It is one of the most useful items in the kitchen. In fact, since the kitchen is the main room of a house, it is probably one of the most useful utility areas in the entire home. The area I am talking about is the kitchen island.The kitchen island has become the focal point of many kitchens. Not just from a visual point of view, but as part of the work flow in meal preparation in daily life. The island also takes ugly dead unusable space and converts it into highly functional space. In layman’s terms it gives you more kitchen space to work, store things, and house appliances and kitchen gear. When redesigning or remodeling your kitchen, make sure you understand how many things your island can do. You do not want to finish the project and then find out you could have had a whole host of features that you would have wanted.
Kitchen Island Design: First Steps
As much fun as designing and building one seems it is a good idea to consult a design professional. There are a number of things to consider and a kitchen design specialist is trained to make sure all the different facets of the project are addressed. There are three basic areas that are going to come up. One is aesthetics, or how the kitchen island fits the overall visual theme of the new kitchen. The second is function. Basically function means is it the right size for traffic flow or does it give enough space to prepare food. The Third area, features, refers to the new razzle dazzle things you can add onto your island to have a phenomenal luxury kitchen island.
Aesthetics
Naturally you have to be happy about the way your kitchen island and your kitchen looks. The design has to be something that inspires you. The island should follow the same color scheme as the rest of the kitchen. It should also have the same counter top texture as well. This uniformity gives a kitchen a very polished look. There is also the fact that most of the attention will focus on the kitchen island when people first enter the kitchen.
Function
Besides just looking good the island in the center of your kitchen should help with the daily tasks and chores. One of the ways it will do this, if designed properly, is by accentuating workflow. The island is giving you more total work space and it is giving you places to do specific things that do not have to be done on the main counter. In fact, just about anything you would do on the main counter area can at least be partially relegated to the island area.
Features
Naturally features are a big part of function. The simple question of what can the new kitchen island do begs the question of what features to add and which ones to avoid. Well you have a few things to keep in mind here. One, make sure you know all that is available to you. You do not want to have your kitchen renovated and then find out you could have done more with the Kitchen island. With technology, the number of things available to you is tremendous, and there is no reason to at least explore all the combinations, gadgets, and features you could potentially use in your kitchen routine.
Second, make sure you fully understand YOUR needs as an individual, couple, or family. Every one is different and has different needs. Some need a kitchen designed for entertaining. Some need a kitchen where multiple people can be doing different things.
So how do you balance these requirements?
Ask The Designer
A key is to go to a professional kitchen designer and sit down and start going over your needs as well as what you can add to the island to make your kitchen spectacular. At Accent Kitchens we offer free design work and consultation with out designer to help you plan the best island or kitchen refurbishing possible.
Come Meet Our Designer
Come meet our kitchen designer and start picking out things you want in your dream kitchen. We have a showroom on Virginia Beach Blvd. Schedule a free consultation and get a free design quote within a couple of days.
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