Kitchen Islands - Part II

After my post Kitchen Island - Part I about simple islands that are sometimes just made of a beautiful wooden table with a marble counter top, I am coming now to the second category of kitchen islands:

The more complex kitchen islands that include a sink and sometimes also a stove with a fume hood.

These islands require more planning. When you already plan to renovate your kitchen and its floor, you might think of providing water, gas and electricity for the island. Once a complex island is done its less flexible, but the advantage is that you face your guests more often during preparing the food and can participate in the communication better. Also you might have more light and space during work then in a classic kitchenette facing the wall.

First, some of my island finds with sinks only:

beautiful country kitchen with blue subway tiles behind the stove and matching stools;

the kitchen island with white marble counter top features two sinks (via Southern Accent)

Italian country kitchen with red counter top and matching stools;

the sink of the island is positioned opposite the stove

although the kitchen already features a sink, the islands provides a second one;

the oven in the back is a pizza oven (!) (via Elle Decor)

nice low budget solution via IKEA

modern kitchen with slim island made in China (via Boloni)

And now, kitchen islands that not only have a sink but also the stove and fume hood:

 

"English Mood" via Minacciolo

lots of stainless steel and reflecting silvery tiles (via Bofi)

"EL System", industrial look stainless steel solution via Elmar Cucina

chic industrial look via Marie Claire Maison

solution via Ikea for the tighter budget - probably same system like above where the counter top just was larger

You might also be interested in the post Kitchen Islands - Part I - about simple kitchen islands.

Kitchen Islands - Part I

When you have an open kitchen that connects to the dining and living area you may find a kitchen island useful because it can function as a separator between the spaces. Since we also plan an open kitchen, I researched kitchen islands and found that there are mainly two categories:

1) very simple kitchen islands that provide extra work space and some storage (Part I)
2) bold kitchen islands that include kitchen appliances like sinks and stoves. (Part II)

This post covers the first category - the simple islands:

simple but beautiful wooden work bench, via Elle Decor

(I flipped the photo as our stove and balcony are on the left as it is now after flipping) 

wooden work bench with marble counter top, via Elle Decor

custom made island with lots of drawers, via Elle Decor

white lacquered wooden island with drawers and open storage underneath, via Landmark (Villa Limonaia)

white lacquered wooden island with baskets replacing drawers, via Cote de Texas

turquoise steel kitchenette and very basic work bench in rough luxe style

white island with drawers and marble counter top

Although, I am trying to just focus on the kitchen islands, I am surprised to see, that in all the seven beautiful kitchens above, white tiles have been used for the walls. Have you noticed? Four of the kitchens use the classical French subway tiles, two use square tiles and one uses a classic Italian Vietri tile pattern (no 4, the Italian villa). But what else would you use to ensure these beautiful kitchens get an adequate background?

Now a bit more modern and without tiles:

a nice bar counter is something that a kitchen island could offer, via Cote Maison

a modern kitchen with a bar island in a rustic context, via Bulthaupt

modern rustic mix via Bofi

all white and modern, via Binova

Donna Karen's Zen style kitchen - not much to see of the island, but I like it, especially the Chinese stool

"Line Art teak island" was in my files - simple island with good storage space to copy by your local carpenter if nothing similar could be found in a shop.

You might be interested in my post Kitchen Island Part II as well.



Sources: You can find the links on my blogroll or on the pages "resource links" and "my blogroll". If I did not indicate the source, it means I don't have it and you might mail it to me.

Why Designer Kitchens Do Not Have To Cost Much - OR: When Architects And Designers Use IKEA Kitchens

While IKEA kitchens in some countries still have the reputation of being cheap kitchens for young and small budget households, it seems that in France architects and interior designers effortless and successfully integrate IKEA kitchen into their projects. And at the end, they are even featured in glossy magazines like Marie Claire Maison. And the source IKEA is clearly stated.

After seeing all my finds below, you might forget about your fear of the DIY hassle of assembling an entire IKEA kitchen. I, myself feel tempted:

Above, the architect Philippe Harden managed well to disguise a kitchen behind brown furniture (Nexus, IKEA). The counter top harmonises with its dark wooden tint (Numeraer, IKEA). White lacquered cabinets  (Applad, IKEA) frame the counter and form a niche. The dining table is custom made (Atelier 54) in steel after an army table. Above the table, two bicoloured lamp shades (Habitat) are pending on red electrical wires (BHV). (remark: text partly translated from the original French description) - Who would have thought that this sleek kitchen is by IKEA?

interior by architect Flora de Gastines - black glossy kitchen furniture by Ikea (Abstrakt)

a Parisan apartment by modern architect Carl Fredrik Svenstedt - basic kitchen furniture by IKEA

architect C. F. Svenstedt had Ikea kitchen furniture repainted in a fresh "bamboo" colour (inox gas stove by Ariston)

the kitchen island is a cube made of 10 modules by IKEA 

The above apartment is arranged by French interior designer Didier Gomez - with a kitchen by IKEA. Okay, this one looks almost like a cut out from the IKEA kitchen catalogue - but with a thick stone counter top and the different styles of lower and upper cabinet it looks more stylish.

And now, how to get the look:

glossy surface with ABSTRAKT? Or APPLAD or NEXUS?

(click on picture to enlarge)

handles - or no handles for a sleeker look

industrial faucet HJUVIK (NR 7, just 169 Euro)

IKEA's steel shelves, although nice, would reveal IKEA on the spot 

little helper on the side, flexible inox service wagon NR 8

So it depends on you, how you transform an IKEA kitchen into something special, something not looking like a cheap IKEA kitchen from the catalogue:

like this (above)

or like that (below)

Have you experience with assembling and using an IKEA kitchen? Please send in a comment. I am looking forward hearing from you.

Photo sources: Marie Claire Maison and IKEA



4 favorites in my kitchen

In my actual kitchen - in Bangkok - I have four absolute favorite "accessories":

4 Favs

They are all four in the above picture - can you tell? From left to right:

1. our electrical cutting machine - it is a farewell gift from our dear friends and neighbours back in Germany (via eBay) - we use it quite often to cut ham and salami from Italy.
2. the large and very cool wine cooler ! I love the tenant for being so thoughtfully... we do not only store lots of wine but also chocolate at a temperature of 19 degree. A must in tropical climate! (by Miele)
3. a garbage bin (by Franke) accessible from top of the workbench. It is a 12 l bin and comes in handy every day.
4. the professional flexible faucet dispenser (looks like Flex by Franke)

I like the gadgets on the kitchen island: garbage bin and faucet

the lid of the 12 l bin (by Franke)

And here comes maybe the most strange information from Thailand: 

We do not cook in this kitchen. If we cook after all. Usually, the maid cooks and she cooks in the "Thai" kitchen, since what you see in the picture is the so called "Western" kitchen. Yes, it is quite common in Thailand to have two kitchens in a household. One for the "expats" to cook, if they like - and one for the "heavy" Thai cooking (garlic, oil, curry...).

If you have a house, a Thai kitchen is not even inside the house. And as this one kitchen would do for Thai families, there is often a second cooking possibility when the property is rented to Westerners.

In our case, we are lucky. We found a very modern condo with very modern, Zen like, interior design. That's why our Western kitchen is so luxury. But wait - luxury? In one point these developer and designers are still very Thai: there is no hot water ! In none of our kitchens. And no dish washer. When I complained (and asked to move the boiler from the guest toilet to the kitchen), they just said: "Cannot" and: "In Thailand we use soap". - But I love my 4 favorites!

Focus on Kitchen

That's the actual situation: a niche with a hole for the hood. The balcony access that should not be blocked by the kitchen island. I think a kitchenette or L-shape with our stand alone 2 door inox fridge on the right (below the glass bricks). And it looks like we better have shelves instead overhead cabinets on this front!

In only two weeks from now I have to pack... we will fly to Italy ! The main purpose why we are doing this trip - in between a skiing holiday in Europe and our summer holiday in Italy - is because we need to make some major decisions, and this is about the KITCHEN !!!

The kitchen, not only in Italy, is the center point of the house. Nowadays, there are mainly open kitchens planned in new houses or remodelled in old houses. Kitchens are connected to dining and living area by just a kitchen island. Friends and family gather together around the kitchen before, during and after cooking and eating. Kitchen islands play a key roll. They are not only the new "border", they provide additional working space, they offer useful storage and often feature appliances. With stools they can be used as breakfast area, laptop work area - to check recipes ;-) or simply invite for an aperitif to accompany the cooking.

You all know that, and I am not a kitchen seller. This is just to remember, how important it is to choose the right kitchen design! It should matches the style of the house, especially the dining and living area.

That means for us a balancing act:

Our house is some 200 or 300 years old. We do not have a dining area yet. It will be a sleek long wooden table for sure. Chairs, not decided yet. Modern and comfortable for sure. Two modern sofas, we have shipped in from China, they are "close" to the modern B&B Italia style. We love inox steel appliances. We have a bulky 2 doors inox Siemens fridge (shipped in from China, hope it still works!). And we plan to have an inox oven and stove from Arniston or Smeg with inox hood.

Country style could work, but a bit more modern and maybe glossy surfaces would be nice too.

So I sat down, yesterday, and clicked through my kitchen resource links (on my new resource link page) and also browsed through my "kitchen briefing" file. But before it gets colourful and glossy here, I post our before and after layout and the kitchen planning drafts :

When we bought the house, we had the above layout at the ground floor (piano terra): a small kitchen with access to the balcony and a small bathroom. But big rooms all around. That's why we tore down all walls and moved the bathroom into another area.

The "after" layout: the displaced bathroom gave new space to the kitchen. Initially the plan of the architect suggested to have the fridge in the middle of the room, to somehow separate the dining area visually from the kitchen. We will, however, not follow this idea, and install the 2 door fridge just opposite the balcony. (front 4,50 m long, side about 3,40 m until door)

With a drawing by myself (see further below) and a rough layout of the ground floor we went to a kitchen company in Beijing that was quiet modern and very "Italian". The above plan is what they made for us.

And that is the front, seen from the dining area. The balcony would be on the left side.

Above, my changes in red: We have a niche with a hole in the wall that will be the place for the oven, stove and hood (as before). The fridge should be closer to the sink and work space to make moves more efficient - according to the kitchen triangle. The island needs to be just a minimum space away from the fridge and not too close to the balcony door to allow easy and barrier-free walking.  

My drawings :-)

If over head cabinet, then maybe only on the left of the fridge or a full-length pull-out-cargo

We could look for a simple island solution. But meanwhile Angelo organised "water" access for the island in the middle of the room, which means we could have an extra sink in the kitchen island. This is of course always useful. However, the island will be small - and I would love to have enough space there for breakfast. I think two stools there or three - and enjoy the sea view (this you can't when sitting at a lower table).

The next post will be about kitchen again, but this time glossy photos for inspiration!

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PS: In case you wonder why I ship things in from China to Italy - we lived in Beijing 2005-2008 and everything there is so tempting cheap!

PPS: Did you notice, I slightly changed the layout of my blog by adding "pages" below the header. How do you like the change? Does the blog loads still okay or is it slower? And how about the "read more..." button, is it disturbing to have to click to continue to read or is it okay? Thanks for giving a small feed-back :-)