IMO - Needs, function and preferences are the basis for all good design:
To begin with, what function is the island serving? What hardware/appliances/plumbing (if any) does it need to hold? How much space do you have to work within? Where are the traffic patterns around the island? What are your personal preferences regarding the design of your island and your kitchen as a whole? How many people does it have to serve at one time? Are there any physical limitations for the individuals in the household who will be using it?
This island above could have been just as easily a single level, but it's clear to me that the owner wanted not only to have folks sitting at the island, but also a sort of separation between the workspace and the eating area as well as a sort of visual barrier between the clutter of the kitchen sink and the seating area that's most likely behind where the photographer is standing. The owner doesn't have young children - otherwise shorter counterstools may have been in order - and this isn't intended as a major eating/entertaining area either, hence only 3 stools rather than the 5 or 6 which could have been accommodated here...
...and there are probably no physical limitations or major bad backs in this household - so the dishwasher is mounted on the floor below the counter rather than raised up on a plinth under a raised counter which would make it easier for someone with a back injury to use without bending over...
...and there's nobody in a wheelchair here which would make a lowered counter workspace/eating area preferable.
12 months ago
