Extension Time: Ingenious Ways to Get Extra Kitchen Bench Space
A full kitchen island isn’t for everyone. These flexible alternatives add workspace while keeping floors free
A fixed island is often the go-to way to increase a kitchen’s bench space, but not every kitchen has to (or should) have one. Is your kitchen too small, narrow or oddly arranged for a full-size island, or is a big investment or permanent change off the table right now? You can still add more work surfaces in your kitchen.
Top it with a useful surface – heatproof stone or tile, butcher block or stainless steel are good multi-functional choices. When you aren’t using it, just slide it back under the bench. You will hardly know it’s there.
Browse more compact kitchens for inspiration
Browse more compact kitchens for inspiration
This tuck-away work surface includes an entire base cabinet. Match it with the rest of the kitchen or not – it’s entirely up to you. Here, the top doubles as a cutting board.
If this is a good idea for your kitchen, work with your designer or contractor at the beginning of your renovation to make sure there is enough space under the bench for your cabinet to fit.
Keep wooden tops in great shape with careful cleaning and a little periodic maintenance. They will return your kindness with many years of good, knife-friendly use.
If this is a good idea for your kitchen, work with your designer or contractor at the beginning of your renovation to make sure there is enough space under the bench for your cabinet to fit.
Keep wooden tops in great shape with careful cleaning and a little periodic maintenance. They will return your kindness with many years of good, knife-friendly use.
Fold it up
Mount a drop-down table on the wall. This one turns into much-needed working space with seating for two.
Mount a drop-down table on the wall. This one turns into much-needed working space with seating for two.
When not in use, the table lifts completely off the ground and lies flat against the wall, its wood finish blending with the kitchen benches and cabinets.
This unusual folding table-cabinet combination offers room to eat, write, prep, play games or do homework, and the narrow cupboard stores small items. When not needed, just clear off the table and fold it up – like a wall bed for your kitchen.
Finish the underside of the table to look like a cabinet when closed, or paint it to match the wall. Be as creative as you like (chalkboard?) to suit the household.
Finish the underside of the table to look like a cabinet when closed, or paint it to match the wall. Be as creative as you like (chalkboard?) to suit the household.
Flexible, fold-out tables call for light, foldable chairs or stools that can be easily stored or used elsewhere when not needed.
How to Squeeze in a Dining Space Anywhere
How to Squeeze in a Dining Space Anywhere
The shallow ledge that remains when the table folds down can become a small display or storage shelf.
A drop-leaf table in the centre of the kitchen offers another kind of customisable working area: small job, leave the leaf down; big job, unfold the leaf. This table has storage possibilities on the ends and underneath – not a square centimetre is wasted. The large, open leaf hinge means easy cleaning, with no hard-to-reach areas.
A small surface area like this is easier to keep free of clutter, offering a visual rest and allowing you to appreciate the other elements of your kitchen and focus on the task at hand.
A small surface area like this is easier to keep free of clutter, offering a visual rest and allowing you to appreciate the other elements of your kitchen and focus on the task at hand.
Put it on wheels
Built-in islands can be tricky in narrow areas because building codes often require a certain number of centimetres between appliances and fixed cabinetry for safety.
If you haven’t got the space but still want an island, consider mounting a benchtop on wheels so it can just be rolled out of the way when you want to use your oven or dishwasher.
Use locking wheels – and remember to actually set them – to avoid runaways, unexpected travel or rolled-over toes.
Built-in islands can be tricky in narrow areas because building codes often require a certain number of centimetres between appliances and fixed cabinetry for safety.
If you haven’t got the space but still want an island, consider mounting a benchtop on wheels so it can just be rolled out of the way when you want to use your oven or dishwasher.
Use locking wheels – and remember to actually set them – to avoid runaways, unexpected travel or rolled-over toes.
It’s possible to completely match your other cabinets and have your island on wheels too.
What do you do when you have a party and the beverages take up the bench space you need for something else? Enter that 1950s standby, the bar cart, which has come back for another go ’round with all kinds of style.
Place it at the end of a table or bench and it becomes an extension of your surface while keeping drink makings organised and contained. When the party moves away from the kitchen, so can the cart, and nobody misses a second of merry-making.
If there are bumps along the path your bar cart may take, be sure to close up all the open bottles and jars. Place the most top-heavy ones toward the centre of the cart, closely surrounded by the others so they can support each other during the trip.
How Do I… Set-Up and Style a Bar Cart?
Place it at the end of a table or bench and it becomes an extension of your surface while keeping drink makings organised and contained. When the party moves away from the kitchen, so can the cart, and nobody misses a second of merry-making.
If there are bumps along the path your bar cart may take, be sure to close up all the open bottles and jars. Place the most top-heavy ones toward the centre of the cart, closely surrounded by the others so they can support each other during the trip.
How Do I… Set-Up and Style a Bar Cart?
A rolling cart can be perfect in a kitchen where work areas are spread far and wide, as well as in a small kitchen where you might not always want it in the middle of everything. Carts allow you to move lots of equipment and supplies with little effort. Just wheel it around to where it works best for you.
When you have company, clear the surface and cover your cart with a tablecloth to hide the things stored below. Now you can use it as a handy serving surface.
Tell us
Have you incorporated a flexible work space in your kitchen? Please tell us about it and share a photo in the Comments below.
More
Read more kitchen design and renovation stories
When you have company, clear the surface and cover your cart with a tablecloth to hide the things stored below. Now you can use it as a handy serving surface.
Tell us
Have you incorporated a flexible work space in your kitchen? Please tell us about it and share a photo in the Comments below.
More
Read more kitchen design and renovation stories
Ask a carpenter or cabinet maker to build in a hideaway bench that slides out from a base cabinet when you need it.