Designed by B Sherman Workshop. Photography by James Ransom.
Portable kitchen islands are a great way to add extra counter space and storage to your kitchen. Also known as movable kitchen islands or kitchen islands on wheels, the portable kitchen island can be repositioned depending on your needs. They’re also great for small kitchens that are lacking food prep areas and cabinets.
If you’re thinking kitchen islands on wheels move when your preparing food, you don’t need to worry as they often use wheels that have a locking mechanism to keep the island stationary unless you want to move it.
Here are some design ideas to consider when adding a portable island to your kitchen.
1. Add A Contrasting Portable Kitchen Island
People often use materials that contrast kitchen cabinets when designing a kitchen island, and a portable kitchen island is no different. In this example, the designers decided to create the movable kitchen island using white as the featured color. This not only stands out from the wood cabinets, but it also complements the white walls, stair handrail, and the dining furniture. As the kitchen island is on wheels, it can also be placed against the white wall opposite the kitchen, and act as a serving console or sideboard.
Designed by AZC. Photography by Sergio Grazia.
2. Multiple Kitchen Islands On Wheels
If you have plenty of space in your kitchen, but you also want the flexibility to change the arrangement when needed, you can have two or more portable kitchen islands that can easily be separated or placed together.
Specht Architects and Louise Harpman designed this renovated house overlooking Lake Austin in Texas.
3. Portable Kitchen Islands That Add An Industrial Touch
Industrial inspired kitchens often have design elements like exposed pipes and metal accents, however, you can also add a kitchen island on wheels that have exposed wire baskets, a black metal frame, and a wood countertop.
The Shounak Kitchen Cart from 17 Stories (via Wayfair)
Another option is to draw inspiration from the design of chef’s kitchens, where stainless steel is the material choice.
The FLYTTA Kitchen Cart designed by Nicholai Wiig Hansen for Ikea.
4. Thin Kitchen Islands On Wheels For Small Kitchens
If you have a small kitchen, counter space and storage space is always lacking. One way of creating more counter space is by adding a kitchen cart on wheels, and as a bonus, they often have storage too. Portable kitchen islands don’t have to be big, they can be narrow like these examples, that can also double as a bar cart or coffee station in a small apartment.
The Droitwich Kitchen Island from August Grove (via Wayfair)
The Witkowski Homer Kitchen Cart by Gracie Oaks (via Wayfair)
5. Multi-Functional Portable Kitchen Islands
If you have an open plan interior but don’t have enough room to have both a kitchen island and a dining table, you might want to think about combining the two. This allows you to have flexibility depending on your current needs. This design example also has open shelving and drawers on either end, adding storage, and also providing a support for the concrete countertop.
Sculp[IT] designed this home in Antwerp, Belgium. Photography by Luc Roymans.
6. Increase Storage Space With A Kitchen Island On Wheels
Kitchen islands on wheels don’t need to have an open design, where it’s just a frame and a countertop. You can have a custom-designed portable kitchen island that includes cabinets that match the rest of your kitchen, or you can have a mix of cabinets, open shelving, and drawers.
Designed by Sustainable Kitchens. Photography by Brett Charles.
The Kuhnhenn Kitchen Island from Andover Mills (via Wayfair)
The BROR Utility Cart by IKEA
7. The Wheels On A Movable Kitchen Island Don’t Have To Be Seen
In this bright white modern kitchen, the custom-designed kitchen island has it’s wheels somewhat hidden from view, creating the illusion of it floating above the ground.
Inspiration from a kitchen photography studio designed by Holly Wulff Petersen and Renée Kemps.
Get the contemporist daily email newsletter – sign up here