10 Ways to Dress Up Your Kitchen Island

Create a statement in your kitchen by dressing up your island. Yanic Simard, from Toronto Interior Design Group, gives 10 ways to dress up your kitchen island on Houzz Australia, below.

The kitchen island bench is often the home’s hub, where family and friends gather to help with the cooking (or just the eating). This central position makes it an important design feature and a great place to add personality to your kitchen. Re-dressing the island can provide a dramatic face lift on any budget. Here are 10 of my favourite ideas you can use to give the heart of the house a little love.

1. Colour

Looking to expand your palette but hesitant to make a big splash? Painting just the island (or even only one side) adds a dash of drama without the effect of visually shrinking the space that can come from dark or vivid cabinetry. Pair the island with contrasting bar stools for even more life.

2. Mirror

If you’d prefer to have your island float away rather than stand out, mirrored fronts – or mirrored kick boards, help lighten the look of the whole room. Mirrored materials can make bulky kitchen cabinets visually vanish and help the floor appear to run on forever. For vintage charm, use mirror with an antique finish.

3. Wood

Another way to lighten an island visually is to simply match its faces to the flooring material so the two blend together. Letting wood, timber veneer or laminate wrap around the island is unexpected but warm and inviting without being heavy.

4. Panelling

To soften a chunky island, consider incorporating classic panelling. It suits cottage-inspired traditional kitchens well, but it also works beautifully in transitional or contemporary cooking spaces by adding texture with a simple geometric sensibility.

5. Furniture Styling

Giving an island furniture-like details makes it feel even more like its own little hub of activity separate from the functional cabinets around it. Even an existing island can get an upgrade by putting legs or feet on the exterior.

6. Moulding

Another way to achieve a furniture-like appearance is to embellish the island’s faces and corners with moulding. This provides a sense of elegance that’s essential to Shaker-style and transitional kitchens. It’s a good long-term investment since the stately look will likely stay in demand.

7. Island Cart

This design trick is a bit of a cheat because unless you can add a new moveable island cart to your existing kitchen, you’ll have to replace your fixed island altogether. Nevertheless, if your island bench is beyond salvaging (or if you don’t have one to start with), substituting it for a freestanding cart lends a real chef’s-kitchen vibe and a more open look.

8. Salvaged Materials

Look to vintage or salvage stores for recycled materials such as old pressed-tin ceiling tiles, distressed lumber or metal sheets from restaurant kitchens and upcycle them into a custom front treatment.

9. LED Lighting

Install LED lighting strips to the underside of the island benchtop, the base, or both to bring a fun modern element and extra brightness to the whole space.

10. Hardware

Timber and brass are unstoppable trends in kitchen design, and a little gold-toned hardware or timber handles will give your kitchen a new feel with no need for a hammer or paintbrush. Consider using a few dummy drawer or door fronts to dress up the back of your island.

Here at Hurst Homes we offer complete customised homes that can be as individual as the owner. We guide your through the entire process including your selections to ensure you create your dream home. Each client personally meets with our joiners to design and create functional spaces, with colours tailored to their individual style. Just another reason why we are considered Wagga’s best builder. With over 30 years in the industry as a Wagga Builder you can trust Hurst Homes with your dream home. For information on our upcoming custom Wagga house & land packages, contact us today on 0438 692 962 or fill out the contact us page on our website.

For more tips and tricks from the Houzz experts visit Houzz.com.au