When planning a kitchen island, it is important to consider its main uses. The design of your kitchen island can be affected by the tasks that you intend to use it for
Uses of a kitchen island:
- Cooking
- Entertaining
- Preparation
- Storage
- Seating
Kitchen islands can provide extra worksurface space to increase the usability of your kitchen, however it is essential to remember functionality when planning the size of your kitchen island. To allow for efficient movement around your kitchen it is important to leave a gap of 1.2m around the perimeter. This can be reduced to 0.9m in areas that do not require extra clearance for accessing drawers and cabinets or behind seating.
When placing hobs, there are several considerations that may affect the design of your island. It is ideal to leave 30cm each side of your cooktop on an island to allow for easy placement of cooking ingredients and utensils as well as preventing pan handles from overhanging your worktop edge.
Ventilation is an important element to create a functional cooking area within your island with a multitude of extraction types to suit your every need. Traditional methods of extraction that are suspended from your ceiling can help or hinder your kitchen design and many modern island extraction units can provide a focal point to your kitchen.
An increase in the popularity of utilising your island for cooking has given rise to the self-venting hob and downdraft extraction systems. These extractors are integrated into the hob or located directly behind it. A downdraft extractor can be concealed into the counter that open when needed. These kinds of extractors provide powerful extraction as well as direction lighting.
Incorporating seating into the design of your island is a popular way to increase the usability of an island creating a versatile space for entertaining. Allowing for at least 0.6m per seat will contribute to a seating area that feels spacious and open.
An island no matter the size can add vital storage space in small and large spaces alike. By adding drawers into your island, it allows for easy access to pots, pans, and utensils while cooking or a place to store your favourite spices and condiments.