Flowers

Freedom without walls: open space kitchens and islands

2019-07-12 Open spaces, creative reinterpretations of the kitchen space, current inspirations and ways of living: an open space kitchen that communicates with the living area is an increasingly frequent and popular choice today. While we often think that the decision to combine two spaces is due to limited space in the home, more and more people voluntarily choose this solution. The kitchen becomes a real protagonist in the home and this is why it is central to a design project, especially thanks to the use of large islands or peninsulas.

Fine materials with elegant aesthetics ensure functionality and appeal and transform a kitchen island into a link between an area destined for food preparation and an area for sharing and socialising. SapienStone countertops ensure flexibility and the design of the island element is a real exercise in style. For example, the pure white Uni Ice can be combined with wood finishes or with any colour that is then used to decorate the living area, lighting up the space and bringing elegance and minimalism to the whole project. Other more textured finishes like Grey Earth and Sand Earth, which recall stone and clay, or Malm Grey and Black, inspired by metal, can create sophisticated contrasts to enhance the island and the whole room.

What kind of spaces do you need to create a kitchen island?

With the use of a kitchen island, we can redefine space creativity. In the case of smaller spaces, an island can create new work areas and optically increase the perception of space. Choosing pale finishes that lighten the visual impact is vital and, thanks to many SapienStone solutions, it is easy to bring a pleasant, coordinated mood to the whole room. With more material finishes like Urban Argento, Malm Grey or Sand Earth, we can obtain a kitchen with a more contemporary feel and the island can easily be transformed into a snack or breakfast table with stools.

If, however, there is a large living room and kitchen space, an island can become an important element of contact between the two areas, a meeting point which, according to the time of day, can be transformed into the fulcrum of the home. With the use of suspended or concealed extractor fans and elegant, minimalist hobs, aesthetics and functionality can blend to produce surprising results, and an island can become a handy work corner that is spacious and practical, or a surface on which to serve an aperitif or dinner on the main table.

In collaboration with the Spanish company TPB - Top Porzelanik Barcelona, Sapienstone has managed to integrate an induction hob in its top surfaces that is invisible! The integrated TPB Tech hob in Basalt black or Malm Black disappears optically, leaving just the beauty of a striking, minimalist island. This solution is particularly useful because a porcelain countertop can also be used as a work surface, as it is resistant to scratches and high temperatures, hygienic to use and easy to maintain in all its beauty. It can also be transformed into a snack counter or a real dining table, even in the smallest spaces.


Larger spaces offer greater experimentation, also in terms of colours and finishes. These include a lot of richer textures that recall natural stone and marble, like Pietra Grey or Dark Marquina or the pale Calacatta and Arabescato, as well as finishes that reproduce wood, like Rovere Baio and Rovere Buckskin, which cover and interpret the island in a striking way and make it the real focus of the space.


Why choose a kitchen island?

The widespread use of open spaces and kitchen island elements is not just an architectural trend, and is linked to the principles of fluid design. It is a declaration of intent, to return to daily life with a greater focus on human relationships and influences.
In a period of history that sees us becoming increasingly isolated and self-referential, socialisation in our homes has become a clear signal for a kind of return to the origins, when the real space at the heart of the home is the kitchen. Today too, the desire to be together and share the little time we have available can be encouraged by an open space in which every moment is spent with others. Whether dinner is a private, family moment, or an opportunity to welcome friends and acquaintances, time spent together becomes longer thanks to an island, which allows you to be in contact with your guests while you're cooking and preparing lunch or dinner. This increase of space and time allows closer contact, a continual dialogue and a more human relationship made up of little moments of wellbeing spent not only at the table but also, and above all, around an island.