This before kitchen may very well be the kitchen of someone’s dreams. Surely it has some things going for it OTHER THAN THE GAS RANGE IN THE TINY ISLAND WHAT ARE PEOPLE THINKING.
Sorry, I just have really strong feelings about what should and should not be integrated into a kitchen island design. The complete list is: anything. No sinks, no cooking apparatus, no built-in cutting boards, no inset fruit bowls, no none of it but thanks for asking even though you didn’t.
I’m not here to hate on your kitchen island. If you love having a big, fat sink spewing dishwater all over the counter where people are trying to eat or do homework nearby, that is totally your call girlfriend, and I support you, and if you need a cook-space that is open for business on all four sides, waiting for any opportunity to serve up a dish of deep-fried fingers, that is 100% your decision and I respect that, but as for me and my house we will serve … not that.
And since Chateau Kitchens. are masters of the kitchen remodel, and they opted to send that gas range packing in favor of a gloriously uninterrupted expanse of island, I feel pretty good about it.
What are your thoughts? Are you a die-hard fan of the island sink/range/trash receptacle/etc?
Change my mind!
46 Comments
Peggy
July 3, 2018 at 6:42 PMPreach it, Lindsey! I love my island of uninterrupted space. No deep fried fingers here, thank you very much!
Susan
July 3, 2018 at 6:42 PMLove It! Agree 100% with your thoughts on the subject of kitchen Islands…”as for me and my house we will serve nothing”. Bwahhaha!!! Love the pseudo biblical reference.
Heather Miller
July 3, 2018 at 6:57 PMI once had an island with nothing in it and it was glorious! Now the last two houses have had the sink in the island and I do not like it at all! Unfortunately our builders don’t care what my thoughts on the subject are and put it there anyway!
Elizabeth
July 3, 2018 at 9:50 PMThat is one glorious island in the after! I agree that kitchen islands are not for sinks/cooktops, especially that small of one in the before!
Beck
July 4, 2018 at 4:28 AMAgree 100%! IF I had space for a large island it wouldn’t be anything but wide open space!
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Ally
July 4, 2018 at 6:22 AMI’m good with an empty island, but where’s the fridge? I’m not into a lot of walking between stove and fridge, but that’s just me. Maybe it’s an under counter fridge in the island which would be tres cool.
beth
July 4, 2018 at 8:14 AMJust did a kitchen remodel and pulled the gas cooktop out of the island. i never felt safe with the family walking through the narrow spacing and having things cooking there. now my stove is safely stowed against a wall with minimal traffic past it. there is a bit of a distance between fridge and sink but the island can be a resting place. 🙂
in our kitchen the island isn’t for eating because of the room size but is great for prpping food.
Courtney
July 4, 2018 at 2:01 PMI don’t mind a large island with added items if the eating/homework space is a higher counter. I do love the change in this kitchen. The first island wasn’t enough space to be shared with the range. I want a picture from another angle though. The fridge moved and I want to see where it went. They did more work and they’re hiding it!
Olivia
July 4, 2018 at 2:03 PMMy only kitchen design rule is…..the sink must be placed under a window.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:22 PMYes! It truly is the worst when it’s not.
Deb
July 4, 2018 at 2:21 PMWhen we remodeled our kitchen I installed a 10′ island….with a completely uninterrupted countertop. No sink. No cutting board. No cooktop. Just 10 glorious feet to spread out dough, layout dozens of cookies and cook my heart out. It’s amazing for entertaining and baking and cooking….
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:21 PMMmmmhmmm, now you’ve got me craving cookies. Ten glorious uninterrupted feet of coookkiiiieeesss
LeeAnn
July 4, 2018 at 6:26 PMYes!!
LeeAnn
July 4, 2018 at 6:28 PMWe’re empty nesters and have all the booze on our island. Oh, and the cat sleeps in a box on the island.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:21 PMNow THAT’S multi-use!
Denise
July 4, 2018 at 7:38 PMEmpty island all the way! Except my fabulous friend Amy had a ginormous kitchen island with a sink in it…she has 2 sinks and let me tell ya it comes in quite handy. But her island is bigger than any island I have ever seen lol so she definitely has room to spare.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:20 PMHaha, well Amy is pretty fabulous!!
Laura Harrington
July 5, 2018 at 4:19 AMAgree with you, and love the island–but where is the fridge!
Laura Harrington
July 5, 2018 at 4:20 AMAgree with you and love the new island, but where is the fridge?
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:20 PMIt’s there! It just got moved to a new location. I believe you can still see it if you click the link…
Jeanne B
July 5, 2018 at 4:56 AMWe have a prep sink in our island and I love it! It’s off to one side and the island is good sized so there is plenty of work space. With the sink in the island 2 people can be prepping or cooking.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:19 PMCan’t argue with a handy prep sink, especially when it gets put to good use!
Judy
July 5, 2018 at 9:06 AMMy cooktop is in my island (actually peninsula) and I’ve always hated it. We are currently in a diy remodel, and when completed, I will have that glorious, uninterrupted countertop!
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:18 PMI’d love to see it when you’re done!!
elizabeth a
July 5, 2018 at 10:51 AMI love my island with nothing on it, but my builder and architect tried really hard to talk me out of it. It works perfectly for my family and I can actually have a pretty (and functioning) vent hood.
On a side note I love that their fridge is further out of the cooking space. I promise that one gets used to getting the things they need in one trip and no one is in your way while you are cooking.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:17 PMYes, I agree! I think it’s more annoying to have the fridge closer, trying to squeeze in and out while people are bustling back and forth. Give me space!
Deb-NC
July 5, 2018 at 11:16 AMLast house had a beautiful uninterrupted island with a kitchen booth in front of it- loved it! Wanted an uninterrupted Island again when we were designing this house and just couldn’t make it happen. So my sink is in my Island but it’s extra deep & we don’t have seating at the island at all. We haven’t separate kitchen table, so it works.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:16 PMNo seating at the island definitely helps with the sink situation.
Sherron Taylor
July 6, 2018 at 7:19 PMI’m glad to see that I’m not alone with wanting nothing on the island. Looking through house plans that always have something on them made me think that I was just being picky. I love the open space for serving food at parties or big events and also for cutting out fabric for my quilts.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:15 PMCutting fabric, brilliant! An uninterrupted island is perfect for multiple uses!
Monica
July 7, 2018 at 1:58 PMTotally agree with you! Thought there was something wrong with me! Give me that huge island with “nothing”! I especially don’t get that range deal….. Also weird to me–a huge wall range enclosed on both sides with some sort of sidewall down to the countertop. I can’t even….
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:13 PMOh boy an enclosed range? …. *shudder* that might be worse!!
Paula
July 8, 2018 at 2:17 PMI have my large main sink under the window and a small bar sink on my island. We have loved that extra sink and have used it extensively. However, I totally understand your objections. Sometimes there is water where you don’t want it. And my trash compactor is on my island and I love love love it.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:12 PMI think I could possibly make an exception for a small prep sink. I do see the advantages there, especially with a large enough island.
Jennifer
July 8, 2018 at 3:40 PMI love me an empty island as well! I don’t get why people (even pros on HGTV!) put sinks or cooktops in them.
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:12 PMIt makes no sense to me!
Mumzy
July 9, 2018 at 7:46 AMThat kitchen is AMAZING!!!!! I love it!
To the TOP winer
July 9, 2018 at 3:38 PMIf the island is large enough, a second sink in the corner is great. But here’s my pet peeve of kitchens – both the before and after here – the cabinets don’t go to the ceiling. There’s not enough space to do anything but collect dust. YUCK. Just take the cabinets to the ceiling, people!
Lindsey @ Better After
July 9, 2018 at 4:23 PMAgree!!
Sheree L
July 14, 2018 at 11:03 AMThat is a beautiful kitchen remodel! Thanks for sharing it, Lindsey! I love my stovetop and prep sink in my kitchen island, but I have a rather unique kitchen layout, which makes it work well, in my opinion. I use the prep sink a lot! While I’m cooking, I can talk to people who are sitting at a separate curved bar (which has a lot of uninterrupted counter space on the other side of the bar) or people sitting in the family room or at the kitchen table. I can also look out my windows to my view of the Phoenix east valley and the mountains. I wouldn’t change my layout! BUT, I do get why, in most cases, someone would want an island with nothing on it!
Lindsey @ Better After
July 16, 2018 at 8:14 AMYour kitchen sounds lovely Sheree!!
Jenny B.
July 17, 2018 at 12:11 PMI’m with you. However, I’m working on a house plan for our new home, and it is difficult to design a kitchen in an open concept house that has a big island and doesn’t have something in it. I’ll most likely end up with the sink in the island, but I won’t even consider putting the cooktop there. The house I grew up in, though, DID have the stove in the bar, so I often sat across from my mom while she was cooking. It was fine (except for having to duck to see her under the cabinets that were above the bar). 🙂
Lindsey @ Better After
July 18, 2018 at 9:20 AMAren’t you glad those hanging cabinets are no longer a thing?!
Monica
July 23, 2018 at 11:28 PMYes, Lindsey. You nailed it.
I love your island sink position.
I always love to have it.
Now I have a clear mind to design my kitchen!
Thanks again!
Karen Ching
August 12, 2018 at 11:32 PMOh I love the transformation! I really like the larger kitchen island and the tiles you used. Plus I also like it that the stove is much nearer to the sink. Glad you cleared the kitchen island 🙂
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HomesCute
June 12, 2020 at 9:18 PMThe kitchen is one of the most complicated spaces to design in a house and figuring out how to design an island is so confusing for me. I’m glad to see that I’m not alone with wanting nothing on the island. It is so inspiring! Thank you, Lindsey
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