Kitchen Island Breakfast Bars

December 2022

One of the most popular solutions in open plan living is to separate the kitchen and living space with a kitchen island. Space-efficient, providing additional storage, ideal for food preparation and surface cooking, there are countless types and styles of kitchen islands, from traditional to contemporary. 

The kitchen island is also the central hub of the kitchen. By extending your worktop at one of both ends, or by including recessed base cabinetry at the centre of the island, allows for bar stool seating beneath and the kitchen island breakfast bar becomes a versatile space for informal dining and socialising with family and friends. 

The perfect focal point for your Simon Taylor Furniture kitchen.

A kitchen island is a great way to add a centrepiece to your design. Providing a versatile space with many benefits, Simon Taylor Furniture kitchens are always truly bespoke, designed and handmade at our cabinetry workshop in Bierton, Buckinghamshire. On this website are case studies where we feature different types of kitchen island breakfast bars, most recently in our Ashridge , Bovingdon and High Wycombe kitchen projects. 

A design as functional as it is exquisite

The kitchen is one of the most essential rooms in any home. It is where families and friends gather to eat, share stories, and bond with one another, but it also serves a very functional purpose of being a place for storing, preparing and serving food. A kitchen island is an excellent way to maximise space with well-thought-out purposeful design. Together with deep drawers and cupboards, base cabinetry can also include wine climate cabinets, and extra oven or an integrated dishwasher. At Simon Taylor Furniture, our team will design your perfect kitchen island and breakfast bar.

Choosing the perfect style

If you are considering a kitchen island with a breakfast bar in your home, our designers will craft your ideas into a perfectly cohesive design. At Simon Taylor Furniture, we believe that a kitchen island and breakfast bar should be stylish and functional. There are a number of key considerations when considering a kitchen island and breakfast bar, they include:

• Space
• Seating
• Worksurface
• Lighting

Space

The first consideration for a kitchen island is to ensure there is enough walkway space around it. We usually recommend at least one metre of space around the entire island to account when the dishwasher door is opened, for example. If you are extending the island’s worksurface to include a kitchen island breakfast bar, then there needs to be room to walk behind it too. Our designers will accurately measure your space and will formulate plans and elevations. 

Seating

Seating can complete a kitchen island in style. Whether you are looking for bar stools for a kitchen island breakfast bar, or banquette seating within your island, we will design it to suit your needs. Bar stools are usually the most space-efficient and can be arranged along the island’s length for an intimate breakfast nook or at one end of an extended worktop.

Worksurfaces

Extending a worksurface to accommodate a kitchen island breakfast bar is an ideal solution as it looks seamless. Whether you are opting for a shaker-style kitchen or a contemporary design, our team can talk you through your options in order to create a harmonious end-result. At Simon Taylor Furniture, we partner with many major marble, granite and quartz worktop brands, and we have many samples in our showroom.

Lighting

One of the most critical parts of a kitchen is lighting, and having a kitchen island offers an excellent opportunity to add personality to your space with creative lighting styles. From traditional pendant lighting for a classic look, to more modern recessed lights and spotlights for a contemporary feel, it’s a great way of differentiating your kitchen and adding your stamp. One signature style of ours is to include profile lighting beneath a recessed plinth to that is designed to give the illusion that your island is floating. Read more about decorative lighting here.

At Simon Taylor Furniture, all of our designs are truly bespoke. For more information about the use of a kitchen island breakfast bar in your next kitchen, please get in touch.