Small kitchen islands

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Atlanta is a great place in the spring (unless you are a seasonal allergy sufferer!), as every week seems to have a different home tour. One of the best home tours of the spring, the Atlanta Symphony Decorators’ Show House, is in full swing now, and it promises to be spectacular.

I have not seen many sneak previews of the spaces in the Symphony Show House, with the exception of the kitchen. The Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles blog has featured guest posts on the design of the Show House kitchen by one of Atlanta’s preeminent kitchen designers, Matthew Quinn of Design Galleria. Matthew and his team have been working for months on the transformation of the kitchen in the Show House (they gutted the old kitchen), and the results (seen above) are stunning. I took special note of the two small islands; according to one of Matthew’s guest posts, the design came out of a desire to improve traffic issues that one long island often causes in a kitchen where there are multiple people cooking. Also, it was noted the two islands creates more usable countertop space.

It was the second time this week I had seen a kitchen with two small islands. At the end of last week, the authors of the Whitehaven blog posted pictures of the kitchen from the house that I featured on my blog on Tuesday (click here for more images). Note that there are two islands, one of which has storage, and one of which is open. I think this is a great combination – the best of both worlds. Architecture by Brad Heppner (who is clearly very talented at kitchen design).

Here is a wider view of the kitchen – you can see the storage island better in this picture (and those fantastic lights are amazing in the space). Brad designed one island to match the cabinetry, and one island to look like furniture. The overall effect is beautiful. Image via Whitehaven.

A charming 1925 Tudor style house that is on the market in Atlanta has a stunning kitchen addition that is filled with light. Although it is hard to see in this picture, there are two islands, each shaped differently. A big island would have really changed the look of this kitchen, but the two small islands give the kitchen additional work surfaces without overwhelming the space. Does anyone know which architect helmed the renovation of this house (I have a guess…)? Image via real estate listing.

This beautiful kitchen is in a Mediterranean style house (circa 1929) that was renovated under the guidance of project architect Rodolfo Castro (who was with Summerour and Associates at the time, but has since started his own firm, Castro Design Studio). Ed Belding also worked on the kitchen design; Ed is a talented interior designer who worked with Rodolfo at Summerour, and has since started his own firm, the Belding Group. The kitchen has two islands of different sizes and shapes, with open shelving underneath. Photo credit: Blayne Beacham; to see more of this house, please visit Limestone and Boxwoods.

Rodolfo told me that the inspiration for the kitchen islands came from Castle Drogo, located near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. Castle Drogo was built in the 1910s - 1920s and was designed by Edwin Lutyens (the island in the picture above was designed by Lutyens for the home). An interesting side note, Castle Drogo was the last castle to be built in England, and more than likely the last private house to be built entirely of granite (source: Wikipedia).

What do you think of two small islands in a kitchen? I like the look, provided there is enough storage space in other places in the kitchen. I can definitely see the advantages from a traffic flow perspective, and I love the idea of having multiple independent work surfaces (during busy times in my kitchen, we have small battles for countertop space). The one concern I have is losing the storage that is in a large island. I am looking forward to seeing the kitchen in the Symphony Show House in person, and I will be paying special attention to those kitchen islands!

The Atlanta Symphony Decorators’ Show House opens this weekend (April 17, 2010), and runs through May 9, 2010. For more information, please visit the show house website: http://www.decoratorsshowhouse.org/

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