Rustic Kitchen Island

Don't you think that this rustic kitchen island was the perfect way to balance our large floor plan? I had struggled for months to try to figure out a plan for our remodel, but I had not really considered looking into kitchen layouts with island for some reason.  I know these are popular features because they add so much extra storage and counter space, but I wasn't sure if one would fit in with the vibe of our rustic home. I guess that was probably a stupid thing to think, because why would something as simple as some extra matching cabinets in the middle of the floor not go well with everything else that we have going on. I may be biased, but out of all of the pictures of kitchen islands that I have seen, I think that this one blends well with the surrounding decor the most. 

I definitely think that any home can handle a rustic kitchen island to amp up their design.  Yes, I understand that this look may not work out absolutely perfectly in an ultra modern style home, but I stand by my statement haha.  These photos that I posted feature some of my favorite rustic kitchen island ideas that I have ever seen (and the ones that I plan to copycat in our new remodel).  I deep grey cabinetry just like this, exposed beams to accent our tall ceilings, and a funky tile backsplash to top off the design.  Of course, the centerpiece of the design will be a large rustic kitchen island with seating for at least four just like they have here.

Don't you think that a rustic kitchen island like this just makes the entire design? I'll admit that when my interior decorator first broached the topic of adding a kitchen island table to our design, I was a bit wary. I thought that something large like that would make our home feel cramped and that it would hinder the traffic flow through the kitchen. We spend so much time in there that I wanted to make sure we would have ample room for my kids as well as any guests we have over.  After doing some research on kitchen island ideas with seating I realized that it would actually be the perfect element to add to the space for our family's particular needs.

The previous owners of our house were very into farmhouse design but that is not really our thing.  I really want to replace the rustic kitchen island that is currently there, with a cool modern style marble piece like this one.  We have been looking at various ways that we can update our home, more specifically through kitchen island designs, for awhile now, and have decided that we want to steer away from anything that is overly traditional.  If anything, we would like a more neutral style with contemporary leanings (much like the house in these pictures). I am thinking that if we replace the rustic island ideas that they already have and take down our upper cabinets to replace them with floating shelves, we would probably end up with a design very similar to this. 

My husband and I battle for weeks over whether or not we would add a rustic kitchen island to our unique modern meets woodsy design, and ultimately we made a compromise of sorts.  I really wanted to incorporate a large kitchen island with seating to give me a larger service area to prep for the frequent dinner parties that we host. He was concerned that something like that would take up too much room in our kitchen, and that would ultimately have a negative effect on the overall vibe. I saw his point on that one because it is a pretty narrow floor plan, so we looked around for ways that we could achieve both of our goals at once.

I think that this is such a unique twist on a rustic kitchen island because it combines the hewn barn wood that is more stereotypical of a farm house kitchen alongside a sleek granite countertop that you would most like see in a contemporary style home.  The kitchen island ideas that this house used are exactly what I want to recreate in our design, because I think that it will marry our modern style with the more traditional architecture used throughout the home. Furthermore, by installing subway tile on the walls and a cool metal hood, we will keep the place very sleek and neutral while being very easy to maintain.  The only think that I would change about this look is to add some stools at the island.