Making the case for kitchen islands
As we distance socially from the outside world and hunker down with our families, those whose kitchens feature a multi-use island have a significant advantage. Like the kitchen table it often replaces, the kitchen island is where all ages get together for meal prep and casual dining—but also school work, boredom-busting craft sessions and family game marathons. Especially now.
And who can ignore the allure of late-evening adult beverage breaks after the kids have trooped off to bed—or any time of day after the darlings have all been sent to their corners for a well-deserved time out?
Today’s highly functioning kitchen islands are a far cry from the old back-to-back cupboards-and-drawers unit with a piece of counter on top and maybe an inset sink or cooking surface.
Bluebell Kitchens recently finished renovating just such a kitchen, replacing the ho-hum 20-year-old piece with a beautiful furniture-quality island that draws the family together for companionship as well as food prep and shared meals.
Custom-built in New Holland, Pa., and topped with Namibia white quartzite to match the room’s countertops, the 56- by 98-inch unit seats four on comfortable stools along one side and provides a buffer between the working kitchen and the traffic created by busy teens and their friends as they move between family room and entryway.
Deep drawers on the side facing the Wolf range hold pans and tools, while the custom-fitted cabinets facing the sink include pull-out mesh baskets for produce, refrigerator drawers to assist in prep, cupboards for appliances and implements and a convenient microwave.
Although our example is considerably larger than the original island, “bigger is not necessarily better,” says Peter C. Archer, principal of Archer & Buchanan Architecture in West Chester. The size should be determined by the available space and how the homeowner wants to use it. In smaller homes, the island may be the kitchen’s most significant feature. In BBK’s kitchen, the larger piece better fits the scale of the 27- by 19-foot room and how the family uses the space.
The point is this: this homeowner’s kitchen island exactly fits the needs of his family. Yours might look different because you have different priorities. Prep sink? Check. Extra burner or two away from the main range? You got it. Book shelves for your cookbooks? Easy to add. A butcher block area for charcuterie or lowered section for kneading bread dough? Of course. Lighted hanging shelves where you can display your fine glassware—and a wine fridge below for when you “cook with wine” à la Graham Kerr? As you wish. A cabinet with playing cards and board games or a deep drawer with toys to keep the little ones on that side of the kitchen? Just about anything that you’ve envisioned, you can have.
When all this enforced staying home ends, don’t be surprised if kitchen designers’ extreme first-person experiences lead to greater innovations that help kitchens and their islands work better than ever.