The kitchen island is one of the most desirable features in today’s homes. It offers additional workspace, extra storage, and the possibility of extra seating in some kitchens. But is it worth installing one in your Sunset Beach home if you don’t already have one?
Should You Invest in Adding an Island to Your Kitchen?
Reasons to install a kitchen island
Storage
Islands can greatly increase the storage space in a kitchen. Whether you choose open shelving, to hide an appliance, or just some extra drawers and cupboards to increase space to place cookware and utensils, the additional storage is always a benefit.
More counter space
This is one of the major reasons why people love kitchen islands. It provides more working counter space, especially in kitchens that may be lacking. A kitchen island that is only counter space gives you the ability to work on large cooking projects, such as rolling out cookie dough.
Visual impact
Not only is a kitchen island helpful in practical ways, but it also creates a stunning visual focal point of the kitchen. This is a big reason why so many people are drawn to the kitchen island concept, as it seems to feel like it makes the space more luxurious and grand.
Additional seating
Some people choose to incorporate extra bar-style seating into their kitchen island. This allows people to sit while you are creating meals, and it allows children to work on homework and be supervised while you are doing work in the kitchen. Or it just brings extra spaces to enjoy food if you are entertaining.
Reasons to carefully reconsider
Before placing a kitchen island in your space, there are some things to consider. While there are many benefits to a kitchen island, a homeowner should truthfully consider whether placing an island in their home’s kitchen would be 100% beneficial. There are some drawbacks to placing an island in some spaces.
Workflow disruption
A kitchen island can create workflow disruption. In some kitchens, it can create an obstacle to the way of workflow in the kitchen. If the kitchen is just barely big enough to place an island in the middle of the floor space, it may cause you to interrupt the flow of your working triangle. This is the space between your sink, fridge, and stove. This is called the working triangle, as it is the three most accessed spaces while you are utilizing your kitchen. If an island disrupts the flow between these things, it is worth reconsidering.
Truly usable space
Though an island seems like it will be handy, especially in creating more counter space, sometimes even the smallest of kitchen islands just doesn’t seem to make sense. Sometimes they’re just isn’t quite enough space to justify bringing in a kitchen island.
In smaller kitchens, an alternative to an island may be better to help you create more counter space. You may simply want to purchase a rolling chef cart that you can move to another area of the kitchen so that the flow and traffic in your kitchen is not inhibited greatly. You could also consider the placement of a peninsula that juts out just partially into the center of the kitchen floor instead of taking up a significant amount of space in the middle of the room.
Creating more storage and counter space in your kitchen is always a great idea, but considering the actual space you have and what would truly make it work and flow beneficially for the user is always important.
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