A Free-standing Island vs Peninsula: Which Style for Your Kitchen?

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Interior Kitchen View

If your kitchen serves only as a cooking space, then you’re yet to experience the full potential of a fully-functional cooking area.

Sunny yellow high gloss cabinetry

Apart from making meals, the most convenient kitchens allow you to host a friend while cooking, enjoy tea over a discussion, or arrange a social dinner. They can also act as a comfortable make-shift home office for when you’re doing extra hours.

Small kitchen design ideas

With a little guidance, you can also add these functionalities to your small or large kitchen.

The secret is to incorporate a Peninsula or Island in your cooking place. But which way to go between a peninsula vs island?

Kitchen Peninsula

Peninsula vs Island: Easy ways to Add More Function to Your Kitchen

An Island is a stand-alone unit-and-countertop erected in the middle of a kitchen to provide extra working space, offer additional storage, and create a kitchen bar, or family meal area.

the kitchen with modern style

A peninsula is also a unit-and-countertop that does pretty much everything an island does— but is built from a kitchen wall, and not at the center of the room like an island. Many times, a peninsula serves as a separating half-wall isolating the kitchen form other areas in an open plan home.

Interior Kitchen Peninsula View

But while some homes may have adequate space to accommodate both, your kitchen may find one option more practical than the other.

Related:
Classy Home Office: How To Decorate Your Work Environment With Style

Let’s discuss a peninsula vs island in detail to help you make an informed decision for your home.

Kitchen island

Creating an Island: A Complete Guide

Cooking was lonely until the dawn of islands when people realized it was fun hosting guests in a kitchen.

But one must follow some principles to create an island that will smooth rather than hinder kitchen activities.

Pendant light clusters are a beautiful addition to this kitchen island

So, what are the factors to consider?

1. Do you have sufficient space?

Space is everything because squeezing a stand-alone unit in a crammed room can hinder cooking activities and endanger your guests. Your island must leave 3-4ft of space all around for easy movement.

A wide selection of kitchen island lighting is available on the market

2. Create a reasonably-sized island

Avoid an enormous island that will interfere with the kitchen triangle. Cooking can mean breaking a bucket of sweat if you must move around an island to navigate between the refrigerator, sink, and cooking unit.

Pretty glass shades over the kitchen island (thisnext-us.com)

3. Light Up your Island

Lighting is important for a cooking space that should serve multiple purposes. Pendant lights or a leaving a small space on your roof is are an excellent way to brighten up your island.

Modern industrial design gets center attention at this kitchen island

4. Make room for extra seats

Two is okay, four is excellent, but you can go the extra mile if your space allows for six as long as you do not compromise on spacing.

Related:
Kitchen Essentials: 10 Things Your Kitchen Can’t Live Without 

Kitchen island that creates space for extra seats

5. Make your island handy by adding a central cooking top or sink

A supplementary sink can make your island more useful, minimize the kitchen triangle, and reduce movement. An extra cooktop is also a good idea, but be sure to consider guest safety and temperatures.

Island with sink

6. Use You Island as Extra storage

Building an open cabinet into your kitchen unit can provide more storage room for your cooking tools.

Kitchen island with basket storage

7. Consider guests with special needs

Provide a counter that accommodates individuals with mobility devices (30” tall).

Multi-level kitchen Island

A smart approach is to try a multi-Level island that accommodates everyone, the standard countertop height is 36 inches, while the average for people with special needs is 30 inches. Then we have the group that prefers the bar-height or 40 inches and above.

Peninsulas

First, it fits perfectly in a long and narrow cooking area without the space to accommodate a free-standing island.

contemporary kitchen

So, what are the factors to consider when installing a peninsula vs island?

1. Complete the cooking triangle with a peninsula

If a stand-alone unit in the middle of your kitchen will obstruct your cooking activities (or the kitchen triangle), then a peninsula can suffice.

Peninsula completing kitchen triangle

2. Your peninsula shouldn’t obstruct movement

A poorly erected peninsula can interfere with the functionality of a kitchen. Always review your idea to confirm its practicality.

Related:
Top 21 best kitchen cabinets

peninsula with wooden top

3. Power your peninsula

Add sockets and power sources, so your guests don’t have to leave the kitchen to charge their smartphones or laptops.

Peninsula in beautiful kitchen

 

4. Build appliances into your peninsula

You can build in an oven or freezer into the unused end of a peninsula unit.

An aquarium brings an unexpected touch to the kitchen

5. Light up your peninsula

Add lighting to brighten up your peninsula as you would on an island.

You can also try different levels with your peninsula to accommodate various guests.

Modern style kitchen

The most important thing to remember about a peninsula vs island styles is that both require strategy and a well-drafted plan.

Spacing, the cooking triangle, and kitchen functionality are also matters of priority when building both designs.

 

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