Last Friday we picked up a  discussion on Twitter on  kitchen islands, specifically stand alone furniture pieces, sadly I was out the door for the weekend and neglected to save it–but we use them regularly and wanted to add some of our favorite inspiration pics…what do you think? We love farm tables, the patina of a well worn piece with its history written all over it is hard to beat for adding life, depth and feeling to a kitchen. We want to emphasize here that all of these are open-shelf style islands or just plain farm tables, with no storage or limited storage. These character-driven islands may not be designed for your every gadget, but we think the these kitchens would look completely different (and not as interesting) if they were closed cabinetry-style islands.

This island brings focus to this lovely all white kitchen, the baskets add a nice tactile point as well.

Unique piece looks to have been stripped, love the rail, keeps the work space contained.

Classic table as island from Cote Sud magazine, slightly more sophisticated with turned legs, typical European style, fabulous.

Fantastic, worn patina on this top, really sets off this white, rustic look kitchen from Living Etc.

From Renovation Style magazine - clean lines and shabby chic chairs highlight the real star of the show, the terra cotta floor tile.