There are generally Five Questions You Should Ask When Selecting a Kitchen Island
No item represents the 21st century kitchen more than the
kitchen island. Whether you’re building or remodeling, your new kitchen will
undoubtedly include one. As kitchens have grown in size and importance, islands
have also sprung up in increasing numbers and varieties.
Because of the sheer multitude of options available in
today’s kitchen islands, thorough research and a thoughtful assessment of your
particular needs is essential to ensure your finished island is everything you
desire. The following questions will get you started.
What is the best location?
In many open floor plans, kitchen islands provide separation
between kitchens and living spaces, while serving as gathering spots for
friends and family. In other layouts, islands are located in the center of the
kitchen and are used exclusively as workstations. In either case, it’s
important to ensure there is ample clearance to open cabinet and appliance
doors and to allow two people to work in the kitchen at the same time.
What is the best location?
In many open floor plans, kitchen islands provide separation
between kitchens and living spaces, while serving as gathering spots for
friends and family. In other layouts, islands are located in the center of the
kitchen and are used exclusively as workstations. In either case, it’s
important to ensure there is ample clearance to open cabinet and appliance
doors and to allow two people to work in the kitchen at the same time.
What activities will be conducted at the kitchen island?
Will it be used for dining? Food preparation or actual
cooking? After meal cleanup? Homework or other activities? Different shapes,
heights and cabinetry are required for each.
Consider dining. Snack bars attached to islands are usually
30, 36 or 42 inches high. Keeping the whole island one level (usually 36
inches) provides the greatest flexibility. When necessary, the entire surface
can be used for cooking or baking. The rest of the time, the overhanging
portion can be used for dining.
Raising the snack bar to 42 inches, while maintaining a
36-inch work area, can shield the view of the workspace from an adjoining
living area. This arrangement also provides a vertical wall surface for
electrical outlets. Lowering the snack bar portion to 30 inches separates the
eating area from the 36-inch workspace and allows diners to use standard
chairs. This design may be particularly convenient for families with young
children. The most common configuration is a long eating bar on one side of the
kitchen island, but a snack bar on a shorter, curved end can also accommodate a
few diners. Snack bars on two sides allow diners to face each other. Rounded
corners will eliminate bruises if someone bumps into overhanging edges.
What features do these activities require?
Because of the island’s isolation, it is essential to
include all of the components and specialized storage necessary to carry out
its designated function – to eliminate “trips” to other areas of the kitchen.
If the island will be a food preparation site, you will want
to include a sink to wash produce, space to chop vegetables, handy access to
knives, a garbage disposal or access to a compost bin, room for a wastebasket,
and electrical outlets for mixers and food processors. You may also want to
incorporate shelves for cookbooks on one end.
Kitchen islands with ranges or cooktops will need an
overhead vent hood or a downdraft fan, space for pots and pans, cooking utensils
and spices. Installing doors on both sides of the island will eliminate having
to reach through the entire width of the island to retrieve stored pots and
pans. Eating bars should be raised to protect friends or other family members
from cooking spatters.
Islands that border an informal eating area can be a
convenient spot to collect and wash dishes – requiring a sink, dishwasher,
counter space for air drying, towel racks and storage for dishes and
silverware.
What special amenities would aid your lifestyle?
Islands often provide the opportunity for extras that make
life easier, such as an undercounter refrigerator or wine chiller, a warming
drawer, or a separate convection oven. Adding a second cooktop or sink allows
two cooks to work simultaneously. Tucking a microwave on a side of the kitchen
island makes it less obtrusive and frees counter space.
What would make the kitchen island a focal point?
Gone are the days when everything matched in a well-planned
kitchen. Instead, islands present the opportunity to break the mold by using a
unique type of wood or cabinetry style. Adding legs, bump outs, inset areas and
open shelving can give an island the furniture look that is currently popular.
Countertops often vary as well.
Today’s kitchen is the heart of the home, and the island is
often the center of its activities.
A myriad of choices in design, materials and features allows
you to marry beauty and function to best suit your individual setting and
lifestyle.
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