What do you wish you'd have known when designing a kitchen island?

[QueenOfIce]

In the process of designing an island I'd like a storage drawer for jars for things like pasta, rice, baking stuff and spices. It's going to be around 1.8m long so not massive and I want to make sure I get it right in terms of storage.

We won't have a hob or a sink in the island, just an empty work space for all cooking baking and eating breakfast as it'll have bar 2 stools one side.

What do you think is an absolute must and what should I try and avoid?

Thank you

DeVol never used to be that expensive. I am sure I looked at them around 7-8 years ago and they were mid range compared to Plain English and Smallbone etc.

I say yes to sockets on an island. I like to have a small tree at Christmas and hate battery lights. Also useful to charge iPad etc though I do like the idea of a charging drawer for this.

4years we paid around the same for a Harewood kitchen from DIY. We're really pleased with it.

We have cupboard on right and set of pan drawers on left on our island. We put the double plug socket just inside the cupboard door so hidden but very accessible. Cupboard Door just rests closed on wire while mixer etc plugged in.
Really useful.

4yearsnosleep so I'm a snob because of my hatred for sockets/over fussiness on islands! Ok then...

I'm with VaseOfWhiteRoses and Crumbelina.

It's the disdainful tone of your posts that make you a snob

Bababing1 also has the best idea- top functionality/practicality easily accessed but not in your face at the price of tarring the overall look of what should be the stand out piece in a kitchen, IMO.

BTW: also agree Devol are ridiculously pricey and its a shame their prices have increased . Am nowhere near having enough savings to afford one...maybe in 5 years! I'm more than happy with the kitchen we inherited for now and to some its an ideal kitchen- handle-less, glossy beige units, quartz topped, lovely island. But I love the shaker look and the minute DeVol kitchen springs out on Pinterest - they completely stand apart. Detailing/textures/finish/overall styling/look... There was a thread few years back asking about DeVol and the OP posted her pics- it absolutely convinced me I'd never go elsewhere when the time comes. Just flawlessly gorgeous (if you like that style).

I have my sockets on the walls above my run of units because that suits me and the way I work in my kitchen.

I spent about six months looking at different ideas and designing exactly what I wanted.

I wanted the island to be somewhere that the family could congregate to eat, bake or prepare food together. My kitchen has the space to do that.

It is totally understandable that others have different requirements. I happen to like a minimal look, as do others on this thread.

We have a 6ft island so we have our sink there. As it's our main prep area we have a bin in an island cupboard. DH designed the island to have as many cupboards as possible (including the rounded corners) & a breakfast bar for 4 chairs which I use constantly. We hid our sockets under the breakfast bar but so not to ruin the granite but most of our sockets & appliances are on the back wall where the oven/hob/food cupboards are

sundowners we are fortunate to have a lovely big kitchen designed to our tastes. I spent years cooking in a really pokey one with the FF in another room so it makes a big difference. For me the island was a sensible use of the available space - it's not a 'stand out piece', that just sounds wanky - no one 'curated' our kitchen and above all kitchens need to be functional. My home is my sanctuary and all I am bothered about is being comfortable and relaxed, not what is fashionable or what anyone else may I think - I couldn't give two hoots about that. A double plug socket at one end of the island is practical.

@BreakfastAtSquiffanys
Our kitchen is navy and copper. Our sockets are hidden by the white tiles on our splash back and honestly unless you're 2 foot tall you can't see the one on the island. Having spent 7 months having our extension done I've got to the stage that a white socket doesn't matter 😂
But thank you for the compliment, I absolutely love my kitchen

@sundowners how come no photos of your island?

We're designing a new kitchen at the moment - this is so helpful.

Marking place for more hints and pics

This is mine with wine fridge, push out chopping boards, deep pan drawers and bin storage for 2 large bins. On the other side is an overhang with 3 bar stools - we wanted it for storage and seating only.

Ours is normal height for sink and worktops and higher for the sitting around bit. But the most important feature is the 6cm upstand which stops all the papers/ laptops/ assorted crap from falling into the kitchen prep part. It was suggested by the builder who was 100% right on this.
But the whole island is humungous and feels like my control centre when I stand there and look out to the rest of the kitchen. V happy with my island

Not to have an island at all. A nice big table you can move but an island just permanently makes the room smaller. This was in a big kitchen, 25' x25' when my house was built 30 years ago. I got rid of it eventually making the room much more flexible. We never use the kitchen to eat as have separate dining room. For a while I had a sofa at one end and a play table when DC were small, couldn't have done that with Island hogging the middle.
I'm with wowfudge, I don't care what's fashionable I want the rooms in my house to be comfortable and practical.

Oh, forgot to add we have sockets hidden under the overhang, polished black steel (so not bright chrome or white) with USB charger. We had this colour for all plug sockets so they sort of match the worktop.

@Cosmos45 wine fridge...... 🤤 YES! We are about to start our extension and I'm in planning mode- lovely island, well done you!

The sockets on the other side under the overhang.. but I agree with others that I didn’t want those rising sockets coming up out of top of island.. I preferred a streamlined look.

Do you mind saying who your kitchen is done by @Cosmos45 ?

It was done by a small independent company in Wiltshire called Cheverell Wood. They make the cabinets themselves. Supplied and fitted everything including appliances and worktops. We provided the design though.

Fantastic!

**littlecabbage when you say shallow what do you mean? We've planned to put 30cm overhang on ours which will be fitted in a couple of months, is this enough?

This is mine. I had storage on both sides. I went for the pop up socket with usb. The cupboards on the seating side are shallow but still big enough for storage.

Personally I think sockets on the sides would have spoiled the look whereas having a socket on top doesn't because you will never have a clear top!

We had an island at our old house. We have a table at our new one. I much prefer the table, it’s friendlier (we can sit across from each other) and less lumpy!

In regards to the plugs, I would never have them on the sides or underneath because of the trailing wires. Hazardous (and looks messy) with small children or clumsy adults! We had a pop up plug in ours and it was neat and hazard free. Sorry if I am repeating what others have said. It’s late and I haven’t got time to read the whole thread!

Love your island Angelika, I'm still none the wiser except I'm thinking about a more of a curved effect on the edges rather than squared off. We won't be having plugs in ours purely because the electrics should've been done before the flooring but it wasn't and I'm not pulling it up!