Small Kitchen Remodel

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. This little piece really changed the way that I look at kitchen island ideas for small kitchens because I used to think that they were pointless unless you could have a huge square unit. Moral of the story is to stay open minded about furniture, decor and architecture because things may grow on you.

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. I think that it is a fantastic technique to enhance small kitchen design with island because they don't take up much space and they can provide a ton of storage and functionality to the room.

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. The main thing that I changed was adding this lovely yet small moss green island to center the space, and replaced all of the countertops with a much more neutral white, grey and beige granite.

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. You are going to be seeing these everywhere for 2020 so I highly recommend getting in on this trend quickly.

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. We opted for this 3.5 feet by about 8 feet island with enough room for at least 4 stools (if not more) as well as a ton of prep space. I think that it works so well with the scale of the room and definitely brings a little something different to the space than you would expect.