Kitchen Islands and Bifold doors

[Passmethegin11]

Has there been a kitchen extension built in the past few years which doesn’t have both of the above. Most of the kitchens don’t have space for an island and it looks squashed in. Where has this obsession come from? Also painting everything grey!
I’m guessing kitchen islands and bifold doors will be the avocado bathroom suites of the future!

I adore our island - it has changed the way we live with everyone congregating there for breakfasts, quick meals, hang out time..

I am less keen on bifold doors. Friends who have them find the lack of privacy hard (or have curtains that obscure them). They rarely open them!
This is what I'd get in an ideal world.

Love our island but we have a massive kitchen diner so so e not an issue. Great for breakfast or friends to perch on stools with wine while I cook. Bifolds make it seem as if you outride in the summer and brings the garden into the house. Make room so light as well.

Maybe op would prefer my in-laws dark 80s wood kitchen with a serving hatch to shove food through. Means the cook (ie mil fil doesn’t lift a finger) is sectioned away from everyone whilst slaving over a roast. In our house everyone in the same room so much better

I am so tired of this trend. You can't browse Rightmove or Instagram without yet another one.

The funny thing is the bifold doors look out over - in many cases - only what's left of the garden after your flatroof extension (hello leaks), so you're nose-to-nose with an 8 foot fence and a view into the opposite house's dining room. It's a fad that might suit a rural view or country pile, but in a terrace or townhouse it's a lot of effort just to stand, take the all-important photo for the 'gram, then realise your 'outdoor room' is three foot wide.

I would love to see everyone's kitchen island and bifold doors

Love bifolds (but I grew up overseas with a definite outside-inside house which they allow for and are handy with young children for seamless transition to outdoors and no lip for them to fall over). I dont see islands as trendy as they were in vogue when I was growing up 20 years ago and everyone had them but are very practical for cooking and socialising and doing homework with the kids. I can remember doing my homework on the island at 7 with mum cooking. Also extra storage space. I will say they don't necessarily work if your kitchen is too small. So what if they are trendy, they are practical. I like the grey aesthetic as well - maybe I'm a mindless consumer with no taste - in that case I will just redecorate when the next big trend comes along and jump on that bandwagon.

We’ve just had an island put in, but not one that you sit at, it’s just for storage and prep, and to use the space in a large kitchen. We have a table to sit at for socialising while someone cooks.

We have been having islands in our kitchen since 2004 so that trend has certainly lasted. Got one in our latest home plus a dining table and bi folds. We hired a holiday home in the uk 10 years ago which had bifolds so they are not a new trend just become more popular and better made. I love ours , let in loads of light and in the summer they are lovely to open fully into the garden. Each to their own.

We’re just designing our new kitchen. I’m obsessed with having an island! I’m using the attached photo for inspiration. We’ve got a very big kitchen that’s currently split in half by a long breakfast bar cutting the room in half. I like that you can walk all around an inland and I can face into the room when I’m washing up.

I don’t particularly like bi-folds though. Our house is old and nearly all of the architects I met were pushing bi-folds. I’m not sure why, they don’t fit the style of the house at all. I’ve chosen wooden French doors instead

There are often threads on here about how everyone has bifolds and they don’t have any imagination and how they’ll regret it. I don’t get it. They’re just doors. Everyone has a front door and windows too, it’s just a solution to a problem. We’re having bifolds because they work for our space and it’s an option we have open to us. If it didn’t work we wouldn’t have them, we’d have something else, but that choice would also be something that millions of other people also have. There are only so many ways of filling a doorway.

The other issue with bifolds which another poster commented on is that in lots of cases the garden they open up to is over looked and on the small sized, I’m clearly not a fan but would work better in a house out in the country without others around it rather than a standard semi in suburbia

@TempestHayes so true

This thread is hilarious. Everyone who has bifolds and an island apparently has no imagination, and now if you have bifolds, chances are you're in a semi in surburbia with a tiny garden.

MN at it's best

I suspect the people who love their bifold doors have the more expensive ones where one large panel opens like a normal door most of the time unless you want to fold them all back.
The alternative type where you have to partially open the folds is a pain as it takes a good push to get started!!

That's funny! @Africa2go

Why can’t you have curtains with bifold? Surely they pull back away from the doors? (Asking because I like bifolds and want them in my kitchen!)

@taybert There are only so many ways of filling a doorway Exactly!

I can't wait for our bifolds to be fitted. We are in a terrace but admittedly we're not overlooked as there's just a long high wall at the end of our garden.

We’re overlooked because we live in a small village. Virtually all the houses are overlooked. You can see into my kitchen through my current window and glazed back door set up, you’d see through sliding doors, you’d see through french windows. I wouldn’t have bought the house if that was something I particularly minded and there are blind options for when it’s dark. More importantly for us is that whilst our garden is small and overlooked, our kitchen looks out onto a beautiful view of the fells. It’s about us looking out, I don’t care about others looking in.

So what do you suggest a semi in suburbia should have then OP?

@BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo anything other than bifolds not sure why people want to open up the back of their overlooked house so they can look at a small garden and a big fence!

Are french doors magic then and change the view of the garden and fence?

Are french doors magic then and change the view of the garden and fence?

I was just about to post this Africa2go

You are being really odd OP. If you don't want these things don't have them .

I had my house extended 11 years ago and absolutely love my bifold doors! I'm baffled by the curtain/ blind comment as I have curtains to pull in the the evening.

When closed, I can't see how they would be different to sliding doors. But when open they are fantastic!. It changes the whole feeling of the room and I absolutely love them! Best thing I did to my little semi

Oh dear! I have pale grey kitchen, island & bifold doors! But I love them!
Our extension roof has overhang above the bifold, so we can have them open even when wet as it usually keeps rain off. Had them open until recently! And our garden is still reasonable size. And have a view of grass, borders & big trees at end to screen views into our house. Get lots of light even in winter. Would only change 1 thing - get integral blinds as external ones are a pain to keep clean!
Love extra storage & work surface on island. Don’t have hob/sink on it as I did not want ugly gas hob/taps/dirty dishes cluttering my smooth worktop. Also plumbing/pipes would have been costly at the time. We have 2 dishwashers anyway & 70cm deep sink along wall to hide any washing up. I couldn’t have induction hob as my husband insisted on gas hob for his style of cooking, but I’m happy with gas & love my open ground floor space. Also have pale blue glass splashback which reflects garden so have garden view even without a window!

Not planning on moving so who cares what resale value is! Our location is key.
If you like it, do it. You’re living there not anyone else!

We are thinking about doing up the kitchen but I haven't seen anything in the current fashion that I particularly like. I may recycle what we already have (i.e. paint the wood!) and just install a new floor and work surfaces.
Why does everyone want a kitchen that looks like nobody ever actually cooks in it? Why does everyone want their kitchen to look like the school science laboratory?

I've had bi-folds for 12 years. I have curtains. I live in Cumbria and have them fully open loads in spring and summer. I do tend to close them when it rains so the house does not get soaked. Surprisingly, they don't take up any more space in my garden than sliding or french doors would. Bugs have as big a space to get out of as in through, so I notice less bugs in the house than from opening windows.
There really has been some stupid comments on this thread. If you don't like them, don't get them - there's plenty of other options available.