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25 kitchen island ideas from the House & Garden archive
"The kitchen island is a great addition, both aesthetically and ergonomically, in a whole range of spaces," says Gail Taylor of TH2 Designs. We see a huge range on our pages, from expansive, showstopping marble islands to slender, practical freestanding tables. Some integrate sinks and appliances, some have recesses or overhangs for bar stools, some even house dog beds, while others just provide much-needed extra worktop space.
Storage is another major consideration. "A well-designed island can significantly increase the storage space available," explains Gail. Many islands integrate appliances on one side of the island, while leaving the other side open for storage or a recess for seating. "I often allow for a shallow run of handleless units on the visible side of the island," continues Gail, "so that the look remains streamlined while providing extra storage for things like glasses, jugs, mugs and vases."
Islands can also be a brilliant space for people to gather in an informal way. In her own kitchen, Gail favours a large island and has put in comfortable bar stools for the whole family to gather around for meals. ‘It just feels more relaxed and sociable than sitting at a table,’ she says. In a small kitchen, there may not be enough room to add seating to an island, but a slim table with a rack for storage beneath can be a great solution instead.
You may be tempted to keep the design of the island very similar to the surrounding cabinets, but this can be an opportunity to be more playful. "I prefer to give an island a different treatment to the rest of the kitchen to save having acres of the same surface," says Rita Konig. "Mine is painted a different colour and has a stainless-steel top instead of Corian. You might also choose to have an island higher than your counters to make using it more comfortable." Gail agrees: "I often choose a different, tonal colour for the island than the rest of the kitchen units to give the island its own visual element," she says. "If the island is large enough, I combine two finishes for the worktops, too. If there is enough room for an overhang to pull bar stools up, I will use a different worktop to the main part of the island, combining wood with laminate or stone with stainless steel, for example."
MAY WE SUGGEST: Stylish kitchen ideas from the world’s best interior designers
Kitchen island ideas from the House & Garden archive
1/25While most people would be frustrated by the limitations of a rental, Juana Pepa has leaned into it in her Kensington townhouse. The butcher's block kitchen island is from Etsy.com, customised by Juana, who removed the doors and added wheels.
Owen Gale2/25Laura and Nora's kitchen is the showstopper in their house in the German countryside. The huge island has a warm copper top and is balanced by smart oak parquet floor and an informal limewash paint on the walls.
Michael Sinclair3/25If you ever find yourself wondering what to do with a kitchen that has 3.7-metre ceilings, the answer, it seems, is to create four finial-topped towers and place them in the corners of the room, like Martin Brudnizki has in his 17th-century Sussex flat. Walls in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Dutch Orange’ set off his ‘Invisible Green’ on the kitchen island and cabinetry built by Orior Furniture to Martin’s design and finished with Arabescato marble.
Owen Gale4/25Kids and dogs at home? A stainless steel kitchen forms a pleasing contrast and runs down one side of the space with a parallel island of the Buchanan's house. ‘We twisted the arm of a designer we work with on commercial kitchens for restaurants to do this one,’ explains Angus. ‘It’s completely toddler and dog proof, which is good with our 6-month-old puppy.’
MAY WE SUGGEST: Dear Fiona: what are your tips for having a nice house with dogs and children?
Paul Massey5/25In this Rita Konig house, Plain English units painted in ‘Mash’ are paired with a kitchen island in ‘Sauce’, with patterned Balineum tiles behind the cooker. It creates a modern country-house feel, heightened by the very smart use of the space beneath the island for dog beds.
Daniel Schafer6/25Walls and units in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Chappell Green’ echo the garden in the Basque country house of Cristina Lorenzo, where the island blends seamlessly with the rest of the kitchen.
Paul Massey7/25Designed by the architects to look as if they had always been there, the units and island in this Provence house were built by local craftspeople and finished with dark granite worktops and a splashback in old Italian tiles from Riccardo Barthel. The very smart use of the space underneath for storing pretty pottery and woven trays and baskets is wonderful.
Paul Massey8/25The vibrant ‘Parrots Plume’ gloss from Dulux ties the kitchen island in with cabinetry and the door to the newly created larder. The crocheted ‘Simple Shade 03’ pendant above the island is from Naomi Paul. The ‘Flora’ metal wall lamps are from Maisons du Monde. The kitchen cabinets are from Ikea and were given new fronts and brass handles from Peter Jones. Explore the rest of Rosi de Ruig's west London family home.
Owen Gale9/25The bright island in this Bath townhouse adds a jolt of colour to the kitchen with white walls. The kitchen was designed in collaboration with Plain English. The cabinets are painted in the brand's ‘Pretty Pickle’ paint colour and the island is in their ‘Nicotine’. The splashback is painted in a gloss paint of the same shade. At the back of the room, Vitsoe shelving plays off the more traditional design of the island.
Christoper Horwood10/25Designed by Jessica Summer, the butcher's block island in Lucy Williams' house has a spaele top and is painted in Farrow & Ball's Cola. It sits on reclaimed pine flooring from Lawsons Yard. On the table, a vintage Swedish candelabra from Vinterior.
Simon Brown11/25This colourful kitchen has Beata Heuman's name all over it. Adding a skirt not only hides away pots and pans and other clunky items, but it's a fun way to introduce pattern, too. Explore more of this London apartment.
Paul Massey12/25This kitchen island incorporates open shelving - a great way to display cookbooks or treasured items, and keeps everything within grabbing distance. Explore more of this north London house designed by Maddux Creative, the winners of our 2022 Interior Designer of the Year award.
Lucas Allen13/25If you don't want your kitchen to look too sleek and perfect, a salvaged island can add considerable character and patina. Inside the timber extension of this Christopher Howe-decorated townhouse in Bray, the floor is made from cheeseboards, which were found on a trip to the South of France. Fifties Italian bar stools contrast with the island, which was salvaged from a fishmonger’s.
Simon Brown / De Rosee Sa14/25Does a large kitchen island feel too imposing? Break it into two, like De Rosee Sa did in Alison Loehnis' London townhouse.
Owen Gale15/25A waterfall marble top gives a polished look to this modern kitchen island. It incorporates storage on one end, and plenty of legroom on the other, turning one side into a breakfast bar.
Interior designer Angelica Squire's Victorian terraced house in London is a youthful, exuberant space that combines smart artworks and fabrics with clever vintage finds and joyful colours. The walls in the kitchen are painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Setting Plaster', and the cabinets in 'Preference Red'. The blinds are in Guy Goodfellow's 'Pomegranate Print' fabric, while cafe blinds on the bottom half of the windows allow for privacy while still letting in the light.
Michael Sinclair16/25Maddux Creative designed the kitchen island in this Primrose Hill house, painted in Paint & Paper Library’s ‘Greenback’, to fit within a reclaimed floor-tile border. The copper-fronted oak cabinets are by Orsinibrewin.
Dean Hearne17/25The open shelving in the kitchen island is another way of showcasing favourite things in an art consultant's Georgian farmhouse in Hampshire. The large painting of dahlias is by Oisin Byrne.
Mark Anthony Fox18/25Sebastian Cox made the bespoke units and island from native ash and walnut with work surfaces in Calacatta marble and béton ciré. The vintage ‘Program’ bar stools, designed by Frank Guille for Kandya (c1958), were re-covered in a Lewis & Wood linen. Juno the vizsla sits on Douglas fir flooring from Dinesen. Explore more of this London property.
Rachel Whiting19/25The copper worktop of this bespoke kitchen island matches the cooker hood in this unusual scheme.
'I haven't used wall cupboards because I didn't want the kitchen to read like a traditional kitchen or look too boxy,' explains Beata Heuman, the interior designer behind this vibrant home in London. The colour palette, which includes a Swedish green marble worktop and a bespoke copper cooker hood and island by Premier Building & Design, complements the garden beyond. It will acquire a greenish patina over time.
Alexander James20/25In a small kitchen, a slim table can work well as an island, with storage on the rack beneath, drawers for cutlery and utensils, and a worktop that coordinates with the surrounding counters. In a tiny Georgian cottage in London, Sarah Peake of Studio Peake restored the cabinets that were already in the kitchen and repainted them, adding a stone floor for a smart finish.
Michael Sinclair21/25This kitchen island in this restored Georgian house in Somerset has open shelving, which displays wine, books and tableware, while Tom Dixon pendant lights hang above.
Michael Sinclair22/25The generous island in this 19th-century house in Hampstead by Retrouvius features a half-and-half island, with one side providing storage for cookbooks, while the other is cut out to allow for a breakfast bar.
Paul Massey23/25A freestanding island on legs can add an airier feel to a kitchen, as in this eighteenth-century house in Bath. Vintage wall lights from Felix Lighting Specialists are positioned above the Plain English kitchen units, which are painted in Pure & Original ‘Summerset Mauve’; the island is in ‘Post Modern Mauve’. Pendant light shades salvaged from a factory in Hungary hang over the island. They are sold by Skinflint, which finds, restores and repairs mid-century industrial and decorative lighting from all over Europe.
Ngoc Minh Mgo24/25This wooden kitchen island in the kitchen of Harriet Anstruther's Sussex farmhouse strengthens the rustic, countryside feel of the scheme to which it belongs. It also cradles a selection of wooden boxes storing miscellaneous kitchen objects.
Michael Sinclair25/25The owners of this London house have called upon the expertise of Maddux Creative's design duo not once, but twice - most recently to maximise space and light, and play up the distinctive period details. The kitchen has a showstopping island with a Statuario marble shell and a large pendant light from McEwen Lighting Studio in the US.
