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Take a Seat at the New Kitchen-Table Island
Hybrid kitchen islands swap storage for a table-like look and more seating
Rebekah Zaveloff, owner and principal designer of KitchenLab, co-founder of Design in a Bag.com and Houzz contributor. I'm a self-professed tile nut and believer in good design for all! You can also visit me at: http://kitchenlabdesign.com and http://designinabag.com
Rebekah Zaveloff, owner and principal designer of KitchenLab, co-founder... More »
Lately, a whole lot of kitchen islands are starting to look an awful lot like kitchen tables. Sure, furniture-style legs and other details have been around for ages in kitchen island design, but this trend is taking the table idea bit further, with more and more wood tops, little or no storage underneath, and seating on at least two sides. When these islands do have storage, it's high enough off the ground so you can see under them. These islands look and feel more like tables, but for practical purposes, they're still a 36" counter-height island.
| This island looks like a table that's had its legs extended 6". This table-like island has no shelving or storage below but is mixed with counter-height, backless stools and two pendants overhead.
Tip: Standard table height is 30"-32", standard counter height is 36". Bar height is 39"-42". |
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| This table-style island's marble countertop makes it more island-like (it would read very differently with a wood top), and the counter stools have backs, making them look a bit more like chairs. Three pendants overhead is more likely to be seen over an island than a kitchen table. It's the seating on both sides of the island and the lack of closed cabinet storage that really makes an island look like a table.
Tip: For more of a dining-room feel, opt for a chandelier instead of pendants. |
| This hybrid island has counter stool seating on both sides but an open shelf cabinet at one end. This allows the cook to use a bit of counterspace without having to move the stools. |
| Here's another hybrid — part island with base storage and seating on one side only. This arrangement allows for the main sink to be in the island as well. This island is a work horse, handling prep, cleanup and dining in one area. |
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If you have a larger kitchen, you can always go for the best of both worlds: a full island with base cabinet storage and a table-like island attached (or just pushed up along side) at the end. I can't tell if this table has seating on both sides, but it certainly could.
| In a more modern style kitchen, transitioning the island into a table with seating on both sides can be a seamless affair. In this case, using the same countertop material and creating a waterfall edge as the end of the table. |
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This island has perpendicular seating on two sides rather than being across from one another. Not as table-like as some of the ones above, but a good solution if you don't want chairs in your prep area. The added details of the furniture style legs help make this island look more table-like.
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This terrific square island, complete with butcherblock countertop, doubles as a kitchen table with seating for 8.
If you have a quirky space, an "L" shaped island can sometimes feel like a huge obstacle. But if you make part of the "L" a table by keeping it open underneath, you'll get to have your cake and eat it too.
If you don't have the room for seating on both sides, but still want a table-style island, getting the cabinets off the floor is key.
Having space underneath so you can see the floor under the island makes all the difference.
Having space underneath so you can see the floor under the island makes all the difference.
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| Being able to see under and past the island creates an airy feeling in a kitchen and gives the island a more table-like feel. Just because you don't have an overhang on both sides doesn't mean you can't pull up a few counter stools to the other side. You might have to sit at an angle, but it's doable in a pinch. |
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| Freestanding stainless steel work tables are great solutions to get a table and island in one. Because there's no storage underneath, your knees have a place to go when you pull up a stool. This work table could fit four more stools if needed, and certainly made the idea of a kitchen table unnecessary in this kitchen. |
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| A Houzz reader just asked a question about whether to do a table or island along with this terrific photo, so I had to add it. Because the wood is the same as the cabinetry — even though this is actually table height — it looks like an island. |
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The stools at this island live on three sides most of the time, but when friends are over for dinner, two are pulled on the cooking side to create more of traditional table set-up.
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| Help me decide what to do in my own kitchen! I've been looking for examples of the table-style island lately. We had a fire in our house last year, and we're currently in the process of rebuilding. It's a small city coachhouse and therefore has limited space, so we were originally thinking of putting our dining table in the kitchen instead of an island. But now we're considering a table-style island to give us a little more workspace at counter height. I'm hesitant to give up a dining table, but I'm being swayed. An island with seating all around could be the solution. What would you do?
More: Ideas for L-Shaped Kitchens Ideas for U-Shaped Kitchens |
Ideabook updated on Nov. 20, 2012.
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1. Keep the table-style island at 36" high, so it adds valuable work space.
2. Eliminate the chairs on the sink/range side, so that the cook
can prep/chop etc. and interact with people sitting on the other side.
If you have chairs on both sides, then the cook is forced to work with his/her back
to the island, and the people sitting there.
3. Increase the space between the end of the island and the fridge. Not enough
space there can create frustrating traffic jam in the kitchen when someone has the
door open.
The idea is to create the look of a table without giving up all the great functional features that make islands so popular. I hope you find this helpful!
As far as the kitchen sketch- my vote is for cabinet height- but I question the wording of this is a SMALL kitchen.. IMO a small kitchen is not big enough for a table.
For our new house, we've eliminated a formal dining room. I'm beginning to think that I'll have a 30" high farm table in the kitchen, instead of the 36" high island. No cabinets underneath--legroom on all sides, and on the side facing the range, I'll have backless stools that can tuck under so I can use the table as workspace if needed. I think the 30" height won't be great for a work surface, but I have plenty of other counterspace. I'm also thinking that if this is our only dining area, it will be more comfortable to sit and relax with feet on the ground in conventional-height chairs than perched on counter-height chairs.
I'm a little concerned about whether we'll feel dwarfed by the higher counters all around the perimeter of the space. Any thoughts?
The Woodshop of Avon
Kitchen
Isalnd Dreams
Cheerful Formality
I like the mix of the chair backs and saddle stools, we entertain multiple generations - some prefer the chair back to rest against. My 3 yr old always gets a chair stool, the 6 &8 have learned to hold still, lol. I love the L shape island with a quarter table - never seen that before.