Anatomy of the Ultimate Kitchen Island

This kitchen above designed by Laura Butler-Madden, is very pretty, with deep blue cabinets, brass accents, and open shelving. It sits on one end of a huge, open concept great room with soaring ceilings and beautiful herringbone floors. But this room’s highest achievement may be achieving “peak kitchen island”. Let’s zoom in on it and discuss, shall we?

First off, it’s freaking huge. This island has acres of work space: kids could do their homework on one end, while multiple cooks whip up a five-course meal on the other side. And there would still be room in the middle for a bunch of dishes, perhaps a large flower centerpiece, and a row of Rockettes doing their signature high kick in formation. It’s that big.

Then pause for a minute to consider the slab that she chose for the work surface. Although I’m sure it was spend-y, the thick 3cm splurge-worthy stone gives it so much weight and presence. Marble is always a classic and gorgeous choice and will never go out of style. Plus, the white really stands out in beautiful contrast to the darker navy blue below.

The cut out you see on the bottom right provides a spot for stools and — cleverly — wraps around the corner, making it so much easier to see who you’re talking to while seated. The brass barstools — softened by sheepskin — are a pretty addition and tie in nicely with the other brass accents.

Moving down, you can see both closed and open storage behind the stools. Cabinets allow for extra dishes and cookware to remain out of sight. Exposed bookshelves for cookbooks make them ready to be plucked off the shelf and easily referenced.

What do you think?