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Freestanding Kitchen Design
Whether your kitchen is an intimate affair or a vast expanse, storage and efficiency are probably two of your chief concerns—and a freestanding kitchen design may be one of the ways to address both issues simultaneously.
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Freestanding kitchens—which generally incorporate a fully functional kitchen island that may even be mobile—can help create a much more flexible and convenient kitchen space.
Your first decision when considering a freestanding kitchen is exactly what kitchen functions you want the main island to feature. For some homeowners, cooking, cleaning and food preparation have to take place on the island, or freestanding portion, of their kitchen because they don't have the requisite water, gas or power elements in any other areas (or they don't want to remodel the kitchen in order to install them). For others, a fully functional kitchen island is simply a more appealing and convenient option, effectively allowing them to do "one-stop shopping" when it comes to cooking, cleaning and storage.
If you choose to incorporate a fully functional freestanding kitchen in your home, you'll first need to ensure that the gas, water and power supplies are in place—or you'll likely need to hire a contractor to create these hook ups (assuming you're not one yourself, or a DIY expert). Once these are in place, your freestanding kitchen can feature a stove, sink, dishwasher, microwave, toaster, blender, coffee maker, refrigerator and any other cooking, cleaning and storage elements you can dream up (assuming it's got the requisite space).
Speaking of space, storage is often an important and challenging element of freestanding kitchens. Many kitchen islands — particularly larger ones in freestanding kitchens — feature both drawers and cabinets for storage. However, if this selection of storage spaces isn't sufficient to cover your storage needs, you may want to explore adding ancillary shelving, a standup pantry fixture or tall cabinet, or even a built-in pantry. To continue the efficient and "close-at-hand" theme of the freestanding kitchen, try to keep shelving and drawers in any other storage elements shallow and narrow as opposed to deep; this way you'll avoid foodstuffs and supplies stacking up and migrating to the back of the pantry, never to be seen again.
Finally, consider adding some convenient or decorative elements to your freestanding kitchen, if you have the space. You can increase the storage space and efficiency of your kitchen by adding a lazy Susan or pull-out trashcan to the island. And since you're likely to have a fair amount of prominent countertop surface area if you invest in a larger freestanding kitchen, you can likely decorate the area with attractive storage canisters, flowers, baskets of fruit or other attractive and eye-catching elements.
