When planning an upgrade to your kitchen, have you considered installing a kitchen island? Having a standalone kitchen island is a must have for many home buyers. They want the added storage space and seating that an island can provide. If you are considering adding a kitchen island or replacing the top on an existing one, here are a few ideas from Arch City Granite.
Kitchen Island Ideas
Pleasing Counterpoint: An island can serve as a visual counterpoint to a white kitchen. Let’s say you have white granite countertops and white cabinets. To make your kitchen stand out, your island could be cherry wood with a beautiful black quartz countertop. The opposite coloring will have a striking effect in your kitchen.
A Place to Display: Maybe you already have enough cupboard space, but you want a place to highlight items of visual note. You can replace the cabinets with a series of book shelves and have a beautiful area for all your displaying needs.
Positive Preparation: Did you know that professional bakers love preparing food on marble? If you have your kitchen island topped with marble, you will feel like a professional. To make your island even more functional for food preparation, include a sink or cook top and be sure to have plenty of easy access slots for baking sheets. You can even add a hanging pot rack above your island that will make food preparation a breeze.
Not Quite Square: Since we use water jet technology when cutting our stone, we can accommodate many different shapes. If you are including an overhang for seating, consider a radius or semi-circle. This will add a softness to the island and give it an entirely different feel. Building your kitchen island with an irregular shaped countertop will add uniqueness to your entire kitchen.
Ease of Access: Perhaps you have difficulty standing and you wish your regular countertops weren’t so high. You can create a low height kitchen Island that would allow you to sit in an ordinary chair while you prepare a meal or reheat leftovers.
Multi-Leveled: In order to accommodate bar stools, you can have different tiers on your island. The higher tier can be where you have your bar stools, while the lower tier will make it easier to the prepare drinks. This distinctive appearance will make your kitchen memorable.
Open Minded: Some people don’t like how a kitchen island adds a feeling of separation in the kitchen. Instead of having cupboards or drawers, you can grab that feeling of openness by not having any at all. Imagine having a beautiful granite countertop installed on an open frame. This will give you that open feeling, but allow you to have the benefits of extra seating that only a kitchen island can provide.
Antique it Up: To save money, but still have the benefits of a kitchen Island all you need to find is some antique furniture. You can use the chest of drawers, bookshelf, or cabinet as your kitchen island. By adding a slab of natural stone to the top, you will create a visual anchor in your kitchen. And because it is small, you can move your island to a different location if you need.
Spectacular Profiles: The stand-alone nature of an island gives you a unique opportunity to change the profile or edging. It is not uncommon to put a different edge on the island than what is used for the rest of the counters. There are several options with much different visual results.
Lamination (Double Thick Stacked Edges):
Imagine your island with a top that looks twice as thick as the rest of your counters. Laminating the edge can accomplish this. Lamination is two separate edge profiles combined to create a seamless look.
Waterfall Edges
(Picture courtesy from Silestone USA)
Waterfall edges are a very popular choice. Imagine the counter top extending fall the way to the floor on either side of the island. If you haven’t seen this done, it is a very intricate process to make it look seamless from all sides. At Arch City we specialize in intricate, our fabrication process and installation expertise ensure the highest quality installation.
Mitered Edges
Mitered edges also make the island top look like a thicker piece of stone. This edge is square compared to the laminated edge and the thickness can be adjusted. At Arch City our mitered edges are unmatched in quality. Our technology allows us to make them look virtually seamless – perfecting the illusion of a much thicker stone.
Arch City Granite
When you are thinking of natural stone countertops that are create from beautiful slabs of natural stone, you need to check out Arch City Granite. We have the countertops you want at the prices you can afford. If you want to know more about the different types of natural stone, feel free to stop in. Our sales associates will answer your questions in a low pressure environment. For quality stone countertops, come to Arch City Granite.