Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Contrasting Kitchen Islands

Sometimes kitchens can look a little bland and boring all in one color or finish.  On some of my kitchen remodels I recommend making the island a contrasting finish so that it stands out as a piece of furniture or relieves some of the monotony of the cabinetry.  When I do that I often find I need to change the counter there too.  The kitchens then become sort of a two tone scheme, where there is a light counter on the dark cabinet and vice versa.  This design is not for every situation but it does work well in many instances.



In the remodel above, the island really becomes the centerpiece of the kitchen with a beautiful wood finish and details like turned legs.  The counter is a textural limestone, coral reef, that brings more interest and brings everyone to the "table" of the kitchen.



A two tone scheme here was created, white counter on dark island and dark counter on white perimeter cabinets.




A new stained wood island becomes an added quality feature in this remodeled kitchen.  Again, light counter on darker island, dark counter on light perimeter cabinets. I'm doing a kitchen now where we have wood perimeter cabinets and a painted island.  Still contrasting, just the other way around.



You can see what I mean.  On both of these last two, we kept the existing floors for budget purposes. The floors were so light that going with the contrasting island really helps give some definition in the spaces.

The following designers also utilized a contrasting island to add interest and break up the space.

Jim Howard - House Beautiful


Suzanne Lantz - Traditional Home


Healing Barsanti - House Beautiful

 
Joan Nemirow - Traditional Home

M. Elle Design - Elle Decor


Christopher Peacock - House Beautiful


Dee Dee Taylor Eustace - Traditional Home


Nancy Bozhardt - House Beautiful



Stanley Hura - Traditional Home


Barry Dixon - House Beautiful

Ray Booth - Elle Decor


Loving some contrast in the kitchen!


7 comments:

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

I love this post, Carla. I especially love the last island that you designed. The cooktop on the island is fabulous!!
Teresa
xoxo

Tatiana Doria said...

Any kitchen with an island is perfect for me!! Contrasted or not, it´s a must!
Those you show are just beautiful.

Sharon @ mrshinesclass said...

I love this look and have intentions of creating it in my own home. Thanks for the beautiful inspiration photos!

Sharon @ mrs. hines class

Carol@6WilsonBlog.com said...

Hi Carla. Great examples. I live breaking it all up too with a contrast island. So much more interesting to look at :)

Barbara@HausDesign said...

I just did this in my own kitchen and i love it! When I told people about the blake I was putting on the island I could see the shock in their eyes, but now that it's in I am getting lots of compliments! Beautiful post...

Karen said...

These are some beautiful examples of how great a contrasting island can be. It's similar to varying the types of accent furniture placed in a living area of your home.

Jessie said...

I agree with you, Carla. Using a contrasting island against the kitchen cabinets create much more beauty and visual interest compared to a matchy-matchy cabinets and island design.

Jessie
www.mixandchic.com

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