The kitchen is a natural focal point of any home. Besides being a preferred location to grab breakfast with the family as everyone gets ready for their day, the kitchen is a place where guests will often gather during parties and other get-togethers.

It seems that everyone will eventually wind up in the kitchen for conversation and to grab a snack as the festivities continue. Many people use their kitchen for non-food related activities as well, such as to sit at the kitchen table to do homework, pay bills and fill out paperwork. The kitchen often winds up becoming one of the hardest working rooms in the home! Therefore, it is only natural for families to want to customize their kitchen to make it more suitable for their particular needs.

As families make an effort to prepare more meals at home instead of always eating fast food while on the go, they become increasingly interested in upgrading their kitchen. To get more workspace as well as make it easier for people to spend time together in the kitchen, homeowners often find themselves considering installing a new kitchen island or a wrap-around bar.

What's more, either option is great for improving the value of a home. Whether you choose a kitchen island or a wrap-around bar will depend in part on what you want to do with your space. Are you finding yourself spending more time preparing and eating food, or are you more focused on entertaining friends, family members and neighbors with snacks and drinks?

Kitchen Island

The larger kitchens that are available in contemporary homes may have more space to move around but still lack adequate countertops for home cooks to get their work done quickly and efficiently. It's no fun to have to crowd your workspace when you are preparing a feast, which is why so many homeowners opt to install a new kitchen island.

A kitchen island increases your counter space as well as giving you more room in the form of drawers to store frequently used cookware. If your spice rack is overflowing and you keep finding yourself leaving bottles on the counter, a kitchen island is ideal because you can put your most frequently used herbs in a convenient drawer right where you are preparing your recipes.

When you are not using the island for food preparation, it's a great place for people to gather around to enjoy a snack or a meal. You may decide to get stools or chairs for your kitchen island.

Wrap-around Bar

If you are more interested in entertaining than getting more space to do food prep, a wrap-around bar may be more to your liking. Bar stools and tall chairs are both fine for the wrap-around bar.

The counter of your wrap-around bar will usually be narrower than the surface area of a kitchen island, since it is more for holding food and drinks than preparing the raw ingredients to make them.

A wrap-around bar is also typically designed to accommodate more people than a kitchen island. You can serve up meals just as you would at the counter at your neighborhood diner, and it is especially useful when you have a large family to feed or many guests when entertaining.