Why You Want a Kitchen Island Now (but Didn’t 100 Years Ago) — History

When you think of the kitchen island, you think of homey scenes — your friends nibbling on cheese and pouring you a second glass of wine as you check on the honey-glazed pork tenderloin in the oven, your kid climbing up on a stool to see if she can get a lick of that chocolate stuff you're mixing, a lingering cup of coffee with your partner before you both rush off to work.

The island is like an automatic memory maker, and that's because the kitchen has become the heart of the home. But that hasn't always been the case, and the evolution of the kitchen island maps out not only how American kitchens have changed over the 20th century, but also how our lives have shifted from decade to decade.

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