Small Kitchen Island Ideas

Small kitchen island ideas can be incorporated no matter what size home you are working with.  A lot of people assume that one of these pretty units would only really be useful in a small kitchen remodel, but I actually love incorporating a somewhat miniature island into even a large space.  I think that it breaks up a very open floor plan without being overwhelming or dominating the space.  I have actually been seeing this technique used a ton in the popular kitchen design ideas 2020 (I guess I am just ahead of the trends).  The kitchen in these photos was one of my favorite designs that I have come across mostly because the small rectangular island fits so well within the flow of the space and the marble top looks gorgeous paired with the white subway tile accent wall.

When I first saw photos of this home, I thought that the small kitchen island ideas that they used were beyond stupid.  Low and behold we end up buying the house and I spent months trying to figure out how to supplement the tiny thing with some other types of kitchen island designs.  I hat to totally get rid of it because it matches the cabinets and because the granite is so pretty, but I just couldn't see how it would be useful at all.  Once I stopped thinking so much about it and just used the thing, I realized that it actually is super handy even just as a spot to place things or cut produce as I scurry around the kitchen cooking.

I am up for any type of extra counter space whether that comes via small kitchen island ideas or installed and entire unit of new cabinetry.  This kitchen was hard because, although the window provided tons of natural light, it cut off an entire wall that could have been used for cabinetry and counter space.  We figure that incorporating some type of narrow kitchen island ideas would be a way to actually utilize the space and perhaps make up for some of the functional space that was lost due to that window.  Although we are still experimenting with the stools (not sure I am 100% sold on these contemporary leather ones), overall I really like how the new piece looks.

It has been really fun for me to research small kitchen island ideas because it has given me tons of inspiration for other things that I would love to do in our home (much to my husband's dismay haha).  What started off as a search for the trending kitchen island ideas 2020 turned into me coming up with a plan for a complete downstairs remodel complete with new living room decor and a gorgeous updated kitchen.  As you can see from the photos, I opted to keep all of our nice white shaker cabinets because I felt that they are a very classic style and would work well with just about any kitchen design I could think of.

Some people think that small kitchen island ideas are not worth it because of the limited size.  I, on the other hand, definitely have to disagree because I think that pictures of kitchen islands of this size actually look fantastic and it makes the units so much more versatile for a wider variety of floor plans.  Even though this kitchen is quite large, the open area in the center would feel very crowded if you put your average size rectangular  island.  I think that a cute mini island like this would look great in a large space like this or as a centerpiece for small kitchen ideas.

I was really nervous that the small kitchen island ideas that I was planning on incorporating into our remodel would look silly in the pretty limited layout of our space.  I am so happy to say that I was wrong, because I think that what we settled on was actually the perfect kitchen design for small space like we have.  As you can see, we wanted something really unique for the cabinets -- I was looking for a rustic old world type of wood finish with a lot of carved detailing.  We have a long and narrow floor plan, so I figured that in order to incorporate some type of kitchen island ideas with seating, we would need to mimic that long shape.