The house in these photos serves as a great example of our you can get creative by layering a small kitchen island with seating with a secondary unit to get double the storage and counter space. I have been seeing this style become more and more popular these past few months and I anticipate the trend continuing well into 2022.

The kitchen island ideas with seating are by far my favorite part of our new home. This kitchen was definitely the biggest selling point of the house for me, and it is the room that I pinch myself every time I walk inside because I feel so lucky that we were able to get this place. A kitchen island with seating has been at the very top of my dream list for years now, but our old house was simply too small to fit a feature like that in our narrow galley-style kitchen. I love to cook so nearly doubling the size of our kitchen in this new place was such a huge win for me. I research small kitchen island ideas for years when we lived in the old place but, ultimately, I was never able to come up with a plan that would work for our layout. It was all worth the wait though when we finally moved into this place.

A ton of my clients have been asking for kitchen island ideas with seating over the past 6 months -- I see this as being one of the biggest trends for 2022 as well. I included a few of my favorite pictures of kitchen islands that incorporate a ton of work space as well as ample seating. The key to any great island design is making it both functional and beautiful as well as making sure that it works well with the traffic flow of the space (whether that be a closed of kitchen or an open concept living area). One of my favorite ways to incorporate kitchen island ideas is as a barrier between the living or dining room and the main cooking areas. So many homeowners are requesting open concept floor plans these days, so an island with seating offers a fantastic way to break up the large space and establish a good traffic flow.

The number one thing that I asked our contractor and architect for in the new home was to incorporate some sort of kitchen island ideas with seating in the center of the open concept living area on the first floor. After spending hours and hours looking through a ton of the top trending kitchen island ideas 2022, I tend to gravitate towards the ones that feature a large square or rectangular unit that serves as a barrier (both visually and for traffic flow) between the living room and kitchen. This photo is actually one of my favorite examples that I have come across, partially because of the gorgeous mid-century modern pendant lights that they used throughout the space, and partially because it really balances the entire kitchen design. If you look closely, the space is not very large but it is utilized perfectly to maximize function and beauty. This is everything that I want in my home.

Of all the kitchen island ideas with seating that I have seen, this home is definitely one of a kind in a super awesome way. Most of the homes you will see in real life or on design shows and in magazines usually feature a kitchen island with seating for 4. In fact, I don't think that I have ever seen a space designed to comfortably fit 7 or 8 people at the island. I think that the kitchen in these photos is so cool and dinner party ready because you could essentially have a meal and a show with all of your guests watching you prepare your creations for the evening. This is a huge draw for me because I am always the one cooking, which also makes me the one that usually has to miss the party. A small kitchen island is nice as far as prep work and a little bit of extra storage, but they definitely do not encourage guests to gather while you cook.

The one feature that I wanted in our new home was some sort of center island. Unfortunately, what ended up being our dream home did not have one, so I am currently looking around for kitchen island ideas with seating to add into our space when we remodel in the coming months. Luckily we were able to get this home cheap enough that we have a good portion of the budget leftover to make the place our home starting with my personal touch on the kitchen design ideas. I had bookmarked these photos of a stunning farmhouse style kitchen with a gigantic island years ago, and I am finally able to make this dream space a reality. To be honest, I do not want to stop with the large kitchen island with seating, I would love to recreate most of their design including the pots and pans rack, glass door cabinets, and butcher block countertops.