To Kitchen Island, Or To Kitchen Table?

A bit of controversy for you this morning. Let’s do away with the kitchen island. Bring back the kitchen table.

Making architectural decisions for my own kitchen recently

Somewhere along the way, the kitchen island became a non-negotiable in kitchen renovations. Oversized, immovable, monolithic. It promises utility: prep space, storage, bar seating, even a built-in microwave drawer. I’ve designed several kitchens this way. But as kitchen islands became centerpieces of the modern home, something quieter, gentler, and more essential began to disappear: the kitchen table.

The kitchen island is the architectural equivalent of a one-person show. It encourages standing, hovering, passing through—performing. It’s a place to perch, not to gather. The kitchen table, on the other hand, invites sitting down. Facing each other. Putting your elbows on the wood. Lingering. It doesn’t ask you to multitask. It asks you to be present.

At the table, bread is broken, secrets spilled, homework done, fights had and forgiven. It is not just where we eat—it’s where we live. There is an intimacy to the kitchen table that no slab of marble can replicate. The island is sleek, but the table is soulful.

Let’s reconsider what the heart of the kitchen really is. Not a built-in, but a gathering place. Not a surface, but a setting. Not a fixture, but a feeling.

Bring back the table!