what to put on a kitchen island?

3 years ago

I am looking at a new kitchen including an island. Which works best on the island, the sink or the hob? Both would needs some work and obviously a hob needs and extractor fan which may cause more hassle.
But practically, which is best in the middle of the kitchen? Thanks

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berrecka

3 years ago

I'm with Angie - if possible, nothing. a nice clear central counter space is such a lovely thing to have. ours is so multifunctional, from sitting on the stools for breakfast, leaning against having a cuppa and a chat, somewhere for craft projects, jigsaws, marble runs and Lego, folding the laundry, planning the future, date night, drinks parties, pizza parties, birthday parties (Can you tell I miss having parties!) always end up congregating around the island in our house.

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Comments (17)

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The Kitchen Lady UK
3 years ago
I prefer a hob on the island because the sink is the messier area and so I like to try and keep that to the side so the room can have half a chance of looking reasonably tidy! Also you spend more time cooking than washing up and so this is the nice time to chat and face into the room rather than have your back to everyone.

Vented hobs are now very cost effective when it is compared to buying both an induction hob and ceiling extractor.

good luck

Emily
Daisy England
3 years ago
I have a hob on my island. It faces the dining area with a TV on the wall which I do enjoy listening to and watching when cooking. My sink is in front of the window and I never entertained having it in the island.
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Here's my thoughts. One one end put a 150 pull out, a 800 drawer pack and another 150 pull out. In the worktop over them put your hob. In the drawer pack are your bits and bobs for cooking i.e. Cutlery in top drawer and pots and pans in 2nd and 3rd drawer. The 150 pull outs can hold your spices, sauces and cooking oils etc so conveniently placed for the hob. This equals 1100, then you'll have end panels so very close to the 1200mm Sink at the opposite end to the hob and the dishwasher under the sink to allow for easy access for plumbing. Inbetween will have to go your oven and any bins. You should have plenty of space to fit these along with an assortment of other doors/drawers.
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Karenza Roy
3 years ago
not to come along and contradict everyone else but visually I would say a sink would look better than a hob but that's because I'm a person who would never have anything dirty in the sink for longer than 10 mins so for me a sink would look cleaner than a hob that would 90% have something on there cooking whilst entertaining
sarh123
3 years ago
I had this dilemma and now absolutely love having the sink on the island. We made sure the island is deep enough so that any splashing does not affect the seating side of the hob. We have the dishwasher and bins adjacent and just put everything straight away so keep the island really tidy. Also we chose a really large sink (Frank kubus?) so that any washing up is not visible. It all works really well.
Victoria
3 years ago
I have both and another, larger sink not on the island.
Angie
3 years ago
In our previous house we designed the kitchen with an octagonal island, long before they were trendy! But we just had it to sit round. It was the best part of the house. Every afternoon after school my teens would sit with me over a cuppa at that island and tell me about their day. And their friends loved to gather there too. It was the best bit of a wonderful house. If I had the space in this house I’d do the same. Don’t fancy cooking where people are sitting and wouldn’t want the clutter of washing up as we’re not tidy round the sink.
susanrose283
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank I you so much everyone. Daisy, I’m thinking the same as I can face into the room with everyone else while I’m cooking and watch TV etc, but my husband does have the concerns of people sitting around it near the hob... that he cooks lol, I guess that depends on the size that has yet to be determined.

Unfortunately the area around my sink is never clear of dishes in a house with kids...so would definitely need A a bigger sink as suggested and B the dishwasher right underneath which I hadn’t really thought about to be honest. So a sink would also need greater consideration as this may appear messy in the middle of the room.

It would be a gas burner hob not induction, so don’t know if that makes a difference to the extractor.
Thanks, food for thought
Daisy England
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I do think induction looks neater as it’s just a piece of glass on display as opposed to a gas hob and all those clumpy burners. I’m on my third induction and simply love them for economics, speed and looks.

Is there a reason why you’re opting for gas?
susanrose283
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank I you so much everyone. Daisy I’m thinking the same as I can face into the room with everyone else while I’m cooking and watch TV etc, but my husband does have the concerns of people sitting around it....not that he cooks lol.

Hi Daisy I just prefer cooking with gas. I don’t really fancy induction just because it looks good 😬
berrecka
3 years ago
I much prefer to cook with gas too.
My brother put his hob on his new island. it is split level, so the counter part that you sit at is higher than the hob, I guess to hide the mess and to stop people getting burned. It's a lovely spot for the island and we naturally gravitate there, but if he's cooking, we always move to the kitchen table because we inevitable get hot spits of oil. it just seems to travel so much further on the island for some reasons
Zoe Kelly
3 years ago
Tbh if you have room to have both sink and hob elsewhere I’d agree with those who’ve said neither! Means the island can be used for prep and for serving (so still sociable to cook) but no risk of burning those sat there.
GJ Dee
3 years ago
I would recommend plugs for the island. All that space, you're going to need to plug in electrical appliances if you cook/bake.
Victoria
3 years ago
Obviously, it does depend on the size of your island. I have room for hob and sink and still have plenty of room for baking etc as I have a large L shaped island. It’s not quite the same if you are working with a small surface. You haven’t told us the dimensions of your proposed island 😊
berrecka
3 years ago
funnily, @GJ Dee, we had one of those pull up plugs that's inset under the island, but we never used it and had it removed because it took from the clear surface we wanted. We have plenty of plugs on the l-shaped kitchen counters around the island and always use those instead. I'm not sure why...
susanrose283
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi GJDee we will definitely be having power in the island.
Thanks all think we have decided not to put a sink or hob on, seem better all round if we can fit them elsewhere 👍🏻.
Thank for everyone’s input.
kl55hp
3 years ago
Good decision! (Love having our island free from both hob and sink).

what to put on a kitchen island?

berrecka

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The Kitchen Lady UK

Daisy England

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