43 kitchen island concepts (and prime suggestions from the professionals)

‘The kitchen island is a good addition, each aesthetically and ergonomically, in an entire vary of areas,’ says Gail Taylor of TH2 Designs. We see an enormous vary on our pages, from expansive, showstopping marble islands to slender, sensible freestanding tables. Some combine sinks and home equipment, some have recesses or overhangs for bar stools, some even home canine beds, whereas others simply present much-needed additional worktop house.

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Extra skilled recommendation from inside designers Kitchen island concepts from the Home & Backyard archive

Storage is one other main consideration. ‘A well-designed island can considerably improve the space for storing accessible,’ explains Gail. Many islands combine home equipment on one aspect of the island, whereas leaving the opposite aspect open for storage or a recess for seating. ‘I typically enable for a shallow run of handleless items on the seen aspect of the island,’ continues Gail, ‘in order that the look stays streamlined whereas offering additional storage for issues like glasses, jugs, mugs and vases.’

Islands will also be an excellent house for folks to collect in a casual means. In her personal kitchen, Gail favours a big island and has put in snug bar stools for the entire household to collect round for meals. ‘It simply feels extra relaxed and sociable than sitting at a desk,’ she says. In a small kitchen, there will not be sufficient room so as to add seating to an island, however a slim desk with a rack for storage beneath generally is a nice resolution as an alternative.

Chances are you’ll be tempted to maintain the design of the island similar to the encircling cupboards, however this may be a chance to be extra playful. ‘I want to present an island a special therapy to the remainder of the kitchen to save lots of having acres of the identical floor,’ says Rita Konig. ‘You may additionally select to have an island increased than your counters to make utilizing it extra snug.’ Gail agrees: ‘I typically select a special, tonal color for the island than the remainder of the kitchen items to present the island its personal visible component,’ she says. ‘If the island is giant sufficient, I mix two finishes for the worktops, too. If there’s sufficient room for an overhang to tug bar stools up, I’ll use a special worktop to the principle a part of the island, combining wooden with laminate or stone with chrome steel, for instance.’

Extra skilled recommendation from inside designers

‘Kitchen designers will inform you to permit at the very least 120cm between the island and the wall items, however you’ll be able to shrink this all the way down to 85cm – although admittedly it does make it laborious for 2 folks to work on the similar time. Don’t forget so as to add energy factors. I prefer to put them inside cabinets or on the inner aspect of open cabinets. On the subject of lighting, it may be greatest to keep away from the same old strategy of dropping pendants down from the ceiling, as islands are sometimes positioned subsequent to eating tables, which can have their very own pendant gentle above. To keep away from such clashes, I typically use a few small recessed downlights as an alternative.’ – Brandon Schubert

‘I’m an enormous fan of desk lamps on islands, as having the smooth glow within the centre of the house feels cosy but one way or the other glamorous. Lamps must be “yacht fitted”, that means the wiring goes by means of the bottom after which straight into the worktop. The cupboard maker and electrician also can run the cables by means of a hollowed leg. This look might be achieved with a prepare dinner’s desk too.’ – Jessica Buckley

‘The peak of an island is dependent upon the operate and the consumer. Most islands are set at 90cm tall, however you could possibly have various heights – for instance, a lower-level consuming part, dropped all the way down to a 75cm eating top. For those who do go for completely different heights, take into account enjoying with completely different floor supplies for every space.’ – Alex Dauley

‘Maintain the island freed from a sink or hob if potential, so it may be dressed with crops, vases of flowers or bowls of fruit, and might be cleared to behave as an additional tabletop for serving and consuming. For those who don’t have house to maintain it free, go for a sink quite than a hob – an extractor over an island is an actual buzzkill. For those who should have a hob there, take into account a downdraft extractor.’ – Ellen Cumber, Golden

‘I like to make use of a kitchen island for prepping and chopping, so I can take part quite than face the wall with my again to everybody. With this in thoughts, take into account a helpful gap with a flush lid for sweeping peelings straight into the compost/meals waste bin, or a prep sink. A superb good friend has made her island close to the regulation measurement of a ping-pong desk with no sink or cooker. With a clip-on web, and a few bats and balls within the drawer, you may have an island with a quite area of interest twin operate.’ – Chloe Willis, Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler

‘An island is a superb alternative so as to add character. That is your likelihood to insurgent: select completely different supplies; paint the bottom in one other color; or use an surprising classic piece. I all the time say that kitchens ought to really feel like different rooms in the home – snug, layered areas that simply occur to incorporate a cooker and a sink, quite than being dominated by them.’ – Natasha Greig, Veere Grenney Associates

‘One of the best rooms have some kind of design element and the identical goes for a kitchen island. One thing so simple as a brass utility rail, bead element or routed groove is sufficient to make elevations look thought-about. Open shelving can also be a great way to take care of the clean panel situation, and these can work in conventional and modern kitchen islands.’ – Christian Bense

‘As with most issues design associated, I’ve sturdy views on islands. I’ve to say that I want a desk round which individuals can sit. However when you’re having an island, don’t make it too giant – it is best to have the ability to attain the centre simply from all sides. I’ve seen ones so massive that it’s like having a big automobile parked in the midst of the room, which creates a no-man’s land of unusable house at its centre. I like a slim island paying homage to a baker’s desk – ideally with a marble prime – and open beneath with a low shelf for pans.’ – Joanna Plant

MAY WE SUGGEST: Stylish kitchen concepts from the world’s greatest inside designers

Kitchen island concepts from the Home & Backyard archive

Michael Sinclair1/38
A Nineteenth-century desk from Miles Griffiths supplies ample house for preparation within the again kitchen of designer Jonathan Reed’s personal home within the Yorkshire Dales. This freestanding strategy works notably effectively in older homes the place a extra blocky island can really feel a bit incongruous.
Christopher Horwood2/38
Changing a kitchen that was out of maintaining with this Seventeenth-century home in Hampshire, Max Rollitt has stored issues good and conventional right here. The island has woodwork in Little Greene’s ‘Córdoba’, a Bianco Eclipse quartz worktop and Barber Wilsons & Co faucets.
Tom Griffiths3/38
Maria Speke of Retrouvius has employed her trademark mixture of salvaged supplies to create this extremely distinctive kitchen in a Seventeenth-century farmhouse in Suffolk. The island is panelled in Dutch beechwood cigar moulds and has a zinc-wrapped work floor, with an overhang that gives a pure house for shelving and for stools for casual eating.
Sarah Griggs4/38
Inside designer Charlotte Smiley likes to entertain within the kitchen at residence in London, so wished an island giant sufficient for folks to take a seat round, chat and eat. Designed by A&A Architects and made by her contractors at Bonchurch, it’s painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Studio Inexperienced’ and teamed with stools from Oka and pendants from Felix Lighting Specialists.

Tom Griffiths5/38
The seen aspect of the island can current a conundrum in an open-plan residing space as you wish to make it interesting with out losing the space for storing. This design in Corey Hemingway Nineteen Sixties Lambeth townhouse may be very intelligent, because the books instantly add color and character – and supply a speaking level for visitors.
Michael Sinclair6/38
Designer Thea Speke commissioned 202 Design to create the cabinetry for this kitchen in a west London Victorian home. The arched particulars and slatted shelving on the seen aspect of the island are a splendidly elegant – and helpful – addition.
Mark Anthony Fox7/38
For those who’re designing a basement kitchen, growing the sense of sunshine and house is essential. In artist Tarka Kings’ home in Bayswater, the gloss black worktops and white cupboard fronts assist to replicate the sunshine because it is available in by means of the skylight. The clear strains of the island, which homes the sink and loads of storage under, prevents the house from feeling too cluttered or overly fussy – an aesthetic that continues all through the home.
Owen Gale8/38
Laura and Nora’s kitchen is the showstopper of their home within the German countryside. The large island has a heat copper prime and is balanced by good oak parquet ground and a casual limewash paint on the partitions.

Dean Hearne9/38
The forest-green island within the kitchen of botanical artist and set designer Tattie Isles’ magical cottage in Dorset was designed by Tattie herself, and made by a craftsman in north Dorset.
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Whereas most individuals could be pissed off by the constraints of a rental, Juana Pepa has leaned into it in her Kensington townhouse. The butcher's block kitchen island is from Etsy.com, customised by Juana, who eliminated the doorways and added wheels.
Paul Massey11/38
On this Rita Konig-designed home, Plain English items painted in ‘Mash’ are paired with a kitchen island in ‘Sauce’, with patterned Balineum tiles behind the cooker. It creates a contemporary country-house really feel, heightened by the very good use of the house beneath the island for canine beds.
Michael Sinclair12/38
For those who ever end up questioning what to do with a kitchen that has 3.7-metre ceilings, the reply, it appears, is to create 4 finial-topped towers and place them within the corners of the room, like Martin Brudnizki has in his Seventeenth-century Sussex flat. Partitions in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Dutch Orange’ set off his ‘Invisible Inexperienced’ on the kitchen island and cabinetry constructed by Orior Furnishings to Martin’s design and completed with Arabescato marble.

Owen Gale13/38
Youngsters and canine at residence? A stainless-steel kitchen kinds a lovely distinction and runs down one aspect of the house with a parallel island of Angus and Charlotte Buchanan’s home. ‘We twisted the arm of a designer we work with on business kitchens for eating places to do that one,’ explains Angus. ‘It’s fully toddler and canine proof, which is nice with our 6-month-old pet.’
Daniel Schafer14/38
Partitions and items in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Chappell Inexperienced’ echo the backyard within the Basque nation home of Cristina Lorenzo, the place the island blends seamlessly with the remainder of the kitchen.
Paul Massey15/38
Designed by the architects to look as if they’d all the time been there, the items and island on this Provence home had been constructed by native craftspeople and completed with darkish granite worktops and a splashback in outdated Italian tiles from Riccardo Barthel. The very good use of the house beneath for storing fairly pottery and woven trays and baskets is great.
Lucas Allen16/38
For those who don't need your kitchen to look too glossy and ideal, a salvaged island can add appreciable character and patina. Contained in the timber extension of this Christopher Howe-decorated townhouse in Bray, the ground is made out of cheeseboards, which had been discovered on a visit to the South of France. Fifties Italian bar stools distinction with the island, which was salvaged from a fishmonger’s.

Paul Massey17/38
The colourful ‘Parrots Plume’ gloss from Dulux ties the kitchen island in with cabinetry and the door to the newly created larder. The crocheted ‘Easy Shade 03’ pendant above the island is from Naomi Paul. The ‘Flora’ steel wall lamps are from Maisons du Monde. The kitchen cupboards are from Ikea and got new fronts and brass handles from Peter Jones. Discover the remainder of Rosi de Ruig’s west London household residence.
Simon Brown18/38
This vibrant kitchen has Beata Heuman's title throughout it. Including a skirt not solely hides away pots and pans and different clunky gadgets, but it surely's a enjoyable solution to introduce sample, too. Discover extra of this London condo.
Paul Massey19/38
This kitchen island incorporates open shelving – a good way to show cookbooks or treasured gadgets, and retains the whole lot inside grabbing distance. Discover extra of this north London home designed by Maddux Inventive, the winners of our 2022 Inside Designer of the Yr award.
Simon Brown / De Rosee Sa20/38
Does a big kitchen island really feel too imposing, break it into two, like De Rosee Sa did in Alison Loehnis’ London townhouse. The clearly delineated areas will not be simply helpful however assist to stop the house from feeling too cavernous.

Alexander James21/38
In a small kitchen, a slim desk can work effectively as an island, with storage on the rack beneath, drawers for cutlery and utensils, and a worktop that coordinates with the encircling counters. In a tiny Georgian cottage in London, Sarah Peake of Studio Peake restored the cupboards that had been already within the kitchen and repainted them, including a stone ground for a sensible end.
Michael Sinclair22/38
Maddux Inventive designed the kitchen island on this Primrose Hill home, painted in Paint & Paper Library’s ‘Buck’, to suit inside a reclaimed floor-tile border.
Mark Anthony Fox23/38
Sebastian Cox made the bespoke items and island from native ash and walnut with work surfaces in Calacatta marble and béton ciré. The classic ‘Program’ bar stools, designed by Frank Guille for Kandya (c1958), had been re-covered in a Lewis & Wooden linen. Juno the vizsla sits on Douglas fir flooring from Dinesen. Discover extra of this London property.
Rachel Whiting24/38
The copper worktop of this bespoke kitchen island matches the cooker hood on this uncommon scheme. ‘I haven’t used wall cabinets as a result of I didn't need the kitchen to learn like a standard kitchen or look too boxy,’ explains Beata Heuman, the inside designer behind this vibrant residence in London. The color palette, which features a Swedish inexperienced marble worktop and a bespoke copper cooker hood and island by Premier Constructing & Design, enhances the backyard past. It is going to purchase a greenish patina over time.

Owen Gale25/38
The brilliant island on this Bathtub townhouse provides a jolt of color to the kitchen with white partitions. The kitchen was designed in collaboration with Plain English. The cupboards are painted within the model's ‘Fairly Pickle’ paint color and the island is of their ‘Nicotine’. The splashback is painted in a gloss paint of the identical shade. In the back of the room, Vitsoe shelving performs off the extra conventional design of the island.
Helen Cathcart26/38
For the kitchen of a consumer's coastal new-build close to Chichester Harbour, inside designer Isabella Worsley opted for a bespoke kitchen island painted in heat tones made by Warwickshire-based Arcadia Antiques.
Michael Sinclair27/38
This kitchen island on this restored Georgian home in Somerset has open shelving, which shows wine, books and tableware, whereas Tom Dixon pendant lights cling above.
Paul Massey28/38
A freestanding island on legs can add an airier really feel to a kitchen, as on this 18th-century home in Bathtub. Classic wall lights from Felix Lighting Specialists are positioned above the Plain English kitchen items, that are painted in Pure & Unique ‘Summerset Mauve’; the island is in ‘Submit Trendy Mauve’. Pendant gentle shades salvaged from a manufacturing facility in Hungary cling over the island. They’re bought by Skinflint, which finds, restores and repairs mid-century industrial and ornamental lighting from throughout Europe.

Ngoc Minh Mgo29/38
This slim picket kitchen island within the kitchen of Harriet Anstruther's Sussex farmhouse strengthens the country, countryside really feel of the scheme to which it belongs. It additionally cradles a choice of picket containers storing miscellaneous kitchen objects.
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This island was made bespoke to Laura Stephen's design for her Victorian terraced flat in London. A hanging pink marble was used for the countertop and the design included ‘Gustavian impressed diamond motifs’ that echoed the wallpaper within the bed room.
Michael Sinclair31/38
The beneficiant island on this Nineteenth-century home in Hampstead by Retrouvius encompasses a half-and-half island, with one aspect offering storage for cookbooks, whereas the opposite is lower out to permit for a breakfast bar.
Will Slater32/38
HÁM Interiors gave this historic Cornish cottage a classy refresh. Within the kitchen, they used a Butter Prep Desk designed by Studio HÁM as a kitchen island. Brother and sister design crew Tom and Kate Cox, ‘envisaged an outdated dairy desk once we began to develop it. ’ Its brass trim, and rustic element on the legs make it an exquisite addition to the house.

Tessa Traeger33/38
The opposite half of the kitchen within the late Robert Kime’s home in Provence shows a mixture of fitted components sitting simply alongside an vintage dresser and this draper's desk used as an island.
Paul Massey34/38
This sizeable, marbled-topped island steals the present within the gorgeous light-filled kitchen of a north London Arts and Crafts home designed by Ben Pentreath. It has been painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Hague Blue’ to match the cupboards, additionally designed by Ben, and made by Symm.
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The marble-topped island within the conservatory-style kitchen of this grand Belgravia townhouse designed by Buchanan Studio is lined with Beata Heuman’s ‘Dodo Egg’ lanterns and Merci Maison’s ‘Ce’cile’ stools.
Christopher Horwood36/38
In what inside designer James Mackie describes because the ‘glamorous spaceship’ kitchen on this good-looking Victorian terraced home, a dramatic, slate-clad island grabs consideration.

Michael Sinclair37/38
In a London residence designed by Maddux Inventive, the intense and ethereal kitchen has an island lined with a Statuario marble shell, which, together with the excessive ceilings, imparts a way of grandeur.
Paul Massey38/38
There are a number of good storage concepts to be discovered on this kitchen island, which anchors the house designed by Carlos Garcia. Very like elsewhere within the good-looking Queen Anne home in Norfolk, fastidiously layered color and pure supplies make for a serene and comfy home.

Extra skilled recommendation from inside designers

Kitchen island concepts from the Home & Backyard archive

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