Quick Tips for Kitchen Islands!

In our last article we mentioned the kitchen being a place of centrality in the home during social events and the like. This little snippet will be somewhat of a follow up! This time however we are focusing on the kitchen island. The island is the physical location in the kitchen that draws attention the most as soon as you walk into the room, because of this, we want to make sure the island is drawing attention for the right reasons!

Most often when you get a home and there is already an island built into the kitchen, most people often dismiss the idea of altering the island for fear of cost or effort. Do not be afraid to enhance the island, to alter the island! Make this be the literal and conscious center of attention in the kitchen!

So what do we need to know? Well that’s a very subjective question but I will do my best to give an answer!

• Yay or nay? Like mentioned above, the island will be the first thing you see walking into the kitchen, and this could be a good thing, or not so good thing. If your island draws attentions because of it’s size rather than its decorative element and charming qualities, you may want to reconsider it’s existence in your kitchen. Try to renovate the island to becoming less bulky and more fitting with the theme of the room so it doesn’t scream for attention when you walk in, but rather acts like a deer in the backyard, beautiful, elegant and drawing, with a quiet and calm poise.

• Bottom cabinets or open faced shelves? Consider what your island will function as. Will this be the place you primarily prep your ingredients? Or will this be the the location that is solely for social purposes? Wine and dine? You name it! Understanding the purpose of the island before the renovation is vital to it’s outcome. The bottom cabinets will be strong defining aspects for that very reason. The cabinets can be stocked with cook books or bottles of red wine, you get to choose! How those items are presented will play a part as well. Consider a chicken wire front so that you can see what’s in the cabinets at all times and enhance the character of the island!

• Finally, the islands extension! More often than not, when kitchen islands come to mind, we think of a counter surface in the middle of the kitchen and that’s it. There is more ways an island can exist! Consider an island that has two columns going towards the ceiling and connecting to a crown mold, altering the island into a stand of sorts. You could name it the kitchen stall! All of the sudden there will be a sort of window that is used to interact between the surface of the island, giving a unique atmosphere to the kitchen as a whole, but the experience of the island as well!

That’s all my subjectivity will allow me to write! The rest will have to be a result from the theme of your own home and the desires of your dreams! Why not take a stroll through the kitchen right now and do some visual exercises! Just imagine the fun of a window stall island, and the great conversation starter it could be! Once you have developed some concept, why not give us a call and we can build it together!