How to Choose the Right Island for Your Kitchen
How to Choose the Right Island for Your Kitchen
One of the most popular things in home design today is in the kitchen. They have grown in size dramatically allow higher quality appliances, more storage space, increase counter space, seating and multifunctional islands.
All of these changes have turned a simple kitchen into the heart of the home. Kitchens aren’t just for cooking, they are for entertaining, working together, and creating memories.
One key area that exists within most kitchens today is the kitchen island. A standalone part of the kitchen that serves a variety of purposes. It is there to add counter space, provide seating, offer storage, and a convenient place for some appliances.
Choosing an island that will add to your kitchen and turn it into the kitchen you really want can be a daunting task. Let’s look at a few of the things you need to consider when designing your kitchen and choosing the right island.
Size and Space
How big should your island be and how much space must you leave on each side to not have it obstruct your kitchen.
The second question part is easier to answer. Most kitchens should be designed with at least 42” of clearance on each side to allow someone to cook and others to sneak past if needed. You can go up to 48” if you expect two people to be working together frequently to prevent crashing into each other.
As for the size of the island, that depends on what you want from you island and the size of your kitchen.
If you have a fairly small kitchen, you may not be able to adequately fit an island or it might be relatively small. Merely adding some extra counter space and maybe some cabinet storage in it.
Larger kitchens allow for the island to serve a lot of different purposes. You can put appliances, a sink, seating, cabinets… whatever you need to put in it.
If you are going to add an island into your kitchen, get one that adds to the space. Allows you to work comfortably, add seating and storage for you and your family.
Get one that is as big as is comfortable without looking too crazy. Make sure it matches with the rest of your kitchen if you are adding it later on. Get the same countertop and cabinetry. You don’t want it to stand out like a sore thumb.
The purpose
What is the purpose of your island?
Like I said, you want to make it possible to have your island add to the kitchen, not take away valuable floor space and not be of use.
The purpose behind your island typically falls into seating, storage, appliances, counter space.
To be able to accommodate those different things inside, you need to make sure your island is the right height. It should be the same height as a standard countertop – 36 inches is typical. You can go higher depending on your preference to get a bar stool underneath with 42-46 inch tall island.
The general design will also follow how you want to use it. If you want to move things from your main counter to your island like a sink or appliance, you must position and design it so that it fits there.
For cabinetry, wherever there is open space, put cabinets. That’s the biggest reason to add an island into a kitchen is for the increased storage space. They offer just an entire row of cabinets for more tools for your kitchen.
Typically, for seating you will have to have some kind of overhang to fit a chair comfortably. These will hang over 8-16 inches depending on your design. Many islands can fit at least 2 chairs comfortably.
There is one critical part that can get overlooked if you are planning this yourself for your island with the overhang. That’s the way you support it.
The design of your kitchen might allow for vertical support if you choose. However, if you don’t have that option you want to choose a mounting bracket that will keep it sturdy after years of use.
Tech Team https://techteamproducts.com/ offers a high quality countertop bracket made from heavy-duty steel with a clean powder coat finish. It is designed to be invisible once installed and to hold up your countertop under frequent use. Each bracket holds up to 150lbs when mounted properly and won’t cut into any legs once installed either.
Don’t set your new island up for failure by overlooking this simple component. Get a nice, clean and sturdy bracket from Tech Team and ensure that you and your family are able to use it without worrying about it breaking off or moving on you https://www.amazon.com/Countertop-Brackets-Countertops-Heavy-Duty-Construction/dp/B07G1KQPPQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1547587979&sr=8-3&keywords=tech+team+countertop+brackets+for+granite.
