Considerations when planning a kitchen island

A well-designed kitchen island can be highly effective in creating a smooth workflow and functional kitchen space.  With careful planning a kitchen island should provide an added workspace, extra storage facilities and an area for gathering, chatting, eating.

The kitchen island should work in harmony with your natural preparation and work processes.  As the well known saying goes… Form follows function!  You also need to consider the functionality of the island, will there be integrated appliances, will it serve as a food preparation area or a seating area? The positioning of the kitchen island should allow sufficient clearance zone for safe and accessible movement in the kitchen.

You might want to think about what appliances you want to place in your island. Do you want to include sinks, hobs, ovens, microwaves, dishwashers and wine fridges. Another option is to have some pop-up sockets can also be included and are handy if you want to use small appliances on your island, such as blenders and juicers.

What about the size? Well, the minimum size of a kitchen island is 1000mm x 2000mm.  Smaller or larger kitchen islands can also work but keep overall room size in mind. You also want to ensure you have enough clearance in order to have a sufficient walkway in the kitchen.

You can be as creative as you like with design as islands can take any shape, just think outside the box, literally. You can play with colour and texture in your choice of work surface. Ray and the design team can help advise you on what size and design features would work best for your space, call 05786 26483 or email info@shielsandco.ie.