To get more cooking and storage space in your kitchen, you should think about installing a kitchen island. Adding a kitchen island to your home will give you a lot of extra space for a multitude of uses, such as food preparation, additional seating, extra storage and even extra appliances. If you want to get an idea of the kinds of kitchen islands that are available, visit some kitchen showrooms, get some magazines and decorating books, or search the Internet.

The first thing you will want to consider is how you are going to use your island. Are you looking for extra space to do your gourmet cooking? Do you need extra seating for the kids' after school snacks? Do you enjoy having company in the kitchen while you cook? Do you need more drawers and cabinets in your kitchen? Think about what your kitchen needs and how an island could answer those needs.

Many people who enjoy doing a lot of cooking opt for an additional stove top on the island. This can be a gas or electric surface for additional burners or a Jenn Aire grill. You may want to add an additional oven to your island for cooking many dishes at once, or for keeping items warm. Cooks who enjoy baking like the fact that they can bake a cake or pie in one oven while the meat is roasting in the other.

Another option is a fry cooker on the island. It keeps the mess away from the main preparation area, and a vent installed above can remove fumes. A second sink for food preparation is also a boon to someone who cooks a lot.

Installing electric outlets in the island will make it easy to run small appliances such as mixers or blenders. You can have a panel with all of the outlets together, or put them at each end of the island. If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you may want to be able to plug in a small T.V. or CD player.

You will gain a lot of working counter space when you install a kitchen island. If you bake a lot, you can install a surface such as granite or marble so you can roll dough right on the counter. Butcher block Will allow you to cut foods on the surface easily.

One of the biggest advantages of a kitchen island is the additional eating space it will give you. If the counter overhangs the base by a foot, you can place stools under it and have automatic extra seating. Most people love this arrangement for a quick cup of coffee, reading the paper, or doing homework while mom or dad get dinner ready.

If the island is large enough, you can have plenty of work space and also add the extra eating space. Leaving one end of the island for food preparation and the other for eating will allow this easily, and you can even choose to have a multi level island, with the eating area at a different height than the food prep area.