The heart of the home – the kitchen island
Pretty much every desirable bespoke Roundhouse kitchen features an island – but are they a fashionable fad or a clever piece of kitchen design?
Most bespoke kitchens that Roundhouse design feature a kitchen island, which meets the desire for a large social area where family and friends can convene, an island provides a practical, multifunctional hub. It is a focal point for socialising and informal dining and with a built in hob and prep area it means that the cook is at the centre of the action and not cut off preparing meals elsewhere.
Jamie Telford, Roundhouse director says, “An island needs to perform three functions; it should be practical with plenty of storage, and not least because it takes centre stage, it should look good, and should host plenty of seating. It’s important to make it as big as the space in your kitchen will allow – if it’s too mean you won’t get any benefit from having one.”
The downside of an island is that it can quickly become messy once food prep is underway. To overcome this the Roundhouse design team looked at producing a multifunctional bespoke island that meets the needs of the cook yet remains visually appealing for others using it as a place to eat and socialise. By using different heights and different materials, the team defined three zones – for cooking, preparation and eating.
The new Roundhouse bespoke kitchen island features a breakfast area delineated by a solid Wenge wood bar on two sides, which rests on the worktop, cantilevering out to accommodate as many as six to seven – even eight at a pinch. This bar is at the same height as the work surface that houses a flush hob, so that the cook is not isolated elsewhere at the stove. A robust stainless steel food preparation area is at a lower level and is contained within the higher-level worktops helping to disguise any culinary untidiness.
The bespoke island contains copious storage, within extra-long drawers – possible because of technical advancements in the drawer mechanisms, which make them more stable. Further large cupboards are hidden behind sliding doors, which allow access to the contents without the need to move the stools out of the way – Roundhouse has created a kitchen Tardis!
