Creative Cooking and Storage for Kitchen Islands
By: Robert Carlton

Kitchen islands offer a variety of choices for cooking and eating. Adding an island is a great way to get the extra space you need in your kitchen. Before installing an island, consider the options available. Visit kitchen showrooms for inspiration.

Consider how you will use your island. Will you cook and prepare food there? How much will you use the island? Will it be used for extra seating area for eating meals? Will this area be used daily or only for company? Do I need additional storage space in drawers or cabinets? These questions can help you decide which elements to incorporate in your new island. ? Features for Cooking on Kitchen Islands ? A cook top is a great feature for people who spend a lot of time cooking. These can be electric, gas or Jenn Aire style cooking surfaces. If you need additional cook area and don?t have enough burners on the stove, an extra cook top may be what you need. Other people prefer to have a double oven and a separate cook top on the island. This option is great if you spend a lot of time baking and need an additional oven.

A fry cooker can be added to the cooking area of a kitchen island. This is a good way to fry foods away from the main cooking area. A sink can be added for washing fruits and vegetables or cleaning up as you cook. Electric outlets on the island make it more functional. Look at pictures of kitchen islandsin magazines or on the internet. This gives you room to plug in a mixer or blender for cooking. You can get an outlet on one end of the island or one on each end, depending on your needs. When you aren?t cooking, this is a good place to plug in a portable CD player for music when entertaining.

Counter space on the kitchen island gives room for cooking meals or baking. The countertop you choose is important if you will be using it for this purpose. Solid surfaces such as Corian or a granite island allow you to roll out dough and prepare foods right on the surface. Butcher block allows you to cut foods on the surface, without a cutting board. ? Eating at Kitchen Islands ? Islands can be used as additional eating area. This is easy to do by having the counter overhang the island by a foot or so. Add a few stools and you have an area for eating. This is a great place to read the paper with your morning coffee or provide extra seating for a large family or guests. Everyone can eat together in the kitchen.

A large island can accommodate both cooking and eating areas. This can be done by extending the counter on one end or on both ends, with the cooking area in the middle. Another option is to have a cooking area on one level and the eating area on another level of a multi level island.