15 Ideas to Kick Your Kitchen Island Up a Notch

1. Integrated Chopping Block and Knife Holder
 
This island in a Chicago-area duplex penthouse, designed by Jaffe Architecture + Interiors, features a thick end-grain butcher block contiguous with a sleek, light-colored countertop. Look closely and you’ll see a stainless steel knife holder built right into the block.
 
Design note: Mixing materials — especially wood and stone or quartz — is on-trend for kitchen island countertops.

2. Dog Bowl Station With Pot Filler or Faucet

Pet owners may drool over this white oak kitchen island, which is in a transitional-style St. Louis, Missouri, kitchen. Detailed Designs by  Denise equipped a niche on one side with three dog bowls and a water faucet for easy top-ups. Engineered quartz matching the countertop protects the wooden island and floor from sloshing water.

3. Removable Inset Cutting Board
 
Owners of beautiful edge-grain wooden island countertops might think twice about using them as cutting surfaces. New Orleans-based NOLA Boards, which made this T-shaped one from century-old cypress logs pulled from the bottom of a river, addressed that reluctance by insetting a designated cutting board. It’s made from the same sinker cypress wood but in end-grain block construction, which shows knife marks less readily and is easier on blades than edge-grain. The best part? The board is removable, making cleanup, maintenance and serving a breeze.
 
Design note: The long end of this T-shaped island is supported by hand-turned legs, making it look more like a farmhouse table than cabinetry.

4. Charging Drawer
 
A tangle of cords and small electronics atop an island is unattractive — and can spell disaster if there’s a spill. A charging drawer outfitted with plugs and outlets (like this one by Studio Dearborn in New York) not only keeps the counter clear and your devices safe, but also heads off that “Where’s my phone?” panic each morning.

5. Laptop Ledge
 
Kitchen islands often serve as homework stations and home offices as well. Similar to the charging drawer in the previous photo, the slim open shelf beneath the countertop of this Maryland island byM Woodruff Design has outlets at the back so the owners can easily charge and stow their laptops. Drawers at one end of the island store paper and other office supplies.

6. Rollout Chopping Station
 
Here’s another chopping block hack: A cutting board with storage and legs on casters tucks into one end of this kitchen island designed by Toledo Geller, Crimson Capital and Signature Cabinetry. In addition to providing a useful work surface wherever needed, the station can function as a serving cart too.

7. Folding Countertop
 
In this small-ish Minneapolis kitchen, White Birch Design created a walnut-topped island that has two drop-down leaves. Fully extended, they create a 6-foot-long island.
 
Design note: If your island is relatively small, putting it on locking casters (like this one) lets you change your kitchen layout or move your island out of the way with your fingertips — especially practical in a small kitchen.

8. Pullout Table
 
In this contemporary Seattle kitchen, Board & Vellum architects installed a table that pulls out from the island like a drawer. Extended, as seen here, it adds extra dining and counter space, whereas pushing it in allows for better circulation around the island.

9. Pop-Up Outlet
 
This Seattle-area kitchen island designed by ArchiUS has an outlet right where you need it, on top of the counter. Designed to be in wet environments, pop-up outlets like this one — some of which also have USB ports — can be raised when you need them but are flush or semiflush with the counter when closed, lending a seamless look.
 
Design note: Be sure to check local electrical codes before installing outlets on your island.

Article written by Suzanne Ennis