15 Style To Setting Kitchen Islands

Blue Islands

An addition to this home made room for a second island and an eating area. The walkway between the islands is aligned with the refrigerator and freezer to make cold storage accessible. Matching light fixtures bring light to the island work areas.

English Lessons

Because the kitchen is open to the dining and living rooms, the homeowners chose a formal look that features painted cabinetry with inset drawers, beaded details, and glass knobs. At the far end, a built-in hutch holds dishware opposite the breakfast table.

Old World Functional

Furniture-like cabinetry and natural surfaces bring old-world style to functional design. A dramatic 14-foot-high copper hood rises over a professional cooktop on the kitchen's island. Maple cabinets were stained dark and fitted with antique-look hardware and pulls.

Evolving Over Time

Unusual barn-plank cabinet doors offer a vintage, time-worn appearance to the kitchen. The functional island is newer and topped with practical butcher block.

Drama from Every Angle

To maximize function in this odd-shape kitchen, cabinetry starts at the widest point and runs down two opposing walls at angles. With a prep sink, a warming drawer, and storage, the 10-foot-long island narrows at the dining room end to maintain ample traffic paths.

Arched with Style

Centered in the room, a large butcher-block-topped island easily seats a crowd and is well lit as well. Warm gold on the walls makes the room feel cozy.

Cabin Casual

The centerpiece of this kitchen is the 5-1/2-x-5-1/2-foot island which serves as the main food-prep area. Thanks to a generous 15-inch overhang on each side, the island can also seat up to eight guests for casual meals.

Cottage Modern

Open shelves at one end of this island are a handy place to keep cookbooks. Seating for four was arranged opposite the range with enough overhang so stools can be pushed underneath. The island is lit with three pendant lights overhead.

Cherry and Granite Glow

The hardworking island is 9 1/2 feet long and features a two-level speckled-granite countertop. The upper-level serving and eating bar is higher to accommodate bar stools, while the lower level includes the kitchen's main sink.

Knotty Pine Kitchen Cabinets

Redoing kitchen cabinetry can break a budget unless you rely on budget-friendly choices like pine. Attractive drawer pulls will dress up this utilitarian wood. An added bonus is that saving money in one area may allow splurging on features such as custom tile.

Kitchen Recycled

The kitchen cabinetry is a freestyle gathering of recycled pieces, blended under and over a stone-look countertop. The salvaged store display case is home to a changing display of china and collectibles. It has been raised on furniture feet to normal counter height.

Fresh Vibe

A peninsula work area helps set off the baking area from the stove. The assertive color of the cabinets meant that the chartreuse could stand on its own on a fairly straightforward cabinet design.

Three Crows for Roosters

A two-level island incorporates work areas, seating, wine storage, and display. The higher counter helps hide kitchen clutter from the adjoining room.

Warm Green Kitchen

A tiled counter tops this island created with painted cabinetry in a soft shade of green. The cooktop was installed flush with the tile to make cleanup a breeze.

Eco-Friendly Kitchen Accessories

Soften the floor under your feet while you're working on dishes or supper with this Striped Jute Rug from Viva Terra. The soft jute fibers are biodegradable and recyclable, plus the jute plant can be regrown in 4 to 6 months, making it one of the most sustainable fiber sources in the world.

One of the coolest innovations to the knife block we've seen, these holders keep knives in place with hundreds of bamboo skewers held within bamboo boxes. Bamboo is a grass, not a tree, and it can grow up to two feet per day. Once harvested, the plant automatically grows a new shoot, making it endlessly renewable.

Pop this soapstone wine cooler into the refrigerator for a bit, then place a bottle of wine within for perfectly chilled vino every time. The soapstone retains cold and wicks moisture away from the bottle for dripless pouring, and the wine stopper is handcrafted from sea stone. After harvesting the sea stone, the artisans replace each one with another stone from a nearby quarry, keeping the delicate ocean eco-system in balance.

Stock your kitchen with 100-percent certified organic cotton tea towels from Now Designs. The cotton is grown without harmful pesticides and insecticides, and no chemicals or dyes are used in the towels' production. Even the tag is printed on 100-percent recycled paper!

White Kitchens

Take a look at how these homeowners sparked up the look of plain white kitchen cabinets by using color and accessories.

Introducing a Classic

Straight-line cabinets with hefty hardware look solid and promise longevity. On the island, a built-in oven and plenty of storage sit below a unique butcher-block top made of maple and walnut in a checkerboard pattern.

Glory for the Galley

Near the sink, an angled dishwasher forms a mini peninsula, introducing a welcome diagonal into the long narrow kitchen space. To maintain the granite's visual flow, the homeowners chose a drop-in cooktop rather than a slide-in range.

English Lessons

Because the kitchen is open to the dining and living rooms, the homeowners chose a formal look that features painted cabinetry with inset drawers, beaded details, and glass knobs. At the far end, a built-in hutch holds dishware opposite the breakfast table.

Cottage Modern

Imitating a vintage checkered tablecloth, a tile backsplash adds cottage style behind the stove. Glass-front cabinets, beadboard details, and heavily beamed ceilings are also reminiscent of cottage, yet the strong colors and dark accents give the space a contemporary edge.

DIY Kitchen Makeover

Though not the easiest DIY project, repainting kitchen cabinets can be inexpensive and rewarding. This homeowner repainted a few cabinet doors at a time in her laundry room and in the process removed some of the inset panels, replacing them with glass.

Country Cozy English Kitchen

The character of an English country home took top priority in this kitchen remodel, with cabients built to look like freestanding furniture pieces. Hand-hewn ceiling beams in the kitchen and divided light windows add to the look and feel of British elegance.

Ceramic Symmetry

Small blue-and-white hexagonal tiles on the countertops and backsplash help restore cottage charm to this 1930s kitchen. The counters were built to be four inches higher than normal in order to accommodate a drop-in cooktop over a built-in oven.

Arched with Style

Stylish with a purpose, the long arch over the range actually conceals a lowered ceiling under a stairway. Centered in the room, a large butcher-block-topped island easily seats a crowd and is well lit as well. Warm gold on the walls makes the room feel cozy.

Kitchens

Find a great idea for your next kitchen project here.

Great Style Ideas

If you're hesitant about how to start a kitchen decorating project, follow the path of homeowners who've successfully tackled the challenge. Start by tuning into your tastes, bringing out some treasured items, and taking chances.

Create a Kitchen Backsplash

That little strip of real estate that runs between cabinet and countertop is the perfect place to add a little flair.

Savvy Storage

Make every inch of your kitchen work for you. If you want to maximize space in your kitchen, check out these storage solutions.

Instant Hot Water

In just an afternoon, you can add a tap for making tea, hot cocoa, and other tummy-warming drinks. Once it's in, you'll wonder how you ever got by without it!

New-Look Appliances

If your vintage stove works well but looks less than savory, try refinishing it. It's a quick and effective way to make a kitchen look fresh -- and the cost is minimal.

Kitchen Comeback

Clever uses of paint and fabric changed the perspective on this plain kitchen for less than $1,000.

Artistic Tile

Whether on the backsplash, floor, or wall, the creative use of tile and mosaic is sure to produce a focal point.

Pot Rack

Free up cabinet space by adding a handsome hanging rack to store pots, pans, and large items like deep kettles.

Decorte Your Eating Places

Breakfast Nook

An airy breakfast nook takes its streamlined style and charming colors from a pretty print. Here are the five essential elements of the space:

1. Lighting: A drum shade hangs high above the table, allowing natural light to fill the space during the day and casting a warm glow at night.

2. Fabric: Fruit-pattern toile that appears on the window treatment and pillows inspired all color choices and the custom floorcloth.

3. Window treatments: A tailored toile valance with five sections separated by crisp pleats highlights the inspirational print fabric. A band of contrasting fabric gives the window treatment a subtle tone-on-tone effect, while tassels add a textural flourish to each gentle point.

4. Seating: Two French Empire-inspired chairs work in tandem with built-in seating, offering flexible dining for two to six people.

5. Personal touches: A banquette ended up being a good solution for the postage-stamp tiny room, increasing seating and allowing for nearly a dozen pretty pillows in rosy red and buttery yellow, both colors inspired by a fruit-pattern toile.

Formal Dining Room

Green and pink could easily have been too sweet in this intimate, off-the-kitchen dining space. But by deftly combining pretty with practical, a feminine, not fussy, look was created. Here are the five essential elements for this space:

1. Lighting: The intricately worked chandelier and sconces (1950s pieces) were painted, rewired, and topped with pleated mini shades.

2. Fabric: Pretty print fabric -- featuring porcelain vessels and summer blossoms -- gives the room another whimsical touch while also providing a warmly neutral taupe-and-green backdrop.

3. Window treatments: The ornate window treatments are full, functional, and rich in detail. The room's panel draperies include contrasting botanical trim and custom-painted hardware.

4. Seating: Sage-green slipcovers with crisp white piping instantly updated and softened the curvy French dining chairs.

5. Personal touches: A passion for porcelain serving pieces is showcased in a carved pine corner cabinet (top photo, above). These pink and green pieces from the homeowner's collection inspired the vibrant color scheme in this dining space.

Shown here: Antique print fabric was stretched into three panels that hang as art over a serving buffet, with the florals complementing the roses, vases, magnolias, and urns among the cadre of charming images included in the print drapery fabric.

Country French Eat-In

Unexpected color and pattern update the classic furnishings in a cozy eat-in kitchen, transforming it to country French sophistication. The essential five to get this look include:

1. Lighting: A burnished bronze fixture hangs low over the pine table, casting warm light and producing a comfy country French effect.

2. Fabric: A richly detailed print with fruit depicted in full color contrasts perfectly with a rusty-red solid and a blue-and-white plaid.

4. Window treatments: The tailored valance frames three print panels like pieces of art. Crisp pleats, a polished paneling effect, and multihue fringe make it a showstopper. (See below for a complementary window treatment.)

3. Seating: French chairs, reupholstered in contrasting fabrics and filled with generous padding, offer inviting resting spots for a busy family to gather around the table.

5. Personal touches: The homeowner's collection of transferware is on prominent display in the side hutch.

In contrast to the lush main draperies, a simple sheer hangs from an ornate rod on the side door, allowing easy access to the sun-drenched patio beyond.

A Kitchen in Vibrant Red

From Vanilla to Vibrant

In this kitchen, there was no need to replace the perimeter cabinets since they were good quality and in excellent condition. Instead, homeowners decided to warm up the room with red.

The Plain-Jane "Before"

When new homeowners moved into this house, nearly everything in the kitchen was white: walls, trim, cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, and fixtures. The fix? Some surface and appliance updates along with lots of vibrant color.

Sink and Window Corner

To make the sink area feel less confining, homeowners replaced a few solid upper-cabinet doors with decorative glass versions. Keeping the countertops and walls light and placing the island farther away from the refrigerator also help the space feel more open.

Glass-Front Cabinet

To make existing cabinets more interesting, three new leaded-glass doors were installed on the cabinets adjacent to the new refrigerator. Glass shelving, freshly painted interiors, and interior cabinet lighting transform the once-plain boxes into fine showcases for collectibles.

Stone Tile Backsplash

Shiny white tile countertops and backsplashes were the first things to go, replaced with the texture and warmth of a tumbled marble backsplash and affordable 14-inch-square porcelain tiles on the countertops. Only the narrowest of grout lines separate the porcelain tiles, so the finished surface is almost as smooth as a stone slab.

Cabinet Hardware

Two coats of red paint followed by a black glaze and a varnish coat give the cabinets a durable, colorful finish. New cabinet pulls mimic the lines of the leaded-glass door inserts.

Kitchen Island

The new kitchen island was built with cherry wood and dressed up with purchased corbels. Behind the island, the countertop was raised to a height of 36 inches to make room for a new wine cooler and a handy bank of drawers. Older appliances were replaced with a double wall oven and a microwave oven that was placed in one end of the island opposite the refrigerator -- a convenient location for kids.

Island Countertop Corner

The egg-and-dart countertop edging is made from a composite material. It adds a stylish flair to the new countertop, which is shaped in interesting angles and curves. Carved corbels below add detail and interest to plain cabinetry.