KITCHEN ISLANDS ANCHOR SPACE WITH FUNCTION AND STYLE
BY ERIN DEBOOY
Kitchen islands have not only become the centre of our kitchens but the heart of our households.
F rom a cooking station to a dining space, a social hub and even a tech centre, the kitchen island has become the anchor for many families in their main floor space, says Candace Rudd, general manager of Two30Nine by Decor and certified master kitchen and bath designer. “There’s definitely a lot of different iter- ations of islands over the years. What you saw in the ‘90s is very different than what you see in islands today,” Rudd says. “It seems to be more and more about personalization now. Everybody wants their own unique spin on an island to really make it their own — and to push the boundaries with them. They really are so multifunctional and easy to personalize to whatever the needs of the family are.” These days, more people are looking to integrate different types of appliances into their island, such as a secondary dishwasher or an extra prep sink. “Another thing that we’re starting to see in islands is hidden induction cook- tops,” Rudd adds. “Because an island is such a great prep surface, people don’t like to lose
space by putting a cooktop in. A lot of the newer countertops surfaces, like porcelain, work with hidden induction cooktops that can be installed under the counter, so you can still have an uninterrupted prep area with the seam- less, invisible cooking surface hidden underneath.” Some islands Rudd has worked on have even included a pet feeding station, with plumbing that runs to them so water bowls can be filled right at the dish. The demand for a variety of tech fea- tures has also increased as more families use their islands as a charging hub or even temporary workspaces. “There’s a lot of new wireless charging options that you can integrate into countertops, where someone can be charging their phone at the island just by laying it on the surface,” Rudd says. “There are different pop-up options as well where outlets and charging ports can pop up out of the countertop.” More thought is also being given to how to incorporate the functionality of growing technology without sacrificing on the design, Rudd adds.
Candace Rudd is the general manager of Two30Nine by Decor and certified master kitchen and bath designer. Photo by Joanne Penner
36 SPRING 2026 PARADE of HOMES | homebuilders.mb.ca
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