When it’s time to renovate a kitchen, we can’t deny that you have many choices ahead of you. What material should you select for your cabinets? What type of appliances should you purchase, and what finish should you choose? How much will you spend on your fridge, dishwasher, and oven? You need to juggle all these questions and more, but there’s another question that you might find looming in the atmosphere.

Should you get a kitchen table or build an island? Believe it or not, this question can drastically change the ambiance of your kitchen and limit or expand your choices when it comes to your dining room and kitchen area. So, what do you choose? We think a table is your best option. Learn about the reasons to choose a kitchen table instead of an island below.

What Is a Kitchen Island?

Before we begin, let’s define what precisely a kitchen island is. An island is a freestanding counter/cabinet combination that could match your existing kitchen décor or look radically different from it, depending on your design preferences. A kitchen island is comparable to a table since you can place stools around it for extra seating.

It’s common to find a cooktop or sink installed on your island. It’s also multipurpose in that it includes many storage compartments—hence the “cabinet” aspect—that you can use to store some of your small kitchen appliances, glasses, or cooking utensils. We mentioned before that you could install a sink, but you can install any number of appliances, from a dishwasher to an oven.

Disadvantages of a Kitchen Island

A kitchen island is useful in some regards but not ideal in others. From how it can disrupt a kitchen’s overall flow to how expensive it is, there are several reasons why getting an island isn’t ideal. Learn more about it below.

Disruption of Room Flow

Depending on where an island is located, it can disrupt the flow of a room. Think about it. How inconvenient will it be if you’re trying to move a pot from the stovetop to a counter, and the island is in the way? With a kitchen table, you can place it or move it around wherever you want. While this isn’t always the case, kitchen tables are generally smaller than an island. An island can seriously disrupt the movement flow of the room, and people can feel that. Have you ever tried to go somewhere only to stop because something was in front of you? For a split second, you likely felt highly inconvenienced. You’ll eventually get used to it, but why should you have to?

Appliance Placement Issues

While you can install many appliances on a given island, only some things can fit simultaneously. Maybe you’ll have a cooktop, with your oven on the opposite side of the kitchen. Alternatively, a fridge could be to the side of the island in an awkward area. This can make the entire area around the island feel cramped, and instead of putting appliances where they’re aesthetically pleasing, instead, you’ll be placing them like a game of Tetris. This can be uncomfortable and cause you to miss out on installing potentially useful appliances. What if you can’t fit your dishwasher between your island and your cabinet area?

Budget Concerns

Budget is a considerable concern as well. Is it really necessary to have a giant island smack in the middle of your kitchen? We already illustrated how cramped it can make a space and how you can even miss out on appliances for your kitchen space. So, why not get a table instead if that’s the case? You could save hundreds of dollars if you get an inexpensive table. Some tables can cost a pretty penny, but a mid-grade table will be fine for most people. On the other hand, an island can cost you thousands of dollars.

Benefits of a Kitchen Table

Kitchen tables offer many great benefits, from their versatility in the kitchen to their overall usability. Learn more about the fantastic benefits of kitchen tables below. You’ll be surprised at what you find!

Seating Arrangements

In contrast to a kitchen island, you can fully utilize the kitchen table for seating. You can place chairs around the entire kitchen table. More chairs can equate to more family members at the table. We’ll go deeper into that below. Second, it’s important to remember that you can arrange your seats however you like or put as many chairs as you need there according to the table size. Because of this, an island can’t beat the versatility of a kitchen table.

Interesting Atmosphere

Since you can fit more people at a kitchen table, this means more fun for the whole family! You can also foster closeness and intimacy since you’ll likely face one another. You don’t typically see this with an island since you generally have seating on one side of the island, not the entire area, because you need to leave room for movement and appliances.

Greater Flexibility

While its primary function is eating, you can use the kitchen table for many things. If you have a big family and lack space, you could always use it as a desk if you work from home or as a space for the kids to do homework. You could use it for leisurely morning activities as well. Imagine looking out the window in the early morning as the sun crests your landscape, drinking a cup of coffee. Soothing right? That’s just one of the many things you can do with a kitchen table. Depending on size, you can catch up on your reading or even use it as a display for a sculpture or a fruit basket.

Extra Workspace

Food prep is generally regulated to countertops in your kitchen, but what if you could sit down while you cut your veggies or prepare your food? A kitchen table gives you extra workspace if your counters are full. This will be a much-needed space if you have a large family or friends coming for a large dinner. This is especially true if, for whatever reason, you can’t stand for long periods. The kitchen table is a perfect accommodation for that.

No Distractions

TV typically distracts our attention, especially if we have a family. Often, people will gather in different high-traffic areas of the house for fun. This is wonderful but can be distracting, especially if you need to get work done. Depending on the configuration of your layout, a kitchen is useful for cloistering yourself against distractions and getting valuable work done. This is one of the biggest reasons you should choose a kitchen table over an island: fewer distractions mean greater productivity!

You Can Unplug

Did you know that children who eat with their families are healthier? Phones and devices can intrude and draw our attention, but at the table, we focus on our food and the people around us at dinner time. At that point, we can forget the TV, turn off our phones, and focus on our family and friends. Unplugging is one of the greatest benefits of having a kitchen table.

In conclusion, if you are looking for furniture deals in Humble, TX, from a kitchen table to other great furniture pieces for your entire home, Supernova Furniture has you covered!