kitchen work island

Kitchen Work Island - All Work And No Play?

A kitchen work island really centers the cooking area making it far more efficient for food preparation, but kitchen work islands can also serve other functions in terms of both design and use.

That all depends on you and how you use your kitchen, some work islands live up to their names.

They're fully equipped with preparation areas, sinks, electrical outlets, storage shelves and cabinets, warming areas, drop-leaf butcher blocks, and a host of other optional features.

Others, though, double as serving and eating areas, feature bar service, wine racks, and other amenities, and focus more on convivial living than kitchen slavery.

For Those Covered In Flour

If you are always covered with flour, you'll love the work-horse island, but if you'd rather join the guests when you entertain later - or better yet, have them join you - you've got some trade-offs to make.

Kitchen islands are available in numerous designs and styles - Contemporary, Modern Stylish, Traditional, Country and French Country, Avant Garde or Hip, Salon, and others are all very popular, and all are available with a combination of cabinets, drawers, shelves and bins for increased storage, as well as many of the features of a work island.

Northern Maple, Red Oak, Poplar, Birch, Pine, Ash, and exotic woods, some plantation grown, are commonly used as base materials, but modern work island designs are often made of stainless steel, mimicking their commercial counterparts.

Wood finishes are usually natural or oiled, stained or painted - some hand-painted or hand-rubbed.

Stainless is sometimes painted or powder-coated but is usually unfinished.

Work islands usually feature stainless or butcher block tops.

Butcher block is hard Maple blocks laminated end or edge grain to prevent cracking and warping, and it is sometimes featured as a drop-leaf cutting surface in combination with a stainless work surface.

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