Kitchen Island Benchtops: Which One Suits Your Kitchen Best?
Whether you are replacing your old kitchen benchtops, renovating your entire kitchen, or building your dream home from scratch. When designing your perfect kitchen island, you will undoubtedly want to ensure it is as functional and convenient as possible for your kitchen.
While a kitchen island is a preferable feature in modern kitchens, a successful island configuration requires meeting the specific measurements of the area. For maximum space efficiency, the shape of your island and kitchen benchtops must benefit your storage requirements and lifestyle effectively, rather than be too large or too small to be practical in the space.
To help you decide on a kitchen benchtop island from Made in Stone, consider the many types of islands we discuss in this article to find which one will benefit your kitchen and family best.
What to Consider Before Selecting a Kitchen Island Shape
- Kitchen Layout
The first step to designing the most functional island is to understand the rest of the kitchen’s layout, as you must ensure your kitchen island will maximise the space of your kitchen and not be a burden. For example, a minimum of 1000 mm floor space is required between kitchen benchtops in Australia, such as between a kitchen island and a kitchen bench.
For any island, you can have up to 300mm overhang without needing any added structural support. However, if your area exceeds this, there are many ways to allow for support without breaking the bank, for example, brackets.
If you have a U-shaped or L-shaped kitchen layout, which is quite typical in Australian houses, the good news is you may add a kitchen island with an estimated width size of 900mm.
- Walking Area Around the Kitchen Island
When considering installing an island in your kitchen, evaluate the available space. If adequate room is not left for you to walk around after installing the island kitchen benchtops, your kitchen will appear crowded. As a result, you should assess your kitchen’s present area and determine what must be changed in order to add a kitchen island.
Islands take up the most floor space in the kitchen, so you’ll want to make sure there’s enough room for people to walk around the kitchen benchtops. For you, the walking area should ideally be at least 900mm wide in-between kitchen benchtops, allowing guests to move around your kitchen easily.
- Choosing a Kitchen Benchtop Material
With so many alternatives available for a kitchen benchtop material, it’s critical to weigh all of your options before deciding on your dream kitchen island. Since kitchen benchtops are the hardest working surface in the whole house, you must select a kitchen benchtop material that is ultra-durable and easy to clean. Therefore, we suggest opting for a type of engineered stone for your kitchen benchtop.
Engineered kitchen benchtops are suitable for any kitchen island shape and are available in a wide variety of styles and colours, sure to meet any homeowners’ tastes. Marble kitchen benchtops, for example, are a fashionable and stylish material for a timeless kitchen benchtop.
Design tip: select a contrasting kitchen benchtop colour distinct from the back benchtop colours to make your island stand out.
Selecting the Best Kitchen Island Shape
- Small and Traditional Kitchen Island
A small, traditional kitchen island is usually placed in the centre of a u-shaped kitchen. Its main purpose is to create additional worktop space, cabinet space underneath and simply extra kitchen benchtop space for small items such as cooking utensils. Typically, a small kitchen island won’t have adequate space for chairs around it.
- Kitchen Island with Built-in Appliances
Typically seen in ultra-modern homes, kitchen islands can have built-in ovens, sinks, microwaves, wine fridges, dishwashers, and everything in-between. The benefit of this setup is that you may have two sinks running simultaneously, as well as plenty of workspace and storage, as the kitchen benchtops are free from hosting large appliances. On the other hand, if you have a small kitchen, this arrangement isn’t feasible, as large kitchen islands take up a significant amount of floor space in your kitchen.
- Breakfast Bar Kitchen Island
The main purpose of the breakfast bar kitchen island is to accommodate multiple people eating their meals at the kitchen benchtops. Typically seen in L-shaped, open-plan and I-shaped kitchens to enhance the kitchen’s ability to host more than one person in the space, allowing multiple people to assist meal preparation and cooking.
- Freestanding Kitchen Island Table
A freestanding kitchen island is an excellent choice if you have a smaller kitchen, an open-plan kitchen layout or when you don’t require a large kitchen island. The freestanding design is compact enough to fit into tiny kitchens and is quite efficient in terms of storage and arrangement.
There is enough room to add a few barstools around to turn the kitchen benchtop into a dining area where the household can sit together and eat meals. The freestanding kitchen island design is efficient and straightforward, especially in small kitchens; nevertheless, it is not typically ideal for large or expansive kitchens. Structural support is still needed for this look, for example; steel frame.
- Circular Kitchen Island
Standard kitchen islands are rectangular or square with straight lines but opting for a circular kitchen island is truly something different. Homeowners will still be able to add storage and set up stools for meals. But this design provides less quick access to storage space, so some homes may require an island with more extensive storage capabilities.
Sourcing the Best Kitchen Island Benchtop in Sydney
A kitchen island is extremely beneficial, from providing extra preparation areas, additional storage to serving as a dining space with stools. However, not every home has space for one, and it’s critical to choose a kitchen island that aesthetically and proportionally blends with the rest of your kitchen.
If you need advice on installing a new kitchen island or new kitchen benchtops, consider selecting a stone kitchen benchtop from Made in Stone – Sydney’s leading stone supplier. Contact Made in Stone today on (02) 9756 4599 or get a FREE kitchen benchtop quote online!
With over 25 years of industry experience, you will only get the highest quality Engineered Stones, Caesarstone, Silestone Calacatta Gold, Natural Stones, Marble Benchtop, Porcelain Materials and Granite kitchen benchtops Sydney, all from Made in Stone. So, call us today and ask us about our wide range of offcuts to choose from to help save some $$ in your renovations.
As a local Sydney stonemason, we cater to any customer requirement, whether you need a stone installation for your kitchen benchtop, bathroom vanity top, bar, outdoor barbecue area, fireplace, columns, etc. Our team are available to assist you. So, speak to the stone experts today!