Although you often see minimalist kitchens with sleek lines in home magazines and on interior design blogs, traditional kitchen designs are still very popular among homeowners. When redesigning their kitchen, many want to create a space with charm and character, and traditional designs offer just this. This style of kitchen is a timeless choice and not only are traditional kitchens designed to function like clockwork, but they have an incomparable homely feel.
When creating a traditional-style kitchen, there are a few key design features that you may want to incorporate into your bespoke design, one of the most popular being an island. Kitchen islands are found in the majority of kitchens nowadays and they can elevate your interior design. Kitchen islands are completely freestanding and they are usually found in the centre of a large kitchen space, but they can be designed to meet all of your unique needs.
Below we have explored some of the main reasons why so many homeowners are drawn to traditional kitchen designs with islands.
Creates a family-friendly, sociable kitchen
A kitchen island can turn your kitchen into a sociable space where you can spend more time with family and friends. Usually, when preparing or cooking meals, your family or any guests you’re entertaining will be in another room, but a kitchen island can bring everyone together. People will naturally gather around your island too, allowing you to spend more time with the people you love, and your kitchen will become more than just somewhere to cook meals.
When you design your island so that it has an overhanging worktop, you can also use it as a table. Having bar stools around your kitchen island will turn it into an informal dining area and you can eat meals here if you’d like to. An island is the perfect place to sit when you’re having a cup of tea with a friend or helping your children with their homework. It will become the central hub of your home and turn your kitchen into the room you use most throughout the day.
Offers convenient storage space
Creating a traditional kitchen design with an island will provide you with plenty of storage space. It isn’t uncommon for homeowners to have drawers, shelves, wine racks, spice racks and lots of other storage solutions built into their kitchen island, and you may find that you don’t need as many traditional kitchen cabinets when you have an island.
A suitable amount of storage space is key in your kitchen to keep the room clutter-free and you will likely need more storage than you think in this particular room. When you have an island, you can ensure that all of your kitchen essentials can be stored out of sight and your kitchen is easy to keep neat and tidy. Whatever you choose to store within your island will be convenient to access too, making cooking as easy as possible.
Provides more worktop space
Whether you have a square or rectangular kitchen island, it will give you more worktop space to use when you’re preparing meals. Sometimes, homeowners will choose to have their sink or hob installed on their kitchen island too, making it a functional addition to the room and freeing up worktop space elsewhere. Additional worktop space is always useful to have in a family kitchen and it will prevent you from running out of space whilst cooking.
You can even mix and match the materials you use for the worktops in your traditional kitchen when you install an island. For example, you could have Quartz stone on top of your kitchen cabinets and wooden worktops on your kitchen island. This will elevate your kitchen design and make the room more visually appealing.
Improves the flow of the kitchen
As mentioned above, traditional kitchens are designed to be functional and creating a space that is practical to use is crucial when you’re redesigning your kitchen. When you have a kitchen island, it will be much easier to ensure your kitchen has a good flow and you can create a ‘work triangle’ that makes your kitchen as convenient as possible to use.
Where you have your sink, hob and fridge is really important as these are the three main work areas in your kitchen, and you should be able to move between them with ease. Having a kitchen island will help you to make sure you have easy access to everything you need whilst you’re cooking and it can enhance the overall functionality of the space.
Adds a focal point to the room
No matter what size your kitchen is or where you choose to place your kitchen island, it will be the perfect focal point for the space. A focal point is a fundamental element in interior design and one feature in your kitchen should draw the eye of anyone walking into the room.
When you have an island, it will be the first thing people see and it can help to make your kitchen design feel complete. There are lots of different ways you can make your island even more eye-catching too, such as using hanging pendant lights above the worktop, and you can build the rest of your traditional kitchen design around this key feature.
Creating a traditional kitchen design with an island
If you’re looking for an experienced company that can help you transform your kitchen with a new bespoke design, our team at Ashford Kitchens & Interiors is the best to contact. We aim to improve our customers’ lives through interior design and our team is passionate about creating kitchens that meet all of our customers’ specific requirements.
We can provide you with a comprehensive kitchen design, supply and installation service, and the whole project will be managed from beginning to end, ensuring you’re delighted with your new traditional kitchen. All of our kitchen collections are manufactured in the UK too, using the highest-quality materials and up-to-date techniques. With a variety of styles, accessories and colours to choose from, we can bring your dream kitchen to life. Every kitchen we install also comes with a 20-year guarantee, so you can have peace of mind for years to come.