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Pro Spotlight: Design the Ideal Island for Your Kitchen
A Chicago-area kitchen and bath designer offers tips for achieving both form and function
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Who: Gail Drury of Drury Design
Where: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
In her own words: “Kitchen islands are where people gather to cook, eat or just engage in conversation over a glass of wine at a party. They need to be inviting and versatile.”
Kitchen islands aren’t just for food prep; they’re also stylish design features. “People are wanting innovative kitchen islands where form meets function,” says Gail Drury, the president and creative director of Drury Design, a kitchen and bath design and remodeling firm in Glen Ellyn. “Even in traditional homes, many clients want a contemporary kitchen with an island that is serviceable and also a beautiful focal point.”
Where: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
In her own words: “Kitchen islands are where people gather to cook, eat or just engage in conversation over a glass of wine at a party. They need to be inviting and versatile.”
Kitchen islands aren’t just for food prep; they’re also stylish design features. “People are wanting innovative kitchen islands where form meets function,” says Gail Drury, the president and creative director of Drury Design, a kitchen and bath design and remodeling firm in Glen Ellyn. “Even in traditional homes, many clients want a contemporary kitchen with an island that is serviceable and also a beautiful focal point.”
From painter to designer. As a college student, Drury was a fine arts major interested in art and architecture. “I loved drawing architectural renderings and oil painting,” she says. “I figured interior design was a way to use my creativity and also make a living.”
After college, Drury had an internship at the corporate office of St. Charles Manufacturing, a design firm specializing in kitchens. She designed showrooms across the country and taught kitchen design in training schools before becoming a sales designer for the company. She worked there for 10 years before starting her own business.
After college, Drury had an internship at the corporate office of St. Charles Manufacturing, a design firm specializing in kitchens. She designed showrooms across the country and taught kitchen design in training schools before becoming a sales designer for the company. She worked there for 10 years before starting her own business.
An ear for detail. Drury uses her art skills in her work as a designer. “I can listen to a client’s needs and sketch out their vision for the perfect kitchen,” she says. “We have assistant designers who do computer renderings, but there’s a different kind of creative process involved with sketching by hand as we talk.”
Below are Drury’s tips for designing a kitchen island where form meets function.
Below are Drury’s tips for designing a kitchen island where form meets function.
1. Define Its Purpose
Think about how your family will use a kitchen island. Do you need it primarily for cooking? Will you eat meals there? Will it be an entertainment area with a bar? For example, the owners of this Gold Coast brownstone wanted a two-cook kitchen, so Drury designed a large island with two highly serviceable sides.
One side has easy access to the refrigerator and freezer flanking the stove, as well as the prep sink; the other is a second work area with access to the microwave, warming drawer and main sink. The countertop is quartzite, which has the durability of granite and the luxurious look of marble.
See more of this project
Think about how your family will use a kitchen island. Do you need it primarily for cooking? Will you eat meals there? Will it be an entertainment area with a bar? For example, the owners of this Gold Coast brownstone wanted a two-cook kitchen, so Drury designed a large island with two highly serviceable sides.
One side has easy access to the refrigerator and freezer flanking the stove, as well as the prep sink; the other is a second work area with access to the microwave, warming drawer and main sink. The countertop is quartzite, which has the durability of granite and the luxurious look of marble.
See more of this project
2. Choose the Right Materials
When it comes to your island’s countertop, make sure the surfaces you select are appropriate for the way you use them. “Areas that get high usage need to be as durable as possible,” Drury says. The kitchen island in this Glen Ellyn home has two levels, each with different purposes and countertop materials. The slab of walnut serves as an eating area and a stunning focal point, while the lower level is durable quartz, ideal for food prep.
See more of this project
When it comes to your island’s countertop, make sure the surfaces you select are appropriate for the way you use them. “Areas that get high usage need to be as durable as possible,” Drury says. The kitchen island in this Glen Ellyn home has two levels, each with different purposes and countertop materials. The slab of walnut serves as an eating area and a stunning focal point, while the lower level is durable quartz, ideal for food prep.
See more of this project
3. Place It Center Stage
If you want to use your kitchen differently — open it up for entertaining, for example — consider adjusting your home’s floor plan accordingly. Drury and her team remodeled this home in St. John, Indiana, rearranging what used to be four rooms into a large open kitchen, living room and dining room.
“We flipped the kitchen and living room so that there was enough space to accommodate a large multifunctional island,” Drury says. “The kitchen island, which now has the best natural light and view, is where the family hangs out the most. They have three kids who do homework and crafts there, and it’s where the family eats a lot of meals.”
See more of this project
More: For more information on Gail Drury and examples of her work, visit Drury Design’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
If you want to use your kitchen differently — open it up for entertaining, for example — consider adjusting your home’s floor plan accordingly. Drury and her team remodeled this home in St. John, Indiana, rearranging what used to be four rooms into a large open kitchen, living room and dining room.
“We flipped the kitchen and living room so that there was enough space to accommodate a large multifunctional island,” Drury says. “The kitchen island, which now has the best natural light and view, is where the family hangs out the most. They have three kids who do homework and crafts there, and it’s where the family eats a lot of meals.”
See more of this project
More: For more information on Gail Drury and examples of her work, visit Drury Design’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
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Omdöme av Cynthia Heidorn:
Ten years after they completed my ktichen-bath remodel, the Drury team helped me resolve some minor maintenance issues promptly and courteously! Within a week, their finishing specialist, Dave Honque...Mer