The vertical run of your kitchen island is prime real estate to make a style statement. If yours is a flat white surface with no interest, it’s time to rethink your approach.
This is a trend I’ve been spotting in client homes of late. Many new-builders are choosing to have their island in a different colour or material to the rest of their kitchen. It’s a great way to embrace a bold design moment without having to apply it everywhere. The safe person’s daring accent, if you will.
And the good news is this: even if your kitchen design isn’t new, you can easily revamp the outer edge of your existing island to give it a new lease on life. Scroll on as I show you some amazing kitchen island ideas, with some design tips to boot!
Lighter Kitchen With a Bold Island Colour
Despite all the inspiration for colourful kitchens, many of you still gravitate toward a calmer palette. And I don’t blame you. The crisp nature of a white scheme or the calming effect of a soft grey is hard to beat.
There are ways to elevate the look though. By opting to paint the outer edges of your island in a vibrant tone, you allow more hue to enter the space. And the tone doesn’t have to slap you in the face, either. It can be a fairly muted tone and still bring some subtle interest.
It can also help connect your kitchen to the home’s overall design scheme. Navy blue can give an instant nod to Hamptons style, for example, especially if you have similar blue moments in other rooms.
Bold Against Calm Gives the Room a Focal Point
Painting your kitchen island in an accent colour also gives the zone a distinct focal point. You know I always bang on about every room needing one moment that draws the eye. And a kitchen (be it closed off or part of an open plan living area) is no different.
This idea can be handy if you initially opted for an all-white kitchen design but have tired of the safe approach as time has gone on. Rather than changing all the cabinets, the tiles, or a more costly feature, simple update the outer edge of your island instead.
This is a fairly simple DIY project to carry out, too. Depending on the finish of your island, you may need to get a piece of plaster cut to size and then paint it, but if plaster is already there, it can be as simple as giving it a clean, undercoat, and then splashing on your chosen paint colour.
Darker Kitchen with a Lighter Island Colour
If you’ve been brave enough to lean into a darker kitchen colour palette, I salute you. Be it black cabinetry or walnut (or deep green as seen above), a darker backdrop like this works wonders to make the space feel moodier, and sometimes even more sophisticated.
The key to keeping a dark kitchen feeling balanced is to ensure not every element is dark in nature. If the walls are dark, cabinets are dark, benchtop is dark and so on, the space starts to feel a little depressing.
This is where it can really pay off to have your kitchen island joinery in a lighter tone than the surrounding cabinets.
You Need the Light to Appreciate the Dark
While a bolder tone against a white backdrop gives the room a focal point, a lighter kitchen island colour against a moodier backdrop allows for some visual rest. It breaks up any potential monotony, and it reduced overwhelm.
It also allows you to appreciate the dark more. If the entire zone is decked out in black cabinets, for example, you almost lose the beauty the more your eye moves across the space.
By having a larger section of calm in the kitchen island, you really get to enjoy a sense of harmony. And if you repeat the colour of the island in another element in the kitchen (like in a floating shelf) you allow it to feel more intentional.
Kitchen Island with Panelling Applied in the Same Colour
If you like the idea of making your kitchen island an accent, but you’re not sure you can commit to a colour change, don’t worry. There are ways you can bring dimension to this area using material instead of colour.
You can apply panelling to the side of your kitchen island in the same colour as the rest of your kitchen, with breathtaking results. The space above is a perfect example of this approach executed perfectly. The colour is kept the same, but the change of material application brings a refinement to the space.
The Panelling Options Here are Endless
Keep it simple with vertically-run VJ panelling in a thicker board. You might want to try something a little more 3D with a range of scalloped or demi-round Surround by Laminex products. You could even go for a more intricate approach by running thinner battens along the side of the island.
Design Tip: If you’re doing something as eye-catching as a thin batten and the kitchen cabinetry colour is already rather striking, ensure other elements in the kitchen are kept simple. Elements like handles, tiles, pendant lights etc should all be kept quite uncomplicated.
The kitchen below is a nice example of the surrounding cabinets being calmer (no handles), with no feature splashback tile either. It does allow the panelling around the island to take centre stage.
Kitchen Island with Panelling Applied in a Different Colour
If you want to have a coloured kitchen island as well as embracing panelling, you can absolutely combine the two. You just need to be mindful of a few rules to ensure things don’t become to visually chaotic. I’ll explain the two scenarios below and how the rules are best followed.
If the cabinetry in your kitchen is simple in profile, you can have the island be bold in colour and have panelling applied. The image above is a nice illustration of my point. Because the front-profile in the cabinets is completely flat, the island can take two design elements – colour and pattern.
If the cabinetry in your kitchen already has a profile (shaker, for example), you would be wise to replicate the same panelling on the kitchen island. This keeps the profile consistent across the room. Two profiles in the one zone with the addition of a new colour is just too much for the eye to take.
Kitchen Island with Tiles Applied
If paint and joinery applications on a kitchen island don’t feel daring enough for you, consider embracing the hottest kitchen trend of them all: the tiled kitchen island. This is a look that commands attention, so if you want your kitchen to be a talking point, there are two ways to do it.
The Kitchen Island Tile is the Star, the Other Tile a Supporting Player
Notice in the image above how the tiles on the side of the curved kitchen island are where your eyes go? They are the focal point. You choose this tile in a larger size and in a more dominant colour/finish.
The tile that’s applied to the splashback is in a supporting role. By that I mean, it’s smaller, or simpler, or muted in colour. The finger tiles in the image above are great in that respect. They look lovely but they don’t complete with the island tile.
Or, Match the Island Tiles to your Splashback Tiles for Perfect Cohesion
When it comes to kitchen island ideas, the other way to do it when applying tiles is to perfectly match the tiles to the ones you’re using on the splashback.
When executing a look like this, because these tiles are so intricate, you need to ensure other design elements like cabinetry and lighting are simple. You don’t want the elements competing with one another.
Look to the image above to see how well this can be done. Sure, there’s a lot of tile, but the other elements aren’t trying to take the limelight. It actually feels rather calm.
Did you love these kitchen island ideas? Will you look to work these into your own kitchen design? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Let me know what you’re loving.
