator and a dishwasher, kitchen islands make food preparation and cleaning up more convenient and social. Positioned as a room divider, a kitchen island creates a galley kitchen and provides a serving area from for parties. Kitchen Islands also add beauty and architectural interest to the kitchen.

Kitchen islands can be fixed or moveable, curved, rectangular, square or circular in shape. Islands can be plumbed and wired for running water and lighting. You can incorporate appliances such as sinks, ovens and dishwashers. Finishes can include wood, stainless steel, laminate, stone, metal, eco-friendly materials etc.

Dimensions can be customized to fit your particular space. Worktops can be as for any cabinetry can include a breakfast bar, overhung worktops for eating at. Storage can be added for kitchen utensils, decorative items, books and wine racks. A conventional extractor can be mounted above the kitchen island if it contains your hob but these days downdraft extractors are becoming more popular. Downdraft extractors can be retracted into a base unit when not being used.

Kitchen islands work well in U-shaped and L-shaped kitchens because they shorten the distance of the working triangle traffic. Islands also add beauty and architectural interest to any and all modern kitchens.

Kitchen Islands

The kitchen island that you can see part of in the above image was designed and built for a customer near Maidstone using kitchen units from our german kitchen partner Nobilia. The kitchen is in white high gloss and the kitchen doors are handleless. The kitchen island houses 2 hobs, one induction and a gas domino hob, a sink and drainer with instant hot water tap, a full waste recycling centre and, what you can't see in the picture, a seating area for four people at the right hand end of the island.

The kitchen island is 5 meters long and 1.1 meters wide. The units on the side nearest the bank of ovens are all deep drawer units and are 600mm deep and on the other side all the base units are 450mm deep. The amount of storage space the entire kitchen island provides is spectacular and the seating area works really well.

The worktop is in ice white corian and the high gloss white doors are set off with silver pilasters and panels. The overall effect is clean, modern and stunning looking.

There are not many kitchens that can house a kitchen island of these epic proportions but with the versatility of Nobilia's kitchen cabinets Kitchen Solutions Kent have designed kitchen islands that have worked equally well in much smaller kitchens. If I can find the picture that shows the whole kitchen island I will post it later.