5 hardworking islands - kitchen islands

Sunset, March, 1999 by Ann Bertelsen, Daniel Gregory

These multifunctional examples combine efficiency and style

When the kitchen takes center stage as the principal gathering place for family and friends, the kitchen island comes under the spotlight. Designers and manufacturers have responded to the island's prominence, adapting it to serve a broad range of uses, from a simple work surface for food preparation to a multifunctional unit with areas incorporating cooktops, sinks, buffet counters, dishwashers, recycling centers, and storage compartments. The archipelago on these four pages illustrates some of the multipurpose magic that can be worked by a kitchen island.

What an island can do for you

* It's a space-and-people organizer, with, for example, one side for working, one side for eating or traffic.

* With an overhead pot rack or display shelf, it provides a wall's worth of extra storage. With nothing overhead, it creates storage space while preserving an open look.

* It makes use of often underutilized space in the middle of the kitchen.

* It becomes a work site for a second cook.

* It can serve as a multifunctional table - a spot for a snack, a kitchen desk, or students' homework center.