Kitchen islands are a modern status symbol.
Having one tells people you both have a space large enough to accommodate it, and that you are the type of person who throws fabulous parties where people congregate around it. Everyone knows all the interesting people end up in the kitchen at house parties.
While it’s true that your kitchen needs to be on the larger side with enough clearance to open cabinet doors and drawers freely, even medium and smaller kitchens can accommodate a kind of kitchen island - a butcher’s block.
Either design creates extra workspace to prepare ingredients on the top deck and store cookware and ingredients underneath. The boujiest kitchen island might include a small wine fridge, a pull-out drawer for a compost bin so you can scoop discarded skins straight into it, or a cubby hole to keep wedding china or seasonal party accessories, keeping your main cupboards free for everyday kitchen wares.
They’re also great for crowding friends around with glasses of wine and bowls of nibbles as you prepare the final stages of a meal, creating a far more casual and intimate setting than a formal dining table ever could.
Some islands serve as tables themselves, an informal place to have breakfast or enjoy an after-work snack with kids and partners. If you want to get more from yours, look for designs that come with stools included, or pick up your favourites here.
If you’ve been mulling over a kitchen island purchase, we’ve rounded up the best freestanding blocks on the market for your consideration. From islands on wheels to extendable models, there’s something for every home - and every pocket.
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SoBuy Extendable Kitchen Island
This handsome black island is perfect for medium and large kitchens, featuring a stainless steel worktop to extend your counter space.
The robust wood and metal design offers storage galore with two drawers, two cupboards with an adjustable shelf, a rack for tea towels and a folding sideboard that creates 25cm of extra space if you need it.
Best of all, the whole lot is set on wheels, so you can move it around the kitchen easily.
Buy now £246.46, Amazon
Marlow Home Co Dyri Kitchen Island
Who couldn’t use extra storage in a room as busy as the kitchen? This luxe design magics up a huge amount in fairly modest proportions, utilising the space to the greatest degree. There’s a crockery cabinet to keep utensils, closed drawers, and an open shelf to store oils and spices. There’s also a rail to keep tea towels close to hand, or just S-hooks to hang pans or oven gloves.
It’s not a static design either; four castor wheels hidden behind the panel allow for smooth rolling from room to room.
Buy now £289.99, Wayfair
La Redoute Interiors Baudry Kitchen Island
The cottagecore vibes are strong in La Redoute’s pine and lacquered MDF design: you can just picture it front and centre for family pasta nights or weekend breakfasts. Turned legs add a charming touch to a practical design that features open shelving, two drawers and a central wall onto which you can add upholstered stools to create seating.
Buy now £362.50, La Redoute
Dunelm Olney Kitchen Island, Grey
This compact island perfectly illustrates that such a feature is not the preserve of humungous kitchens alone. The island may be small, but it works hard for its money with closed cupboards to keep extra plates, dishes and serving platters plus a pull-out drawer that looks perfect for storing specialist items like flat graters, BBQ tools and more.
Behind the cabinets, you’ll find a recess that should be able to comfortably house a pair of stools.
Buy now £299.00, Dunelm
Argos Home Chicago Solid Wood 2 Seater Bar Island
Made from solid wood and painted in a welcoming cream shade, this island offers a worktop, storage and breakfast bar all in one. The shelves are open so best to be picky about what goes on here since everything will be on display. We’d store statement serving platters, cookbooks, or a fancy pestle and mortar.
Around the other side, there’s enough legroom for a pair of stools.
Sold with a one-year manufacturer’s guarantee.
Buy now £220.00, Argos
Cotswold Company Chester Kitchen Island, Dove Grey
Lean into the wholesome country cottage feel with Cotswold Company: the brand offers this gorgeous kitchen island tooled up with a winning mix of open and closed storage. Line up fresh produce like potatoes and onions in baskets along the bottom shelf, and stack more in two vented drawers in the middle tier. Closed drawers under the work surface offer more space to keep essentials.
Sold with a 15-year guarantee.
Buy now £1199.00, John Lewis
TANGZON Kitchen Island on Wheels
A kitchen trolley and island all in one, this small but mighty unit is perfect for kitchens with cupboards overspilling with items. It comes with a towel rail and is set on lockable wheels, making it easy to manoeuvre around the kitchen. If your layout obliges, you could even use this to wheel the weekly shop from the car boot to the kitchen.
Open shelves on one side are the perfect spot for condiments, oils and spices, while the drawers will hide away clutter you don’t want on show all the time.
Buy now £94.90, Amazon
So’Home Vinton Marble and American Pine Farmhouse Kitchen Island
Crafted from sustainably sourced pine and finished with a beautiful marble top, this stunning kitchen island promises to be the star of the show.
Open shelves offer a chance to showcase your favourite kitchen pieces, be they coloured glassware, statement cookware or rows of produce in wicker baskets serving as a personal farmer’s market. It is expensive, but craftsmanship like this should last a lifetime.
Buy now £1994.05, La Redoute
Lamia Kitchen Cart
A moveable kitchen island with oodles of storage and ample surface area for food preparation, the Lamia Kitchen Cart would make a fine addition to an open-plan living room and kitchen by splitting up the space. The additional kitchen towel and spice racks ooze practicality and sophistication, doubling up as handles to move the trolley on its four, smooth universal wheels.
Buy now £194.99, Wayfair
Yahteetech Solid Wood Top Kitchen Island
Extra-large and the perfect solution to all your coffee station needs, this solid wood top, portable kitchen island is a must-have piece of kit. One shelf is slotted for bottles, while the other is perfectly flat for accessories including pots, pans, plates and books.
Buy now £101.99, Wayfair
Severns Solid Wood Top Kitchen Island
The Severns portable kitchen island is part bar cart, storage solution and meal preparation surface. Its tripartite system truly offers the best of all possible worlds when it comes to maximising your kitchen space. The slightly frosted, ribbed doors cover two handy shelves on one side, and three wine glass holders on the other.
Buy now £262.99, Wayfair
