Kitchen Islands Expand the Design Potential and Functionality in Your Kitchen
The inclusion of a kitchen island can vastly expand the design potential and functionality of your home's kitchen. This feature started as a humble design made up only of a basic wooden farm table which afforded the owners of the home a casual dining area and gave cooks in the early days their much needed extra working space in the kitchen. Nowadays, the kitchen island remains a popular feature in every home. It can be made from a wide variety of materials. It can show off different styles. And it can afford creative solutions for maximizing space and efficiency.
Today's homeowners have the option to create kitchen islands made from different materials. Marble, wood butcher block and granite are among the most sought-after materials being used for the countertops these days. Marble, with its fine and smooth surface, is ideal for kneading flour and perfect for the zealous home baker. Wood butcher block made from maple or oak can provide a lovely warm look to your kitchen. An important thing to note with regards to these two, however, is that they are vulnerable to stains. If you wish a timeless and easy-to-clean countertop, granite will be the most optimal choice. Granite is elegant and it can hold up better to the intense kitchen stresses it'll likely be subjected to. Other emerging favorites for kitchen island countertops these days are stainless steel and concrete.
The styles for the kitchen island can also be vast and varied. You can have a traditional or a contemporary look into it, but it largely depends on the overall theme of your whole kitchen. If you don't want to commit to a specific design, you can opt for a free-standing kitchen island complete with base cabinets and shelf units that are placed on wheels for ease of mobility and quick re-arrangement. A built-in kitchen island may also be preferred which often presents with a lot of multi-functionality.
Kitchen islands are more than just extra work surfaces and informal dining spaces. They offer an abundance of creative solutions to enhance the functionality of the kitchen area. They can provide you a wealth of storage spaces with additional cabinets, drawers and shelves that can be built into it. If you wish for an instant mini-bar at home, your kitchen island can be affixed with a wine rack, or perhaps, it can house a wine chiller, an ice maker or an under-cabinet fridge to hold your beer supply. By adding plumbing and gas lines, you can have an extra cooktop or prep sink, or maybe, an option to put in under-cabinet wall oven or a dishwasher by your kitchen island. The possibilities of what you can do on your kitchen island will be even more enhanced when you add in electrical sockets under the counter so you can plug in it a multitude of high-tech kitchen appliances like blenders, mixers and coffee makers.
Today's homeowners have the option to create kitchen islands made from different materials. Marble, wood butcher block and granite are among the most sought-after materials being used for the countertops these days. Marble, with its fine and smooth surface, is ideal for kneading flour and perfect for the zealous home baker. Wood butcher block made from maple or oak can provide a lovely warm look to your kitchen. An important thing to note with regards to these two, however, is that they are vulnerable to stains. If you wish a timeless and easy-to-clean countertop, granite will be the most optimal choice. Granite is elegant and it can hold up better to the intense kitchen stresses it'll likely be subjected to. Other emerging favorites for kitchen island countertops these days are stainless steel and concrete.
The styles for the kitchen island can also be vast and varied. You can have a traditional or a contemporary look into it, but it largely depends on the overall theme of your whole kitchen. If you don't want to commit to a specific design, you can opt for a free-standing kitchen island complete with base cabinets and shelf units that are placed on wheels for ease of mobility and quick re-arrangement. A built-in kitchen island may also be preferred which often presents with a lot of multi-functionality.
Kitchen islands are more than just extra work surfaces and informal dining spaces. They offer an abundance of creative solutions to enhance the functionality of the kitchen area. They can provide you a wealth of storage spaces with additional cabinets, drawers and shelves that can be built into it. If you wish for an instant mini-bar at home, your kitchen island can be affixed with a wine rack, or perhaps, it can house a wine chiller, an ice maker or an under-cabinet fridge to hold your beer supply. By adding plumbing and gas lines, you can have an extra cooktop or prep sink, or maybe, an option to put in under-cabinet wall oven or a dishwasher by your kitchen island. The possibilities of what you can do on your kitchen island will be even more enhanced when you add in electrical sockets under the counter so you can plug in it a multitude of high-tech kitchen appliances like blenders, mixers and coffee makers.
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