When the kitchen takes center stage as the principal gathering place for family and friends, the kitchen island comes under the spotlight. Designers and manufacturers have responded to the island's prominence, adapting it to serve a broad range of uses, from a simple work surface for food preparation to a multifunctional unit with areas incorporating cooktops, sinks, buffet counters, dishwashers, recycling centers, and storage compartments. The archipelago on these four pages illustrates some of the multipurpose magic that can be worked by a kitchen island.

Cleverly disguised to blend into a 1905 Queen Anne home, this kitchen island mimics a turn-of-the-century table, but it's really 1990s high-tech. The wrought iron and steel frame supports a cherry top with drawers on both sides; open-rack shelves at the ends provide readily accessible storage.