There’s something special about kitchen island cabinets. They take what space you have and make more of it, reducing the clutter and adding workspace, making cooking and cleaning a lot easier than it would have been otherwise. It gives you a place to keep toasters, blenders, coffee makers and other kitchen accessories, so you can use the other counters to prepare, display or serve food. Not only do kitchen island cabinets add practical function and space to your kitchen but they look beautiful as well.
What type of kitchen island cabinets go into your kitchen is entirely your choice. Some kitchen islands already have cabinets built right into them, and this may be plenty for whatever storage needs you might have. You may have specific needs in terms of storage or the shape of your cabinetry, however, which means custom-made islands may be the best option for you. Someone who has a lot of utensils or small implements, for example, will want more drawers. The drawers could be big for holding larger items, or small for holding many smaller things. The number of drawers could vary greatly as well. Your kitchen islands could even have open shelves for you to show off your really nice kitchen accessories or cookbooks, or closed storage shelves for added storage of larger items.
You can preserve corner space with corner systems and Lazy Susans that will give you easy access to everything you might need while in the kitchen. Systems installed into central kitchen island cabinets can be pulled out so you can easily get things from the back without risking pulling drawers off the track or having to dig behind a mound of other items to find it.
There is a nearly countless amount of organizational arrangements and features that you can have in your kitchen island cabinets. There are organizers to keep your cutlery and silverware neatly sorted. Sink drawers can add storage space to the usually forgotten area between the sink and the base cabinet for some small items that you didn’t have a good place to store previously. Your kitchen island cabinets can also come with large open spaces for large appliances, drawers deep enough to store your cookware, glass-fronted cabinets to display those special kitchen possessions or plain old baskets and bins. Really, it’s all up to what you want. Find out what that is, and you’ll have the perfect kitchen island for you.
What to look for in kitchen island cabinets
1. Don’t settle for just functional or just beautiful. The best kitchen island cabinets will be both at once, saving you space and time and looking great while doing it.
2. If you are going to use your kitchen island mostly for cooking, large kitchen island cabinets are probably your best choice. Islands primarily used for sitting or for added counter space would be best served by differently-sized cabinets so that a variety of items can be stored there.
3. There is a kitchen designing software that can help you to plan your kitchen island cabinets. Just plug in the measurements and it will help you to do the rest. The services of a professional designer are also a good option. Someone certified in kitchen design will know all of the best and latest choices for your remodeling situation. Unlike a computer program, they can keep up to date on the latest designs and options available to you from current kitchen cabinet makers and sellers.
4. When it comes to the materials for your kitchen island cabinets, solid wood or plywood is a much better choice on the whole. It looks better and lasts a great deal longer than something made from particleboard or fiberboard with a wood veneer. These eventually fall apart due to all the steam, heat and other special environmental conditions of a kitchen. It may be a bit more expensive, but it will cost less than the remodeling that you would have to do in a few years because the veneers are peeling free from your cupboards.
5. There is also a choice to make between hardwood and softwood. Hardwoods are best for furniture that goes into the kitchen because of their durability. Oak, ash, walnut, maple and cherry are all excellent choices and will last you years longer than the less sturdy types of wood or some artificial substitute.
6. You can also get kitchen island cabinets made from metal. Even these should have a base made of wood or plywood. Even when the cabinet is not made largely of particleboard, a particleboard base will still eventually compromise the integrity of the entire cabinet.
