All the advantages of a kitchen with peninsula

The kitchen with peninsula entered the imagination of Italian families in the 1970s, when TV screens broadcast films and television series from the United States which offered a glimpse of furnishing styles and open, functional environments. The kitchen with peninsula immediately became an object of desire, a cult, because it was synonymous with a status quo, of a large, spacious, bright house where the kitchen was well integrated with the other rooms without seeming like a place of disorder or everyday life unkempt, but on the contrary a space which by its nature and how it is conceived always remains in order, imposes organization and contributes to decorating the home with design, taste and simplicity. However, designing a kitchen with a peninsula is not always easy and sometimes it is not feasible either due to a lack of suitable spaces or the impossibility of moving some of the basic elements of the home such as columns, the presence of flues, dimensions, walls that cannot be demolished. The kitchen with peninsula still remains a dream and an "ambitious" project for many.

What makes a kitchen with a peninsula desirable

The concept behind a kitchen with a peninsula is quite simple: it is an extension of the worktop that "breaks up" the kitchen in such a way as to create separate but communicating areas. The peninsula facilitates the organization of work in the kitchen, since a contiguous but protruding element solves many "logistical" problems of space management: a completion and a support surface that serves as an "operational island". There are equally high-performance solutions even in small kitchens or with little space available which can translate into a folding table or a small counter.

A "peninsula" element in the kitchen serves to divide two areas of the same room in order to create a ledge or a support table useful for breakfast, for eating meals when you are alone or with a few people, for kids' snacks or preparing snacks. Among the other conveniences that the creation of a work peninsula in the kitchen provides is that - in small spaces - the lower part of the shelf can be used to store cabinets that act as additional containers, appliances or even a sink or hob disappearing.

What makes a kitchen with a peninsula coveted is precisely its functionality and practicality, even if to be able to design it appropriately there must be a very specific availability of space, above all having a large and square layout. Only in this way does the peninsula perfectly fulfill its role as an operational center with all the furnishings, the hob, the appliances and the sink within reach and well organised.

The advantages, therefore, of a kitchen with a peninsula are mainly linked to functionality:

• Practical work and breakfast table;

• Divider between rooms;

• Well organized washing area;

• Piano bar

• Course service plan;

• As an additional housing and container.

Because it is difficult to design a kitchen with a peninsula

The design of a kitchen with a peninsula is basic and must be made to measure because every home - especially if conceived with a clear separation of the rooms - would require a radical renovation which does not always allow the creation of an open space environment with a kitchen view and peninsula. Furthermore, if the kitchen already has furniture and wall units, the adaptation could be problematic and the arrangement of the furniture could be expensive and the inclusion of a protruding worktop could represent an obstacle to freedom of movement in the kitchen, rather than a 'facilitation.

Before thinking about modifying or purchasing a kitchen with a peninsula, it is therefore necessary to ask yourself some questions and define priorities. Among the questions to ask yourself you need to consider your lifestyle, the original architecture of the house, your culinary habits and the time spent in the kitchen, your habit and frequency of receiving guests, the presence of a dining room already intended for exclusive consumption of meals, the style and configuration you wish to give to the kitchen with peninsula compared to the rest of the furnishings, how much margin of freedom the house allows for a renovation, the presence of connections or elements that cannot be collapsed.

Once you have answered all these questions and found the possible solutions, there are no limits to the creation of the much sought-after and functional kitchen with peninsula.