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7 Tips For A Better Kitchen Island

A kitchen island gives you extra space for cooking, prep, storage and more. However, all islands aren’t created the same.

Much like your kitchen, the best kitchen island is completely unique to you. There isn’t just one design to pick from.

Boost your island to the next level and make it even more useful and amazing. All it takes is a few tweaks to make it exactly what you need.

1. Decide Why You Want A Kitchen Island

The first step is to decide why you want a kitchen island. Most kitchens, even small ones, are able to accommodate an island. However, before you add one, you need to decide what you’ll use it for. For instance, if you’ll use it for cooking, you’ll want to add a stove, vent hood and maybe even a sink. If you’re using it mainly for prep, you probably just need a sink. However, if it’s mainly for extra storage and more general prep, you might just need a countertop and no sink.

Picking the right purpose helps you make the most of your space. For instance, if you don’t need a sink in your island, you’ll have more counter space for other things. HGTV and The Trending House both have incredible island ideas to show you just how unique these can be.

2. Consider A Duel-Height Island

You’ve probably seem most kitchen islands have a single height. There’s nothing wrong with it, but you may want to consider a duel-height island. This gives you a handy nook for hiding smaller items and can even help prevent items from falling off the back while you’re prepping food. It’s also a nice way to provide a separate area just for eating or as a small bar.

3. Optimize Storage Space

No matter what your kitchen island is for, the best way to make it better is to optimize the storage space. Back to back cabinets are always a great option. In the work side, you’ll store more commonly used items. These will vary based on your island’s purpose, but pots, pans and countertop appliances are great things to store on this side.

On the opposite side, cabinets are often shallower. This gives you space for storing smaller items. Of course, you can get as creative as you want with storage options. If you don’t have a sink or oven, you may choose to have drawers at the top and open space at the bottom with shelves or baskets. You can have shelves or bins on each end to store random items, such as frequently used cookbooks or even kids’ toys.

4. Create A Small Eating Area

A kitchen island often replaces a dining area in smaller kitchens. This is also where a duel-height island works well to separate the eating area and the prep area. However, this isn’t necessary. To make it more comfortable to sit at the island, add an indented area for your stools or chairs to slide under. For stools, you may also consider adding a bar near the bottom as a foot rest. Carefully measure your island to ensure you get the right height chairs to work for your island.

5. Make It Functional

Sometimes, it’s easy to get so excited about a kitchen island that you forget to make it functional. Yes, they look great, but if it doesn’t make your kitchen more useful, it’s not helping you. Place your island to give you ample space to move around while still making it easy to jump between your island and your main kitchen cabinets, oven, refrigerator and so on.

Store items in the island that you would actually use on the island. If your oven’s in the island, store your most frequently used pots and pans just to the side of the oven inside deep cabinets. Your island should be functional and make using your kitchen much easier.

6. Add Ample Lighting

Since your island is supposed to be functional, you’ll need to be able to see what you’re doing. Typically, kitchen lighting is focused around your cabinets. This may mean your kitchen island isn’t lit as well as it should be. Add lighting directly over the island. A single bright light may be all you need or two smaller lights.

7. Expand The Island

Finally, consider ways to expand your island, especially in smaller kitchens. For instance, you might have a few feet of extra counter that slides out to add extra prep space or even an eating area. Legs on either corner can fold out to stabilize it. This can be added to both sides. You may even have a panel that looks like a flat panel covering shelves on either end that lifts up to create extra space.

Want to design a better kitchen island for your kitchen? Contact Edgewood Cabinetry today to discuss your plans.

Image: Jason Pofahl

September 9, 2020/by Edgewood

Cabinetry Services

New Meets Old: Adding New Cabinetry to an Old Kitchen or Room

When the new meets old in an older kitchen or room, it doesn’t have to be a clash of styles that puts you into an interior design panic.

You always have to plan in advance before adding something new to an older space. And choosing the right cabinets or shelving to go in an older kitchen or room can help you blend well with the older items you want to keep intact.

Here at Edgewood Cabinetry, we work frequently with clients who want to add new cabinetry, counter spaces, or shelving to old rooms. We make sure they have an idea of what it’s going to look like before we build it for them so they know what to expect.

We can do the above for you while adding elements to your kitchen that modernize while still giving a feel for the original architecture.

Cabinetry Styles

Wooden cabinets can be made into any style you want to match the original space. Many people want the cabinets to match the style of the walls and original fixtures, which is easy to do. With quality wood, you can be sure that your cabinets are going to hold up for years without falling apart as your previous aging cabinets perhaps were.

While it’s not always easy to change something that you loved before, we can make the cabinetry in the very same design as the previous cabinetry, yet with more strength and endurance.

Adding Kitchen Islands

It’s amazing that kitchen islands hadn’t been invented back in earlier eras for kitchens. They could have provided so much space for homemakers who spent so much time in the kitchen fixing large meals for their family or during parties. Now they’re a frequent request for older kitchens to help modernize them while still keeping the same style of the original design.

Again, we can bring the modern look of a customized island while still bringing a stylistic choice that fits the original look of the kitchen. We can provide the illusion the kitchen island was there all along, going back decades.

Adding New Shelving in the Kitchen or Other Rooms

Shelves can be customized in so many different ways that it’s almost infinite in possibilities. When you need to add extra storage to an older room to perhaps store previous antiques, we can add things that make those shelves look subtle. Everything from wall niches to hidden shelving inside cabinets can safely store things on display or away from public view.

By adding these shelving elements, you still can give a hint of the original look to the room without having to have giant shelves crowding the wall space.

The same can be said in bathrooms where new vanities can provide hidden places to store things while giving the look of the vanity that was there originally.

Contact us here at Edgewood Cabinetry so we can work with you to create new cabinetry and storage options in your old kitchen or an old room. Along with the proper paint color, the new can definitely blend with the old without making it obvious you modernized.

October 23, 2014/by Edgewood

commercial appliances in the home -edgewood cabinetry

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Commercial Appliance in the Home

Congratulations! You have finally decided to remodel your kitchen – you’ve been dreaming, planning and saving for years for your ideal kitchen. Most kitchen upgrades include the following features:

• more counter space and seating options – you want your kitchen to be inviting, offering more than space for the cook and dishes.
• center island to open the flow of traffic around the workspace: your kitchen is a meeting place, a creative space and a highly efficient production area.
• a professional look and feel – the most popular look in newly remodeled kitchens includes stainless steel appliances that have the look and feel of professional, commercial appliances, BUT they are the residential version thereof.

What if you want the real deal in your new kitchen? When considering installing commercial appliances in your home kitchen, here are some important factors to consider:

• Do you want to pay the extra dollar upfront or in the long-run? Commercial appliances are actually less expensive than residential appliances, but you may be looking at higher maintenance and repair costs later on. Interestingly, the same motor compressors can be found in other, cheaper brands, but the commercial version will be running at a higher efficiency.
• Commercial appliances are designed for high-volume and higher output, meaning they take more energy to run. At the same time, imagine your next Thanksgiving dinner effortlessly and beautifully prepared in your state-of-the-art professional kitchen, with everything coming out at just the right temperature and at just the right time.
• Finally, consider whether your current utility set-up can support commercial-grade ranges and dishwashers. Is your hot-water boiler big enough? Most residential gas lines literally aren’t the right size to supply a commercial range.

My guess is that if you are passionate enough about your kitchen to go for the full remodel, you are passionate enough to do it right. So, while you are in the nitty-gritty of kitchen remodeling, you might as well get the gas and water lines upgraded. Go for the commercial appliances that endure more wear and tear, and are straightforward in their operation and maintenance.

August 7, 2014/by Edgewood