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Thinking about adding to your kitchen? Great! At Carlito's, we absolutely love both kitchen islands and peninsulas.
In this blog you'll find some design inspiration and a series of questions to ask yourself if you're designing your new kitchen or considering adding in an island.
Kitchen islands are freestanding, often situated in the centre of larger kitchens allowing for additional worktop and storage.
Kitchen peninsulas provide the same benefits as islands, but they are an extension of the existing cupboards and worktop.
Both kitchen islands and peninsulas can be built to accommodate breakfast bars, which are a favourite among many of our customers.
Some people choose to add sinks or hobs to their islands or peninsulas, which is great for families and for entertaining, allowing whoever is cooking to face the room instead of, more commonly in kitchens, facing the wall or a window.
Take a look at some examples of larger, freestanding kitchen islands here:
The options are endless if you have a large kitchen, but if you don't - a kitchen peninsula can be carefully designed into a smaller space to add a lot of value to your kitchen, and not to mention - they look great!
Take a look at some of the kitchen peninsula installations we've completed:
If you're considering adding an island or a peninsula to your kitchen, here are a few pointers from our design team:
Firstly, consider what your kitchen island will be mainly used for - a prep station, or a breakfast bar? A social space, or a workstation? This will help you make the right decisions when it comes to design, placement, material and style.
What material would you like your island to be made out of? If your island is freestanding, you have the option to choose something completely different to the rest of your worktop. Choose from a huge range of materials including solid wood, laminate, granite, quartz, stainless steel, or stone.
If you're opting for a kitchen peninsula, we'd suggest choosing the same material as your worktop throughout - this will make your peninsula blend in with the rest of the kitchen and give the overall appearance of a much larger space.
Do you need to optimise storage? If so, utilise all the space under the worktop for extra cupboards and drawers. If you wanted a breakfast bar but are tight on space, and need additional storage, consider using the countertop as a 'lean to' and look for some space saving bar stools that can be neatly tucked in when not in use.
If you're worried about limited space, or cluttering your kitchen, design a thin island /peninsula and round the edges of the worktop to make the appearance less chunky. You can even buy kitchen islands on wheels so they can be easily moved around when not in use!
If you don't need any extra storage, an open island can look very stylish, and more of a feature. Add baskets, or cook books to a few shelves in the island or perhaps consider an in built wine rack, or spice rack.
Want to really make your kitchen island or peninsula really stand out? Come and chat to our design team about lighting options, inbuilt wine fridges, and even extractor fans that rise out of the island with a click of a button...