Reader request - kitchen islands with no sink/stove
Fri, 24 Jun 2011Here is a reader request from Monika: I'm about a year away from a major kitchen/family room remodel and our architect is recommending we have a large island that would stand alone without a sink or stove. The sink and stove will be on the wall opposite the island. I love the idea of a large open space with no sink/stove paraphernalia to clutter it up, but I haven't seen an example of this in real life and would like to see a few examples before I give the go ahead... my mother in particular is skeptical siting the importance of the "work triangle" while I feel a large clutter free expanse creating a sense of calm & cleanliness trumps the triangle. If you find examples of large islands with no sink/stove, I would love to see them. I am absolutely with you Monika. Plus, with the main sink in the island, you'll always have a pile of dishes there. Who wants to see that so clearly?
Style At Home
Freunde von Freunden
Antoine Bootz
Gunkelmans Interior Design
Nathan Egan
Hus & Hem
Lonny
Sköna hem
Robert Bailey
Sunset
Sunset
Bolig Magasinet
Hus & Hem
Susan Gilmore
Lone Pine Pictures
Summer Thornton
Parsonson Architects
Marjorie Skouras
Reader Comments (18)
Strange, while looking for homes in Houston, most of the ones I've seen have "just an island"!. I really prefer it. Tons of examples at www.har.com, zip code 77024.
i must say it's my preferred option as well - perfect space for marathon cookie bake-offs, food prep and can double as a table. seems strange, though, that you'd find it so rare: it seems to pop up on a lot of decorating blogs.
p.s. sometimes it's ok not to listen to one's mother
Thank you for these. Am not sure why anyone would make an island with a stove or a sink. I think islands should be plain and used for anything from making larges batches of stuff, to taxes, to homework, and of course, serving a large buffet. Bravo!
My island does not have one either...it's a waterfall style...You could add it if you wanted, I would smile HUGELY!
http://amberinteriordesign.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-doneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.html
I am emailing you a JPEG as well.
Kim, wow, lovin' all these pics. You amaze me to find all these!
If you're into cooking up a storm, an unobstructed work surface is what you're going to want. But, I have to say, looking at some of the photos - some of those islands DO interfere with the work-triangle setup. You don't have free movement between the stations of fridge, sink, and stove. I imagine it would get annoying having to schlep around it all the time.
These are great. Even for a non-cook like me, extra counter space is bliss.
I have 'just a island'. Love it! And yes it breaks the 'triangle'......but I look at it as centre point in the 'triangle'.......it works well. Powerpoints are a must too!
I have a sink in my bench but it very rarely has dishes in it as I have a dishwasher.... besides, if you are inclined to have dishes left in your sink; you'd see them on the other side....... but a n y w a y..... I love almost all of these kitchens. I believe that you have to go for something that suits you and your family. We have a huge kitchen bench and it is definitely a big plus. I understand what you're saying about seeing a lot of kitchens with the hotplates or sink in them as I've noticed that also. Every display home that we looked at 5 years ago had it, I see it in most friends houses and in a lot of kitchen showrooms. Thank goodness for the internet! Have fun. :)
Our home has a large island without a stove or sink and we love it. And this is coming from a household of crazy cooks that often feeds 50+ people from this kitchen :)
We have a large island without any cooktop or sink - yes it does break up the work triangle a little in such a large kitchen but I love it. I use it as a large serving space esp with casual entertainig where it doubles as a buffet. Usually there's fruit etc on the top but I love that when I'm in a completely clutter free mood I can clear everything and enjoy the space and serenity it brings to the room. Besides I wanted my sink along the wall where I can look out at the garden and enjoy the bi-fold windows that run along that wall flung wide open.
A large island w/o electrical or water is much cheaper to install and can be changed whenever you want if the island is not a permenent built-in. I agree with the rest of the comments here about efficiency and luxury of work area!
Nice Kitchens but hey can no one find a substitute for the eternal white?
Can anyone source the backsplah in the first photo (Style at Home)?
In my kitchen, we have a large island that doesn't include a sink or stove top, but it does have the microwave built into it. It conceals it perfectly! The work triangle is slightly off, but it forms a U shape, so it's still functional.
For pete's sake, bar height stools pulled up to a counter leaving only a few inches of clearance between the seat and the bottom of the counter surface? This drives me crazy! (Otherwise I'm totally on board with the island free of clutter)
The concept of an "island free of clutter" will only work if everyone sharing the space is 100% on board such that anything deposited there is cleaned off daily. Otherwise it will either become a focal point for arguments, or the "designer" will seethe in capitulation. The natural tendency of many people would be to make such an island what my kitchen remodeler calls, "The Drop Zone," the place where groceries, mail, school bookbags, purses, etc. are deposited by people entering the house and tend to accumulate. I agree that not putting a sink or cooktop on an island helps keep it clutter-free. But those two steps alone would not solve this issue for all families. Know yourself/selves! (With some families, it might help to design in an official but convenient Drop Zone elsewhere.)
I love the bolig - it's got icecream written all over it! Also, having the space underneath open makes it less a monolith in the kitchen, an eye-stopper, and more a part of the kitchen.