concrete kitchen island ideas for modern DC kitchens
Today we’re looking at a really different and interesting type of countertop and bar top layout. This particular bar top is similar to a lot of islands that we look at in the past, but it’s larger and it has a really interesting minimalistic type style. Instead of having a typical countertop, the majority of the structure is made from concrete.
Like many typical kitchen countertop bases, there are a mixture of functional uses, both storage shelves and cubbies below the countertop, and construction of his elements uses a variety of materials. The finished surface that was largely made out of concrete. It’s not all regular concrete used in other things like floor systems, some of it’s actually a cementitious application applied on top of cement board.
A picture, from the bar top side of this countertop, follows below. You can see that there is a screen wall in the background to break up the otherwise open space between the hallway and the kitchen area. A while back here in the blog, we talked about optimal dimensions for bar tops. Not every kitchen has a bar top, so you might not see so many of them in a typical residential layout. Often we sit at bar tops in actual bars and restaurants. Commercial spaces often have these types of seating arrangements.
These dimensions really matter because if the bar top is particularly tall compared to the stool, it will feel uncomfortable to sit at the bar top. The countertop surface is also a food and drink resting surface and it will feel uncomfortable.
Normally people will lean on to the bar top, even when they’re not eating or taking a drink. Sometimes they’ll just be sitting next to the countertop and we’ll have an elbow resting on top of the countertop. Conversely, if the bar stool is too low, compared to the height of the countertop it will feel like a squeeze. People’s knees and legs don’t exactly fit well into a tight space just above the height of the seat of the stool.
The proper height also matters a lot for the person working the other side of the bar. In most cases, and bars can be used like this so a person can work the other side and serve things like drinks and door plates of food. We see this type of arrangement in kitchens and in commercial spaces as well.
Both work in a similar type of way. In a kitchen, a mom or dad might serve plates of food to the kids and vice versa. In a commercial setting a waiter or bartender might serve food or drinks to the people sitting at the bar top. The height matters because it has to be ergonomic and convenient for people to serve the guess, and it also has to be comfortable for people to sit at the bar side of the bar top.
Countertops have a somewhat standardized height of roughly 36 in. Generally, cabinets are built, in the United States, with a total box height of roughly 34.5 in. with a countertop that’s roughly a thickness of 1.5 in, the overall countertop surface height will be 36 inches above the adjacent finished floor. Not all countertops are exactly 34.5 in though and sometimes cabinets are built at a slightly different height. These things are somewhat customizable. Generally though designers will design a kitchen with a 36-in high countertop work surface.
Not all kitchen countertops or island tops will have a wooden or manufactured fake wood type of side panel at the edge of the countertop. We’ve looked at some types of waterfall type countertops that continue, almost seamlessly from the horizontal surface of the countertop, and pass down the side of the cabinets. This is a nice way to blend the countertops into a design that incorporates the different texture and color elements together. Here though, it’s different. Since the countertop is made with concrete, they continue that same type of finish down the sides of the work surface at all angles. In fact, even the area underneath has the same finish.
This coming week, we’ll take a look around at the other side of this countertop and work surface assembly and show the cubbies and storage space below the countertop.
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