What You Should Consider When Building a Kitchen Island

Building a Kitchen Island can be a rewarding experience if done right. There are endless combinations of appliances and features you can include on an island. Not to mention, the extra space to work with is very welcoming. The only thing restricting you from a plethora of combinations is your own creativity!

However, before you dive in and start planning your kitchen island, there is a lot to consider! Things to consider range from measurements, spacing, appliances, features, and much more.

Measuring Your Island

A kitchen island is only beneficial if you have the right size! Let’s be honest, what is the point of including one in your kitchen if you are going to just lose space? So, to ensure you don’t lose space, you need to make sure you measure a kitchen island before and during the building process. On average, most kitchen islands come out to be 40 x 80 inches. Of course, this depends on how big your kitchen is from the start. A good general rule of thumb is to remember that your kitchen island should only be 10% of the kitchen area. So, to put it simply, if your kitchen area is 100 square feet (about the area of an apartment bedroom), your kitchen island should be at most 10 square feet (about the area of a bathtub). On average, you should have 35 to 45 inches around the island for easy access.

The easiest way to get a starting feel for what the island would look like is by easily putting some painter’s tape on the ground and shaping it into the size you would be considering. So, if you picture a 3’ft by 6’ft, you can easily just place some tape in the spot you’d like the island to be and try to move around that space you mark. If it feels and looks good, then you have your size ! If you have the time and energy, you could also stack a few boxes in the tape mark to include the height of the island you’d like and get a real 3D effect for how a rough version would look.

Once you have the desired height, length, and depth, you can start your planning and building!

Appliance Options & Features

During the planning process, it is imperative you list what features you would want to include. Is this all just for extra space? Do you want to include a built-in appliance? Is there going to be a sink? Have you thought about ventilation? How about lights?

The questions almost seem endless. But you don’t need to give yourself a headache! Just take it one by one. If you are only building it to get extra space, then you can end the planning and start building. However, if you are looking to include an appliance, it's best to plan which kind. What's your overall need? Do you need another oven, or do you want to finally add a dishwasher to your kitchen? Alternatively, do you want to add a cooktop to the island or a microwave drawer, or a cooling drawer? Assess your appliance needs, only include what needs to be included. Otherwise, if there is no true need, take whatever path you would like!

Ventilation

Ultimately, if you do include something like a cooktop, you are also going to need some sort of ventilation system. Now normally, if you google “Kitchen Island Ventilation”, you will get several images of a over the range type of hood (OTR) ventilation. However, that’s not really ideal. Typically, if you are going to include a cooktop on an island, you should invest in a downdraft ventilation system. One of the main reasons for this is that a standard OTR usually gets in the way of your kitchen island. What we mean by this is, if you’re standing on the island, your vision is blocked by this now-large OTR that hangs over the island. So, if you have company across you or need to watch something, your vision may be hindered by the OTR. It is more of an aesthetic issue rather than a functional issue.

OTRs do provide more ventilation space, but it can get expensive and tricky depending on the height of your ceiling. Alternatively, you could do flushed ceiling-mounted ventilation, but these normally are not as effective since they are further away from the actual cooking surface. So, normally a downdraft vent is paired with these sorts of projects since they are easily built-in and integrated either behind the cooktop or to the side. However, when it comes down to it, it is your choice so always weigh your options and do what's best for you and your kitchen.

Once you have decided on a possible appliance and ventilation, you can start to gather ideas for other details such as materials, lighting, overall counter-space, whether appliances and lights are integrated or not, and even the general shape, extra flares, and trimmings, or cabinets. As mentioned, the possibilities are endless and are only limited by your own creativity and of course the space in your house.

Final Thoughts

Kitchen islands can be an incredible way to open your kitchen and give it an entirely new look and feel. They can bring new appliances, extra space, and so much more to make your kitchen feel more like a place to gather and enjoy yourself rather than just work. Whether you are ready to make the leap into building one or still planning out your process, know that Airport Home Appliance is your one-stop shop for all appliance needs.

Visit your local Airport Home Appliance today or visit us online any time to search for over 80+ Brands and all your favorite appliances.