No dining room, no problem. The best kitchen islands are savvy stand-ins for small spaces, kitchens lacking prep space or drawers, and a workspace for everything from mirepoix to math homework. Our favorites on the market run the gamut from the classic marble-top kitchen island to the butcher-block countertop necessary for kitchens short on counter space. A freestanding kitchen island allows you to skip the contractor and maximize your storage space options. While small spaces can benefit from the added counter space of a kitchen island, open floor plans can benefit from the work an island does to create purpose and visual interest in an otherwise vacuous environment.
Our Top Picks
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Best Kitchen Island, Overall
After nearly five years of wear and tear (not counting the years from the previous owner), three rebuildings, two coats of paint, and a heavy sanding to try and restore the old butcher block, IKEA’s Vadholma island has become commerce market editor Kate McGregor’s kitchen’s workhorse: “I use it as a dining table, a desk, a sewing station, and a drying rack on any given week.” McGregor says, having swapped the black finish for an earthy green that lightened the visual weight of the piece. “The shelves are spacious enough to fit my Dutch oven, mixing bowls, coffee grinder, and collection of cloth napkins. I have no complaints,” she says. Fifteen inches of open shelving on one side give way to the same amount of space for bar stools on the other.
Best for a Functional Kitchen
Shea McGee describes her own kitchen as one that “manages to be both streamlined and a little over the top at the same time.” She speaks (and designs) for those who love an English-style kitchen but need the functionality of a more modern space, the result being a solid oak base with turned legs and a white marble top. This high-end piece perfectly merges old-world detail with the countertop of a modern kitchen. Three drawers make it a perfect fit for storing silverware, storing kitchen utensils, and maintaining that one horrifying junk drawer where you also keep the scissors.
Best for a Vintage-Style Kitchen
It is notoriously difficult to transport an authentic European dairy table back to the States, so Crate and Barrel has done the generous work of crafting a Basque-like freestanding island for your farmhouse kitchen. Mango wood is covered with a grey wash over a light brown stain to give the table a pre-distressed look, and three roomy drawers leave ample space for cramming in kitchen items. The teardrop drawer pull, Hand of Fatima–esque, gives it an especially antique feel.
Best for a Chef’s Kitchen
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A butcher-block island with a stainless-steel frame suggests you’re one hell of a chef without explicitly saying so. More likely than not, there are a few gleaming Wusthofs hanging above a kitchen island like this, maybe even an industrial Vitamix. These dimensions are also friendly to smaller kitchens, at less than 48 inches across and less than 26 inches in depth. Two wide drawers make for great storage, and these two broad shelves are certain to hold every last Cambro you’ve accumulated.
Best for a Kitchen Overhaul
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Solid oak, warm gray marble, six drawers, two shelves, and a drop-leaf table extension. If ever there was a house owner with too much stuff, this might just resolve every one of your storage problems. You can pile stuff into drawers, along shelves, on top of the countertop itself, and still have a place to assemble your mise en place with the pull-out table. It’s pricey because it’s brilliant. A piece like this can transform a scrappy kitchen into its elegant final form.
More Kitchen Islands We Love
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Most multifunctional award goes to this oak-and-quartz piece from Article that tackles storage with two 56-inch sliding drawers, space for two bar stools, and one long 14.5-inch shelf with a wine glass rack installed. Few pieces of furniture can boast so many uses. Guests can enjoy a glass of wine across from you while you chop away, or you can enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast yourself tucked into this make-shift dining area. This design pairs particularly well with more minimalist or white kitchens on account of its light wood and shining quartz design.
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Our broadest contender (at 63 inches) also hosts two rows of open shelving and a set of barstools. The $290 price for 100% solid wood is nothing to scoff at—in fact, it’s something to celebrate.
