Kitchens are often one of the busiest and most lived-in rooms of your home. A kitchen island is a great place for people to gather around, plus it offers extra storage and space. If a kitchen island is part of your custom kitchen design, there are several types to choose from. Here are a few types of kitchen islands for your custom home design:
- Island with raised bar
- Appliance kitchen island
- Waterfall island
- Storage cabinet island
- Split-level island with seating
- Mobile kitchen island
- Square kitchen island
- Rounded kitchen island
- L-shaped kitchen island
- U-shaped kitchen island
1. Island With Raised Bar
A raised bar island is a kitchen island that has two levels. This type of kitchen island is great if you plan to do a lot of entertaining in your kitchen. The raised bar is a great place to set out food and drinks or to simply gather around.
This type of island is also a great option for open floor plans. It can serve as a divider between the kitchen and dining areas, which helps to define space in an open floor plan. Plus, you can take advantage of having an extra surface area to extend function across spaces, while still having separation.
2. Appliance Kitchen Island
An island dedicated to appliances can help reduce countertop clutter. These islands can accommodate small appliances, like microwaves, or larger islands can house cooktop stoves, or even appliance garages for larger kitchen appliance storage. Having an island for appliances frees up your other countertops for food prep or other large appliances. This is also common in wet and dry kitchen design.
3. Waterfall Kitchen Island
Waterfall islands are dramatic and offer a bold look and feel, while remaining elegant and classy. This type of island fits in well in both modern kitchens and minimalist kitchens. With waterfall islands, the countertop flows seamlessly over the sides, much like a waterfall.
In addition to a unique look, this design also makes food cleanup a breeze thanks to the smooth design. Most waterfall countertops come in marble or quartz, but you can find them in concrete or butcher block if you prefer a more rustic or industrial look. This can also be a great way to incorporate concrete into your custom home design or add an industrial flair to your interior design theme.
4. Storage Cabinet Island
If you’re looking to maximize kitchen storage, this type of island may be your best option. The closed cabinets offer you more storage for pots and pans, bakeware, or other kitchen tools. These things can be very bulky and can be hard to organize, so a dedicated space is helpful. You can order pre-made storage islands or have one built to your specifications. Either way, you’ll appreciate the extra space, which is always a kitchen island trend!
5. Split-Level Island With Seating
Much like the raised bar island, this split-level island is great for entertaining. The raised bar is great for a buffet, but it’s also great for quick meals with your family, like breakfasts. This can also be a way to include a breakfast nook in your custom home design, even if you don’t necessarily go with the standard breakfast nook.
The raised bar island works well for entertaining because it allows anyone who is cooking to still interact with guests, while still having space to work. The lower tier offers extra prep space and can also function as extra space to place food if there’s not enough room on the raised bar. Plus, there are so many different ideas for kitchen islands with seating that you can use to get exactly the look and function you want, with enough seating for everyone.
6. Mobile Kitchen Island
A mobile kitchen island is convenient if you want to move your island around as you work. This can be helpful as you move about the kitchen and need extra space to work. These mobile islands have evolved and come in a variety of styles that work in any kitchen. Choose from simple metal frames and shelves to a butcher block island that would fit in well with farmhouse decor style.
7. Square Kitchen Island
Traditional kitchen islands are usually rectangular, but non-standard sizes and other shapes are popping up more often. For the kitchen layouts that can support it well, a square kitchen island is an option. Smaller square kitchen islands can create a more intimate dining area that is built for conversation and connection between a couple of people.
Square kitchen islands can also be larger to accommodate bigger gatherings. For kitchens that include more than one island, a traditional kitchen island can be paired with a square kitchen island or even a small square mobile kitchen island.
8. Rounded Kitchen Island
Rounded kitchen islands are another type of kitchen island. These can be completely circular, oval-shaped, or rounded along one or two sides for a half-circle look, feel, and function. Rounded kitchen islands with cabinets built into the base are popular places for Lazy Susans or open shelves for decorative displays.
9. L-Shaped Kitchen Island
Like L-shaped kitchens, an L-shaped kitchen island is an island with two countertops that meet at an angle, or what looks like two full islands that connect seamlessly at an angle. Each side of the L-shaped island can be the size of a full island, or they can be different sizes and lengths for a truer “L” shape if viewed from above.
Although not as commonly referred to as L-shaped kitchen islands, these can also be islands with a countertop that extends further from the base and forms an upside-down “L” silhouette from the side. This configuration tends to be common with islands designed to have tall seating.
10. U-Shaped Kitchen Island
Similar to U-shaped kitchen designs, a U-shaped kitchen island has three sides forming a “U” or a horseshoe shape. Often, an L-shaped kitchen island attaches to one of the countertops along the walls of a kitchen to create a “U” shape.
U-shaped kitchen islands can also connect to a kitchen wall, extend out, and curve or angle around to almost create a perimeter around the kitchen area, while leaving at least one access point open to the main kitchen prep area.
Design and Build Your Custom Home With CHG
These are just a few examples of the various types of kitchen islands that can be incorporated into your custom home design. Before you decide on a type, it’s important to consider the overall kitchen design and the size of the kitchen island you plan to have. This will help you narrow down to the types of kitchen islands that will work best for your needs and the kitchen you want in your custom home.
A custom home builder with an in-house design/build process is a valuable resource. Whether you know what you want in your home or are still working through details, they can make the process much smoother and easier, and ensure you end up with a custom home design that meets your needs and suits your tastes.
If you’re ready to get started on your own custom home in Central Pennsylvania or Northeastern Maryland, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090! We can help make your dream home a reality!
The post 10 Types of Kitchen Islands for Your Custom Home Design appeared first on Custom Home Group.
