Helpful tips to plan a kitchen island – how to double your worktop surface!
When renovating consider a kitchen island!
Every person who loves cooking knows how important is an organized kitchen and how easy and even enjoyable it can be preparing a gourmet dinner when using the right tools. High quality raw material is of course fundamental for delicious meals but almost as important is the method of preparation and used equipment. Unfortunately, all kinds of dishes and appliances have to be packed somewhere. A good way to get extra draw-cabinets and bigger worktop area is a carefully planned kitchen island.
Kitchen island – 2-in-1 – beautiful and functional
Kitchen island that suits with the kitchen cabinets and worktops is most certainly a good sight but it is important not to forget it’s functionality. Extra worktop surface adds plenty of space for preparing food and serving it. Widely spread opinion is that kitchen island is more suitable for open and spacious kitchen, but it can also be placed in smaller spaces, where storage options are limited. In some cases where the kitchen is narrow and there is no room for wall cabinets you can get more storage space under the kitchen island.
Most practical use for a kitchen island (besides the bonus of getting additional storage room) is that it can also be used as a dining table. When making plans and choosing kitchen cabinets it is recommended to order the kitchen islands worktop at least 30 cm over from one edge of its frame/cabinets under it if you plan to sit next to it – otherwise it might not be enough legroom.
According to kitchen experts – to get most out of it – it’s important to take into consideration the size of the particular kitchen island. For an example, when the kitchen island (and cabinets) are narrow, it is recommended to avoid doors/drawers opening on both sides. When normal sized cabinets won’t fit, order one-sided doors only. By decreasing just the depth of the kitchen cabinets you might discover an unpleasant surprise – in smaller cabinets, nothing will fit in.
What should be the size of the kitchen island?
There is no particular rule for the size of the kitchen island. Everything depends on its use. Is it mainly used for food-making or as a storage for kitchen supplies? Or perhaps it is used for serving or even as a dining table? Is the kitchen island equipped with sink and tap or a hob or is it more like bar counter?
Every solution can be interesting and good – in modern kitchens islands are often used as room dividers. A very nice solution is if the island’s surface is made from same material as the rest of the worktops (quartz, marble or granite).
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Kitchen island that separates an open kitchen and the living room is the most commonly used option. What could be better than cooking food without interrupting your conversation with family and friends! You don’t have to turn your back at them! According to interior designers almost 80% of people who plan a kitchen worktop prefer a solution where extra worktop connects the kitchen with the livingroom and also works as an additional design element.
It is important to check out all of the offered solutions before finalizing your choice. Surfaces which can be made from one piece of stone cannot usually surpass the length of 3 meters. In some cases, it is possible to make surfaces which are 3,4 meters long and 2 meters wide (with certain material types). But such stone surfaces could weight up to hundreds of kilograms.
Should the kitchen island have an (extra) sink?
Kitchen island can also be a heart of the home where everyone either comes to make food or eat it. Which kind of kitchen island is the right one depends a lot on your peoples habits and needs. Kitchen island with an (extra) sink and tap may require extensive plumbing and reconstruction. Same goes for a hob – even though adding a cooktop to the kitchen island requires less work than a sink and a tap it does need electricity nor ventilation. When ordering electricity project it is recommended to think through the lighting!
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Perhaps an unconventional kitchen island is the right one?
Kitchen island doesn’t always have to be a traditional rectangle. If there is enough space the kitchen island’s shape could be anything. Should the surface be made from the same material as the rest of the worktops or perhaps it could be an opposite color? For example, white and black marble emphasize one another. Or matching quartz and granite? Should it be formed like a triangle or like a front of the ship, maybe even like a circle or have a pyramid-like shape? There are many possibilities and you can be sure that from us you get a result with a real wow!-effect.
Noble Supreme White Quartz kitchen
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To what extent may the edge of a worktop extend over the furniture without additional support?
The strength of worktop materials differs and also depends on the thickness and quality of the stone (natural stone). Quartz stone, especially with the thickness of 30mm, is the strongest. If it is important that the worktop could be used as a table or a bar counter, or you want to give an airy look to the room and the furniture, the support structures can also be hidden by stone (if necessary). For example, the table section of a kitchen island or the slab of an L-shaped kitchen set visually in the air can be supported by a reinforcement frame hidden behind an added edge.
When ordering a worktop or a kitchen island with a horizontal stone that continues on the vertical part, how accurately can the pattern be matched?
The specialists in Granitop will do their best to make the pattern transitions the continuation of the pattern (marble veins) as smooth as possible. A mirror effect can be used on large patterned stones, and for artificial stone, the manufacturers have provided the bookmatch effect (slabs are available for both the left and right side). Matching a perfect pattern involves a slightly higher material consumption and the price can be up to 40% higher than the price shown in the automatic price calculator on the website.
Worktop for a kitchen island
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