By Colleen EganArchitectural Digest.
If kitchens are the heart of the home, islands are the hub of activity that keep it beating.
One of the owners of this airy Los Angeles home is an amateur chef who likes to entertain, so Griffin Enright Architects anchored the room with a stainless-steel island that combines a large work space with seating for guests.
Andy Lewis of Neumann Lewis Buchanan Architects created a new kitchen wing for this historic home in Virginia, which was decorated by Jean Perin and includes a wood island with open storage.
Designer Jason Bell created this sleek Manhattan kitchen with a stainless-steel-and-wood island that extends into a table for two.
Read more: 12 Gorgeous Rustic Kitchens
Architect Robert M. Swedroe renovated his Biscaya Island, Florida, home with the help of designer Toby Zack. The pair installed blue high-gloss metallic lacquered cabinets from Snaidero and a marble-top island with a six-burner cooktop.
The kitchen of this 1910 Colonial Revival house outside Philadelphia had seemingly not been updated since the '50s, so architects Kass & Associates knocked out a wall to combine it with the pantry.
Architect Dean Nota updated the bright Venice, California, kitchen of Architectural Digest contributing photographer Erhard Pfeiffer, which includes BABA leather barstools from Design Centro Italia and a KitchenAid cooktop and hood above the island.
Architect Richard Landry and designer Franco Vecchio used various types of wood and stone to bring a sense of warmth to the kitchen of this Beverly Hills mansion.
This townhouse in New York's Greenwich Village, designed by Leroy Street Studio architects and decorated by Christine Markatos Lowe, features a massive island that spans the kitchen.
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