Appliances You Can Add To A Kitchen Island For Out-Of-Sight Convenience

Kitchen islands are a great way to add extra functionality to your space. In many homes, the purpose of this freestanding cabinetry piece is to add additional counter space or storage, or a gathering spot for additional seating. They can also come in handy for tucking away a variety of appliances, from dishwashers to mini fridges to microwaves. You can conceal some appliances within a kitchen island if you don't like the look of them, or you can just take advantage of the convenience of integrating an appliance into your island. Concealing a trash compactor within your island, for example, might let you get rid of a kitchen garbage container.

Adding a dishwasher to your kitchen island is a popular choice, either instead of or in addition to a dishwasher elsewhere in your kitchen. Whether you don't have room along your kitchen walls or you just want a secondary cleanup area, you can install an under-the-counter or a drawer dishwasher in your island. 

Often, this goes along with adding a sink in your kitchen island. An under-mount sink, installed beneath the countertop, can give you a less obtrusive visual. Regardless of style, if you choose to put your kitchen's only sink in the island, it can free up counter space elsewhere. If it's an additional sink, you now have another workstation for meal prep, dishwashing, and more. You might also consider your island sink to be part of a wet bar setup: You can install an ice maker, wine cooler, or mini fridge into your island.

Adding refrigeration options to your kitchen island could come in handy regardless of your hosting style. While you could install a traditional mini fridge, you could also choose to build in refrigerator or freezer drawers. Aside from temperature, these cold storage containers function like regular drawers, and you can design them with overlay panels so they also look just like regular drawers — until you open them to retrieve your cold beverage or snack. 

You can also find pull-out microwave drawers that you might consider installing in your island. Traditional warming drawers, which maintain steady heat without drying out your food, are another idea. If you don't want your regular microwave sitting out on a cabinet, you can install it into the base of your island. You can even add a cooktop. While you might wonder whether it's safe to install a stovetop in your kitchen island, as long as you follow precautions such as adding adequate clearance and ventilation, such as a vent hood for your island, you should be okay. Clearance and ventilation, whether via a hood or downdraft ventilation, are particularly important if you add a full-size stove to your island. 

Keep in mind that installing any appliance in your kitchen island requires determining what you'll need for plumbing and electricity, including the number and placement of electrical outlets, and following local building codes. Your island's outlets also make it the perfect place to store small appliances, such as blenders or food processors, perhaps on pull-out shelves or in cabinets.