Kitchen Islands – on trend or yesterday’s news?

While decor fashions may come and go, kitchen islands are a trend that just won’t quit.

And there’s a good reason why.

Kitchen islands remain one of the most sought-after features for any kitchen - whether your style is country cottage classical or stainless steel extravaganza.

While they are undeniably aesthetically pleasing in any setting, the versatility and practicality of the kitchen island is the reason so many people are desperate to install them.

You could describe them as the workhorse of the kitchen - a stunning feature that provides extra counter space and hidden storage and can sometimes double up as a self sufficient mini kitchen all on their own.

Thanks to their location in the centre of the kitchen, they offer a seamless convenience traditional countertops can’t provide from a practical point of view - usually being only a couple of steps away from any point in the room - while breaking up the linear feel of the room.

As well as providing a practical centrepiece for children to congregate for homework, friends to congregate for drinks, or the family to congregate as food is cooked up, islands can also hold cabinets and drawers to tuck away appliances from view, or even double up as stunning aesthetic showpieces to display glassware and wine coolers.

Let’s take a look at some design ideas for your kitchen island:

*Go for an unusual shape:

Buck the trend and swap the traditional rectangular island for something more unique - maybe a chic curve or even fully circular.

*L-shape

an L-shaped island can create a more sociable cooking and serving space for those who love to entertain, whilst also increasing space for seating.

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*Incorporate a wine cabinet

Once considered a luxury only available to those with big budgets and spaces, wine coolers are now much more available for the mass market. They are a great addition to a kitchen island as they free up space in the fridge and worktop - whilst adding a stunning aesthetic quality and talking point for guests who can top up their glasses as you cook up a storm.

*Create different zones

By mixing two or more materials on your island, you can break up your kitchen island into different ‘zones’ depending on their main use. A marble surface for food prep and solid wooden surface for eating breakfast, maybe?

*Make your hob the centrepiece

Incorporating the hob on your kitchen island helps to make it a central focus of the room. Not only aesthetically bold, this can act as a clever social design feature as it means the person cooking can face the room - and their family or guests - rather than having their backs turned whilst it offers a lot of space around for other food preparation.

*Work a dining table into the design

While kitchen islands were typically one height -usually worktop height or a higher bar level - adding a dining table into the design is becoming an increasingly popular choice as a clever space-saving solution for homes that don’t have space for both an island and separate table for eating.

*Make it a display

Whilst undoubtedly practical, homeowners no longer just look at kitchen islands as purely practical additional space to store little used plates, dishes and appliances from view. Instead more and more people are opting to incorporate open shelves to act as beautiful displays of ceramics, cookery books and glassware, to add personality and style.

Whether you are looking to infuse the latest stunning trends into your kitchen or simply want to best utilise your space, a well-designed kitchen island is always a great choice - and it’s a feature that will not be going out of style any time soon.

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