Make your kitchen island work for you

A kitchen island can be an eye-catching and multi-functional addition to your kitchen.

The features you include in your island can turn it into a new place to cook and prepare food or a dining area to entertain guests in style.

What kitchen island features will you choose?

The features you choose to incorporate in your kitchen island will depend on how you intend to use the space. If it’s for cooking and food preparation, you may want to include a hob or sink. You’ll also need some electric sockets.

If your island is for dining, you may choose to fit an inbuilt wine cooler. A kitchen island also provides an under-counter area that can be used to store pots, pans, and anything that needs to be in easy reach.

Do you have space for dining?

If you intend to use your island for dining, you’ll need to ensure you have enough room around it for seating.

For a breakfast bar island, you could opt to position stools on one side only. However, if you want to have family meals around it, you’ll need sufficient space for chairs.

All sides of an island should be accessible, and according to National Kitchen and Bath Association guidelines, you should allow at least 42 inches of clearance on either side of an island to get by.

Which shape works best in your kitchen?

Kitchen islands come in all shapes and sizes. You can have U-shaped, L-shaped, circular or galley islands.

If you have the space, a T-shaped island can accommodate a food preparation zone and dining area. You can define the two by using different countertop materials.

If you’re using your island for dining, you’ll need to decide whether you want a standard table height that will accommodate chairs. Or you can opt for the same height as your worktops and use high stools for seating.

Save space with an island hob and extractor

BORA state-of-the-art hobs are perfect for kitchen islands. Their sleek glass ceramic induction hobs have flat round coils that create an electromagnetic field when the cooktop is switched on.

The heat of an induction hob is concentrated at the base of the cookware; therefore, the temperature of the surrounding area stays cool, making it a safer way to cook.

Bora hobs also have a unique extractor feature that draws off cooking vapours. This fits neatly into an island and saves on space as there’s no need for a cooker hood.

Enjoy hot and cold water on tap

All-in-one taps offering boiling or chilled water from a single tap are becoming a must-have in kitchens.

You can incorporate a Quooker single kitchen tap on your worktop and a tank underneath. The 3-in-1 tap gives you hot, cold, and boiling water, and with the Flex, you can have an extendable pull-out hose.

With the addition of a Quooker CUBE, you can also enjoy filtered chilled and sparkling water – all from the same tap.

Keep your wine cool

Kaelo is an open bottle host that can be integrated into your kitchen island. A bottle placed in the inbuilt chamber will stay within a degree or two of its original temperature.

The cold-dry system ensures the bottle stays completely dry, so there’s no ice, wet patches, or drips. Kaelo’s integrated bottle server turns on and off with a single touch. It can also be used to chill water, milk, or juice.

Make your kitchen island work for you with German Kitchen Store

German Kitchen Store provides high-quality German kitchens at trade prices with an easy online ordering system.

The beauty of our ordering system is its simplicity. Choose the range, door style and colour – the process is easy. Carcasses, accessories and appliance package options are clearly displayed, allowing you to build a kitchen designed to your specifications.

Our customer service team is on hand to help with any questions or queries regarding your order and delivery.

Call us on 01525 851 642 or email hello@germankitchenstore.co.uk