Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality

Custom kitchen islands bring on the prep space and level up any kitchen remodeling project. If you’re dreaming of a new, bright, and spacious kitchen space, imagining a myriad of custom kitchen island ideas to make this space absolutely perfect, we completely understand you. Today’s kitchens are almost unimaginable without stylish kitchen islands. Regardless of your habits in the kitchen, whether you cook a lot or not at all, and whether you entertain or not, a well-designed and built custom-made kitchen island makes any experience, from casual dining to heavy-duty cooking a unique and fun experience.

If you’re planning to remodel your kitchen and looking into many types of custom kitchen islands, keep reading this blog post. To make your planning easy and ideation enjoyable, we’ve collected many impressive custom kitchen island ideas in a variety of styles, added instructions on how to add a kitchen island to your home for the most effective results, and included information on how to choose and where to find the best custom built kitchen island for your home. Keep reading to get inspired and turn an idea of the ideal kitchen island into reality.

Custom Kitchen Islands Ideas for Beautiful Looks

From the double island, custom kitchen island table combination, and custom kitchen islands with seating to added open shelving and islands dressed in show-stopping marble, we bring you a wealth of remarkable custom kitchen island ideas. These design examples can turn your kitchen into a social area perfect for entertaining or into a highly functional space that will make everyday cooking and serving easier and more enjoyable for the whole family.

We don’t focus only on the looks, although we believe the materials, colors, and patterns are extremely important for the overall experience. Our designers make sure to bring attention to the kitchen island size, seating, storage, sink upgrade, and other characteristics that can significantly level up the functionality of your island.

Take a look at these custom kitchen island design ideas and imagine them in your new kitchen. What do you think, what kind of kitchen island would suit you best?

Add an Extra Custom Kitchen Island

Regardless of the style of your kitchen, whether it’s simple kitchen design, classic or contemporary, more storage or additional counter space is always welcome. So, if you have enough square footage and believe you and your family would benefit from a double island, why not make a go for it?

You can give multiple purposes to these islands. Add storage and sink to one and use the other as a dining table, adding some seating to it, for example. The options are endless.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Double kitchen island for more prep, serving, and entertaining space.

Add Some Chic to the Kitchen with a Custom Waterfall Island

Custom kitchen islands are a joy to work on if you know what you want and need for your kitchen. If you want to make a statement with a unique island design and create a head-turning kitchen decor, consider adding a waterfall island instead of a classic one. Custom kitchen island designs such as this will make your kitchen feel modern, attractive, and luxurious. For the most effective results, choose materials like quartz, especially marble-looking quartz, real marble, or quartzite for your waterfall kitchen island.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Waterfall kitchen island with integrated appliances and sink for a show-stopping look and luxurious feel

Get Creative with Seating

If you have an open-concept kitchen, this calls for creative kitchen island seating. The open floor plan eliminates the need for a separate dining room. However, the kitchen is one with the rest of the space and relieves you of the need for a classic dining table. Your kitchen island equipped with seating will welcome family and friends and provide enough dining and serving space. But if you wish to up your game and add some interest and fun, forget about classic seating and get creative.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom kitchen island decor ideas: Add creative seating to your kitchen island for more fun and interest

Use Custom Island Seating to Bring in Color

When thinking about kitchen island seating, we usually consider comfort, layout, and style. Regarding style, sometimes we decide to add an extra layer with some special texture, but oftentimes we can use a powerful pop of color to add liveliness and cheer to the room. The pop of color can be especially needed in contemporary minimalist all-white or all-dark kitchen interiors. Just imagine these all-white kitchen cabinets setting without these fun red stools. It would look pretty bland, right?

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom kitchen island ideas: Bring some color pop with island seating

Blend Custom Kitchen Island with the Cabinets

Custom-made kitchen islands can be built to contrast or blend with the cabinetry. Contrasting kitchen islands are more popular and can be seen in contemporary kitchen design examples more often. However, if you wish to create a more uniform kitchen look and make your cabinetry and island flow as one, blending the island with cabinetry in color, texture, and lines is a great idea.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom-built kitchen island ideas: Blend the island with cabinetry for a more uniform look

Create Contrast with a Custom Built Kitchen Island

Contrasting colors in a kitchen add interest to space in an effective and powerful but also in simple way.  If you plan on remodeling your white kitchen, think about contrasting a black, coastal marine blue, or a gray kitchen island with the white cabinetry. The result is a classy, sophisticated, and highly refined look, always.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Modern custom kitchen island: Contrast it to the rest of the kitchen for more interest

Add Warmth with Wood Custom Kitchen Island Tops

Butcher block is a wonderful idea for custom kitchen island tops that should add warmth, intimacy, and a used, familiar look to the cooking space. Such an island goes best and can usually be found in farmhouse kitchen ideas where, when combined well with other elements, the island can be a true star in the kitchen.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom-made island for the kitchen: go mid-century with a butcher block countertop

Keep It Slim and Narrow

A kitchen island doesn’t need to be especially large to be functional and beautiful. Add some shelves and storage space to make it functional to the maximum despite its size. Top it with some beautiful stones for a more attractive look.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom kitchen island design: Keep your island narrow to save space but not lose on functionality and beauty

Keep it Classically Traditional

A classic kitchen island can bring so much charm to a kitchen. Vintage-looking fixtures, beaded-board accents, and delightful crowns will embellish not only your island but the whole kitchen space. Painted or boasting a classic wood finish, a classic custom kitchen island design will add personality and authenticity to the room.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Traditional custom-made island for the kitchen: celebrate authenticity and unique personality

Keep it Simple and Minimalist

Minimalist aesthetics and the color white convey simplicity and ultimate refinement with class. Subtle and simple kitchens with clean lines and colors bring freshness and a contemporary feel to the home. Minimalist kitchen islands don’t have to be devoid of color and necessarily white but white waterfall kitchen islands made of quartz, featuring clean lines, without any ornamentation, with storage smartly hidden is a minimalist dream come true. Modern kitchen cabinets will be a delightful background for a sleek custom kitchen island to pop and shine.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom kitchen island design ideas: minimalist white is a dream of a contemporary kitchen come true

Make it Spacious

A great, wide, spacious kitchen island is the potential for ample storage, functionality, prep, and serving space but also display and unique aesthetic. If there is enough space in your kitchen, why not include one of these beautiful, multitasking, hard-working giants? It will add more storage space in addition to the best kitchen cabinets, it’s perfect for kids who will do homework right next to you, will offer extra setting space, a place for additional kitchen amenities, and other, endless benefits. And, have we mentioned, it will look quite beautiful, as well.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom kitchen islands: make it spacious and beautiful

Dress It in Marble-Looking Quartz or Real Marble

The kitchen island made of marble or marble-looking quartz is a harmonious blend of function and form and an exquisite thing of beauty.  Marble look countertops provide a uniquely natural but also show-stopping effect. Made of real marble or a marble-looking waterfall kitchen island made of quartz will turn heads, that’s for sure. If you don’t want the hassle of taking care of real marble and sealing it, and you don’t like the aged look it will unavoidably get after a while, choose marble-looking quartz that offers a perfect imitation of real marble with only a minimal fraction of maintenance efforts and will look new for many years to come.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Custom-made kitchen island: white marble-looking quartz waterfall island

How to Choose the Right Kitchen Custom Island?

When thinking about adding an island to your kitchen space, several factors need to be considered. The first one would be — do you need it? The answer to this question is most likely yes because we all need more prep space, more storage, and more serving space in our kitchens. These are the liveliest rooms in our homes where we do practically everything, from the early morning to the late evening.

Most importantly, think about how will you use your island. There are several basic things you can use it for — prepare, cook, store, serve and entertain, and wash up. Things you will use it for will dictate its size, width, depth, storage, and seating. If you have limited space, focus on making it multifunctional. Depending on what do you need it for, determine YOU want, you can determine the width and depth of your island, especially if you have limited space available.

Should the kitchen island be centered?

It depends on how you use it. The center of the kitchen is the most popular but often it’s not an ideal spot for an island. If you’re going to use it primarily for food prep, make sure to place it near the appliances and outlets. In case you’re going to use it primarily for cleanup, place it near the garbage, dishwasher, and sink.

What is a good size kitchen island?

Regardless of the size of your kitchen, make sure to install your island so it provides smooth, uninterrupted movement between fridge, sink, and stove. The island should be far enough from each of these in order to provide the function. For an island itself to be functional it needs to be minimally 4 feet deep and 2 feet long. If you have a larger kitchen, consider adding two islands with different purposes instead of one large island.

Is my kitchen too small for an island?

Your kitchen needs to be more than 12 feet long and at least 8 feet deep for you to even think of adding an island. Never forget that you also need some space to work around the island and move freely.

How far should a kitchen island be from the cabinets?

It depends where you’re going to place it but a kitchen island should be situated at least 42 to 48 inches away from the cabinetry. Don’t forget, you need space to move and work between a fridge, stove, and sink.

How long does an island need to be to seat 4?

To comfortably seat four people, you need an island of about 2.4m in length. You can also consider installing an L-shaped overhang and seat 2 by 2 people on both sides of the island if you don’t have enough space to install an island that is 2.4 m long.

Custom Kitchen Islands for Maximum Functionality

Kitchen island design can greatly affect its functionality. Consider these custom kitchen island ideas to maximize the usability of your island and make sure everyone enjoys the benefits it offers.

Add Seating

What is a kitchen without laughter, intimate conversation, and small celebrations? To make your kitchen a unique, intimate gathering space for your family and friends, add seating to your island. This way, your island doubles up — it’s not only a prep and cooking space, but also a snack and serving area where homework is done, morning coffee drank, and hands held.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Add enough comfortable seating space to your island

Add Storage Space

Can you or anyone say no to more storage space? Add cabinets, shelves, and drawers to your kitchen island and store utensils, cutlery, cooking supplies, garbage, recycling, or anything else you need to keep handy. Custom kitchen islands give you many creative storage options.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Get creative with storage space and add it more

Brighten It Up

To cook and prep food, serve, entertain, and wash up, you need enough light. Regardless of the amount of natural light your kitchen receives, you will need ample light above your island. Don’t make it pale or too bright. Find kitchen island lighting that will provide the kind of ambiance you need.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Illuminate your island with the right kind of light for the ambiance you desire

Combine Seating and Storage

Who says you can’t have it all? Just look at how beautiful the end result can be.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Combine seating and storage for a harmonious blend of beauty and functionality

Incorporate Appliances

Keep your appliances close, especially if you’re going to use your kitchen for food prep.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Incorporate appliances for a more convenient food prep process

Upgrade Custom Kitchen Islands with a Sink

If you’re going to use your custom kitchen island for cleanup, make sure to include a sink. A dishwasher is also highly desired.

Custom Kitchen Islands Designs for More Functionality | Home Art Tile Kitchen and Bath

Upgrade it with a sink for an easy clean up after the party or a small gathering

FAQ about Customized Kitchen Islands

  • How much does it cost to build a custom kitchen island?

While, according to Home Advisor, a standard kitchen island costs anywhere between $3,000 to $5,000 on average, building a customized one can go beyond that. The more whistles and bells added to it, the more it will cost. However, there are ways to save while adding a custom island to your kitchen. For example, reducing the size of an island can allow you to cover it in marble or marble-looking quartz. You can also make it movable to save on building codes and permits while leaving space to add some features later, can also relax the remodeling project process.

  • How to build a custom kitchen island?

When building a custom island for your kitchen, make sure to add some features to it that you really need and that will improve the functionality of the kitchen and your workflow. For example, homeowners like to invest in an island that has some built-in features, like a pull-out trash can, a towel rod, wine storage, or a coffee bar. And an island that has a bookshelf or a bookcase is also hip these days and proves handy.

  • Can I design my own kitchen island?

Yes, you can absolutely design your own kitchen island if you have a specific purpose and look in mind. To save, you can use stock cabinets instead of custom cabinets to design your own island and make it any size and any type of storage you wish. Feel free to make your custom island a focal point of the kitchen with a powerful color, texture, or lines, or match its color with the color of the rest of the cabinets in your kitchen.

  • Is it cheaper to build a custom kitchen island?

Custom-built islands for kitchens usually cost more than standard stock kitchen islands. Specific details, special materials and colors, and detailed, unique work are usually the reasons why customized kitchen islands cost more than stock islands. However, the benefits of building a unique island made specifically to meet and fit your needs will outweigh the costs with increased countertop space, more storage space, extra seating, and other options made available for building smart, highly functional islands for kitchens.

Contact Us to Get Maximum Value on Your Custom Kitchen Islands

Reach out to our expert kitchen design team here at Home Art Tile Kitchen & Bath in Long Island, New York. Custom islands add incredible value to your kitchen and your home and they are not going away from style anytime soon. That’s practically impossible since your needs and wishes design it and create it. What’s best, you can make your own custom kitchen island without having to dwell on the question of how much does a custom kitchen island cost.

Home Art Tile Kitchen & Bath design team provides you with the best selection of custom kitchen islands and everything you may need to create the perfect one. From cabinetry with endless options of shelves and drawers, in many gorgeous styles and countertops for the perfect custom kitchen island tops to sinks and sinks and faucet combos at reasonable and fair pricing that guarantees significant savings when creating perfect custom kitchen island designs.

Based on your lifestyle, needs, and style preferences, our expert design team will help you design a custom kitchen island, uplift your kitchen, and boost the value of your kitchen and home drastically.

For maximum value and just the right custom-built kitchen island you need, contact us now.