If you’re looking to do a complete kitchen remodel for yourself, or for maximum resale value, don’t neglect the kitchen island. The island and its function in the kitchen has changed a lot in the last 10 years.
In addition to seating for 4 (or more), islands today are used to house “luxury” appliances that don’t fit in the cabinet frame, such as a second microwave, second oven, wine fridge, or even another stove. . Islands are often fully wired for electricity and plumbed for a second sink. The base of an island can be used as a wine rack. The possibilities are almost endless.
We often get asked if the island countertop should match the style of the existing kitchen countertop, or what will be installed as the main kitchen countertop. In most homes I’d say it matches, but it really doesn’t have to be that way, nor does the material have to be the same. In fact, if you’re not going to match them exactly, it’s best if it looks like you’re not even trying to match them, so using a completely different color and surface is perfectly acceptable. For example, we have seen concrete islands when the rest of the kitchen counter is made of granite or another material. We’ve seen a black island used as a nice “partition wall” to keep kids away from a white kitchen.
What can we expect to pay for an island during a redevelopment? This one is too hard to answer because there are just too many options. A standard “ready to install” island that you can buy at a home goods store with hookups for drain and power can cost around $800. A custom concrete countertop island with sink, stove, and wine fridge can easily outshine the $10,000.
If you’re not just looking for resale value, and we’re assuming many of you will actually want to use your island, just think about the island’s primary uses prior to construction. Will it be a place for the kids to eat breakfast or a baking center for your wife who likes to make cakes and pies? Design really should follow function when it comes to an island. For example, if you’re tired of not being able to put hot pots directly on your counter, install granite on your island, where placing a red-hot pan shouldn’t be a problem.
Plan your cabinet height appropriately. Since most islands will have at least two stools or chairs on the surface, you may want to think about seats or stools first. There are two types of bar stools, one being much taller than the other. Unless the island is used primarily for family dining, there really aren’t any hard and fast rules about height. It doesn’t have to match the height of the kitchen cabinet, but it often does. If it’s not going to match, it should be higher in most cases.
Islands can also “float”. Smaller islands that are used primarily as a cooking or baking aid can be fitted with casters and moved around the kitchen as needed to assist in cooking. Whether you consider a floating island will probably depend on what you have installed on the floor now, or plan to install (a soft wood will dent and scratch).
For those who are remodeling and looking for an “open” feel where perhaps the wall or half wall separating the kitchen and dining room is removed, a strategically placed island acts as a subtle room divider mentally separating the kitchen from the dining room but with a much more open feeling.