29 Portable Kitchen Island Ideas for Flexible Food-Prepping

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Written By Feasthome

FeastHome – A portable kitchen island can also be described as a mobile kitchen island. Having a small version of a kitchen island that can be moved would be a compliment for a kitchen with limited space. A small or mini kitchen island is now a trendy option for the modern kitchen.

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It is not as big as the ordinary kitchen island but it can give the same functions to the kitchen. Portable islands should be small, functional, and moveable. Those are some of the main requirements for furniture to be described as ‘portable’.

All of the portable kitchen island ideas in this article would fulfill all of the requirements plus beauty. Here are the ideas to make your food preparing or cooking activity more flexible and effective.

1. Portable White Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
kitchendecorpad.com

It is a mobile kitchen with an ideal size for a small kitchen. It has a wooden countertop that is oversized on the island. It gives a space on the counter for eating.

The stools complete the function of this kitchen island on wheels. A storage space improves the functionality of this stunning island.

2. Farmhouse Portable kitchen island IKEA

Portable Kitchen Island
pinterest.com

With this IKEA furniture, you can bring farmhouse charm to your kitchen. This table is available at the IKEA store at an affordable price. The sleek and simple design will add some positive minimalist vibe into the mix. It is equipped with plenty of storage to display some plates.

3. Plain Wood Portable Kitchen Island Cart

Portable Kitchen Island
pinterest.com

This kitchen island seems to be out of place. The kitchen is too big for that narrow table cart. It is entirely made of plain wood, which goes against the sleek white painted kitchen cabinet.

However, it blends well with the wooden flooring. This island is called a Forhoja cart manufactured by IKEA. According to the availability, you can also describe this as Wayfair kitchen island.

4. Small Kitchen Island with Many Drawers

Portable Kitchen Island Design
decoor.net

Even though the size is small, it does not mean that you can have it with many drawers. This kitchen island would make the cooking space well organized. All of the drawers should be filled with all the utensils to get out of cluttering. It has a wooden countertop with a bottle rack at one end.

5. Waterfall Style Island for Minimalist Kitchen

Portable Kitchen Island
baomoi.com

This wooden additional kitchen island looks sleek and light. It would emphasize the minimalist charm around the kitchen. The round edges add a bit of elegance in the kitchen. Add some colorful stools to make the space for having meals. The green stools seem in contrast with the scheme.

6. Bright Turquoise Table for Kitchen

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
apartmenttherapy.com

This interesting kitchen island is painted with turquoise color. It has been accentuated with several yellow-colored things to spice up the center of the kitchen. It could set your kitchen to be bright and airy and of course more pleasing.

This bright turquoise island comes with a shelf and some holders. It gives the kitchen stuff a chance to add more colors to the kitchen.

7. Portable Kitchen Island with a Cooktop

Portable Kitchen Island
digsdigs.com

A cooktop on an island would be much more helpful to the cooking flow. It adds so much functionality to the kitchen island. This minimalist kitchen gets a kitchen island design full of storage. The clean and sleek design is ideal in a small space since it does not take a lot of space on flooring.

8. Mobile Kitchen Island with Marble Top

Portable Kitchen Island Design
pinterest.com

A portable kitchen does not have to be topped with wood material only. You can also have the kitchen island with marble countertop as portable as possible.

This small white island has a couple of stools to serve people with meals. That oversize marble countertop supports this feature. The design of stools is friendly to minimalist and Nordic style in the kitchen.

9. Rustic Wood for Kitchen Island Cart

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
baomoi.com

If you like to have rustic charm dominate the whole atmosphere of your kitchen, you might want to consider this wooden island on casters. It has holders, hooks, and shelves underneath. All of the storage space would be available to help you organize your kitchen.

The space on top would also be used just like a kitchen island. Even though it is small, it is still very useful to support the kitchen flow.

10. A Dishwasher and Butcher Block as Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
12dee.com

This is a clever idea that comes to mind for the kitchen’s functionality. A dishwasher is one of the essential appliances of the kitchen. It keeps all the dishes clean and ready to use. Instead of having it mounted into the cabinet, you can have it stand alone in the middle as the base for kitchen island.

11. Dolly Kitchen Card with Black Finish

Portable Kitchen Island Design
hausmodelle.com

This is a great addition to a stylish kitchen. You can move around this black kitchen island since it is equipped with wheels.

The kitchen island cabinets can make you able to hide the Crockpotss and other items away from sight. You can also lock the wheels whenever you want the island to stay in place.

12. Portable Wayfair Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
wayfair.com

This drop-leaf cart would be a nice kitchen island to add to your small cooking area. It gives additional space for preparing food. The oversized wooden countertop is much bigger than the cart. That is what is so unique about this island.

On Wayfair, this island is named Nedmond Kitchen Cart, and it is available for about 300 bucks apiece.

13. Tiny Kitchen Island Made of Bamboo

Portable Kitchen Island
pinterest.com

Bamboo wood is one of the strongest materials for furniture. It becomes the main material of this tiny kitchen island. It is also described as the kitchen inlaid granite top cart. This piece would be so useful for your cooking.

Having granite, as the material for the top, is just right because it will only need low maintenance, and its ideal for bakers to work on. This kitchen island with granite top should be the one to consider.

14. Stainless-Steel Kitchen Cart from IKEA

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
ikea-club.org

This stainless kitchen cart can be a great portable kitchen island. It is fully made of stainless steel. It gives a nice industrial vibe to your modern kitchen. It has a small drawer with a bar-style pull.

There is a large basket drawer right at the bottom of the cart. It is a perfect space for larger items. The shelf right above the basket would make a perfect wine rack. You can highlight some of your favorite bottles of wine.

15. Tiny Green Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island
baomoi.com

This tiny green island offers you flexibility in cooking and extra space for the flow. The four wheels define the portability of this furniture piece. It has holders and drawers. One thing to mention about this classic island is the stone countertop that adds value to the piece.

16. Kitchen Island Double as Bar Cart

Portable Kitchen Island Design
apartmenttherapy.com

This long narrow cart is quite multi-functional. You can use the cart as a bar cart when you are not using it in the middle of the kitchen. It would be nice furniture for your small apartment. You can have it as the extra chopping space.

For the bar supply, there are many rooms for glasses and bottles right on one of the shelves. Black metal structure gives a bit of an industrial vibe to this kitchen.

17. Chic Simple Island for Small Kitchen

Portable Kitchen Island Design
pinterest.com

Having a portable kitchen island would also be a complement to your kitchen space. You can save a flooring space when you are not using the island. Just slide it to the side and the center cooking area is all yours.

Also Read:   17 Calming Inspirations of Using Blue Kitchen Island

The chic color will refresh the whole space. It has a white wood structure and a pink countertop. That makes it look gorgeous to this soft colorful kitchen.

18. Full-Fledged Kitchen Table as Island

Portable Kitchen Island
propuproma.com

A not-so portable kitchen island looks like an ordinary dining table. Well, it is still portable furniture because of the simple design and lightweight feature. It is equipped with a stainless steel countertop for easy clean and great durability.

Since it is designed as a table, you can incorporate some seating with counter height. That would give a multi-functional feature to the island.

19. Brightly-Colored Kitchen Island with Storage

Portable Kitchen Island
apartmenttherapy.com

There are three kinds of storage packed in this bright kitchen island, the open shelves, a glass cabinet, and drawers. The butcher-block countertop is still on its original color. It will attract the eye and separate the base and the counter.

The bright Tosca blue seems to be the right color to be painted all over the island. It becomes scene-stealing furniture to dominate the kitchen right from the center.

20. Lightweight Free-Standing Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Design
chicagoblackhawksjersey.org

This kitchen is filled with elegance and glamour. The narrow kitchen island in the middle sets the mood just right. It becomes one of the focal points of this kitchen. The narrow table makes a perfect kitchen table.

It comes with black legs with a classic design that feels true to the architectural integrity of the house. Because of the lightweight and simple design, you can move it to the other room like living space to serve food for parties.

21. Stainless Steel Chef’s Table as Island

Portable Kitchen Island Design
sandiegoarchitects.org

This kitchen island is quite similar to the previous one. This black and white kitchen features a sleek industrial table as the kitchen island. This narrow chef’s table made out of stainless steel. It is quite handy to lift your kitchen functionality and making it excellent.

You can combine the chef’s table in the center of the kitchen with the stainless steel stools. It makes a perfect fit to set right under the table. The rustic wood beams on the ceiling are worth mentioning since it makes the kitchen more interesting.

22. Small Modern Farmhouse Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
thespruce.com

If you are an enthusiast of modern farmhouse style, this is something you should look at. For your small kitchen, this portable kitchen would easily be the center of attention. The interesting charm spread by this small island will not take a lot of space in the kitchen.

The kitchen island becomes the one that decides where this small kitchen style would go. This kitchen’s additional counter and storage cabinet have some simple hooks on the side. Your cups would be well organized with those hooks.

23. Small Wooden Island with Various Storages

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
iasi4u.ro

There are many reasons you can have about incorporating a portable kitchen island in the cooking area. You can make your kitchen more flexible and functional. You will be served with extra counter space and storage.

As you can see, this kitchen cart Walmart has various compartments for storage. It has two cabinet doors, four drawers, one rack, and one holder. That’s a lot of storage space for a super small kitchen island. On the countertop, you can even enjoy your meal with that oversized top.

24. Restaurant Style Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
gerardhanberry.com

As you can see, it is like the small version of the restaurant-grade kitchen island. It will give your kitchen a more industrial feel. You can get this worktable at a restaurant supply store.

This commercial stainless kitchen island is lightweight yet sturdy in material quality. The stainless steel is durable.

Do not worry; it will not take a lot of your budget. It is recommended to have the one with a towel bar for textiles and hooks. The wheels should be the one that cannot be easily locked. There is also another type without its wheels.

25. Portable Kitchen Island from Sofa Table

Portable Kitchen Island
palcelizac.pl

To make a kitchen island portable, you have to choose the one, which is lightweight and simple. This sofa table has it all. It provides a quite narrow space, but it is functional to support your cooking flow. You can move it aside to save some space after cooking.

26. Walmart Kitchen Island with Ample Storage

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
stractech.com

A kitchen island that you can tuck away would be much functional in your mall cooking area. This small island comes with ample storage like cabinets, shelves, and drawers. You store all the utensils and supplies all inside the storage.

Since this furniture is on wheels, you can use this island to take the food from the kitchen to the dining room or living room. You can buy this kitchen island on Target or Walmart for about 220 bucks.

27. Dining Table Set as Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island Ideas
bobvila.com

For a kitchen with an open floor plan, this one could be a great feature to install. It will give you a definition between workspaces and distinct living. Besides kitchen island, this simple dining table also acts as a buffer between the cooking and living area.

28. Standalone Office Desk as Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island
bobvila.com

This desk kitchen island can inject new energy into the cooking area. This island is made out of a lintel oak top. The desk style base of this kitchen island can suit a range of styles. You can have this small island for a farmhouse fresh or chic beach kitchen.

It comes with storage cubbies, ample leg, wine rack, and utensil drawers. All of those features would make the island more useful.

29. Space-Saving Kitchen Island

Portable Kitchen Island
designbuzz.com

You can hide a kitchen island right under the kitchen counter. It would save a lot of space in the kitchen. A portable kitchen island does not have to stay right in the middle of the cooking space. You can have it right beside the counter to become extra space for food preparation.

 

FAQ

What is a kitchen island used for?

It is used as an extra workspace that adds more use of the kitchen’s work triangle. Besides, a kitchen island is also useful for a low, casual divider that defines the kitchen’s perimeter where it meets the breakfast room or the family room.

How big should a kitchen island be?

At a minimum, your kitchen should have a kitchen island that is 4 feet long and a little bit more than two feet deep to make it useful in the kitchen. It should leave a comfortable space to move.

Should kitchen island match cabinets?

Yes, it should. Except, you want the kitchen island to be stand out in the room. It should have a different character or charm.

How much space do you need around a kitchen island?

Mostly, a small kitchen with L or U shape layouts can contain an island. Yet, the walk space surrounding the island should be 36 inches wide at a minimum.

Does a kitchen island have to be attached to the floor?

Smaller kitchen islands do. It is to secure the island so that it will not tilt or slide if someone happens to push or lean against it.


As we know, a kitchen island is a multifunctional and useful element of the cooking space. No matter how small your kitchen is, these portable kitchen island ideas would add more function to space. Pick one idea that matches your kitchen style.

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