Show us the entire kitchen, please. We need to see the overall size and features of the kitchen, in order to give advice…especially since two islands is rarely a good idea.

Beautiful kitchen!

Funny, I would call your backsplash the mushroom color, but the island reads more like a warm black on my screen.

Like Chipsa said, two islands don’t usually work well in most kitchens unless it is a fairly latge size.

We would need to see your whole space to advise on that. It may work better to make the one you have bigger somehow.

Can we see a picture of the whole kitchen, including where the second island would be added in the space?

I have seen pictures of two islands working nicely where one of them has a different countertop then on the rest of the kitchen and /or center island.

The first example that comes to my mind is Romy’s kitchen. Her second island has a beautiful walnut wood top as the countertop. But with hers, all the cabinets are the same color white. The walnut goes really nicely with her wood floors. You floors seem like a similar stain color as hers, so maybe this will give you some inspiration?

Other pictures!

Thanks for responding! The island will take the place of the kitchen table-wondering if butcher block would be a maintenance nightmare!

why an island if its to replace table? what about painting the table a color and spend on some new light fittings for both spots. So if its a big square island with more casual stools you want I would get a painted island in a different color than you currently have around the spaces which seems white and with very darks grays / greige etc. Get a nice intense mustardy yellow or apple green painted island......a simple white top. I'd probably get new fixtures. good luck !! here's a couple of greens..there are so many.

Butternut and Green · More Info

2010 Colorado Homes & Lifestyles "Home of the Year" · More Info

I don’t know that another island to take the place of a comfortable table is a great idea, but if you do, what were you thinking a farmhouse style island or one with storage?

If one with storage, I love the idea of matching your perimeter cabinetry and a walnut butcher block. Not a maintenance nightmare at all.

I think the second island would look ridiculous. If this were my kitchen, I would get a different table. The one you have is nice but doesn't match with the rest of the kitchen. I also think the color of the bar stools is jarring. Finally I would update light fixtures as the ones now don't match well with the kitchen.

I can't imagine sitting at a 36" island on a stool for family meals. It's fine for a quick snack or maybe for supervising a kid doing homework while dinner is being prepared, but for the day in day out meals? I don't understand the appeal.

It may be just the perspective of your photo (kitchen looking in the direction of your couch and bookcase), but have you measured the walkway widths (42"-48") around where a second island would be placed accounting for that gray wall that juts into the space?

Your current table looks great with your cabinet colors and has comfy chairs (yay!) and the round shape is a nice break from all the other square/rectangular kitchen shapes.

Maybe explain why a second island is important to you.

Thanks for all the responses. We had a VERY large island in our last home. We used it as a table and had no issues. Yes the storage would be great. Also-when entertaining it is really frustrating right now. Everyone gathers around the island and you cannot even get into the refrigerator. No one movers into the family room …everyone just crowds around that small space. Working on making the living room more inviting. Lol. We have red accents throughout our home …those stools were $16 at target 8 years ago…were a budget purchase at the end of a long building experience! The table is large and the chairs are trashed. Def need to replace something. One thing that would be nice about an island is that we could put a few plugs in! The stools are not functional and no one uses them! I love the idea of white cabinets and a warm butcher block top but worry that it will get destroyed in the day to day of all of it. Eating/homework etc.

A second island won't change the fact that everyone gathers around your kitchen island. You can't get to your refrigerator because your kitchen isn't laid out well as it is - your island is a barrier island. A second island won't change that. People won't want to hang out around an island located where the kitchen table is any more than they'd want to hang out around a kitchen table.

But to test this inexpensively, just get a counter height table with stools you can push under and see how people behave. There's no inherent difference between that and an island aside from an island being fixed to the floor, limiting your furniture arrangement, and costing a heck of a lot more.

When i moved my bar to my sunroom people stopped gathering at my kitchen prep table( small island ) I always take my stools out of the kitchen when entertaining aswell. If i put the snacks in the living room people actually start to sit in there. Put food and drink where you wish people to conjugate. Try a counter height table for your next gathering and see what happens before possibly ruining your present pretty space.

What color are your cabinets?

White perimeter and a brown/gray/mushroom island

I had a customer once who wanted to get rid of the kitchen table and replace it with a second island hoping that people would gravitate there instead of crowding around her much smaller island and in front of the ref.

Guess what? It didn't work. They still crowded around the little island - the second island was only 4 ft away. You may want to consider one large island and have the seating down where the table is now.