Once you know that a kitchen island or kitchen cart is what you need to complete your home or commercial kitchen, you've only completed the very first step in the shopping process. Today's manufacturers of islands and carts produce a huge number of models, each with their own benefits and features. While all of the models on the market today are perfect for some purpose, only a small number are ideal for you.

Locating that handful of perfect models can be a difficult process and time consuming as well. The best way to start narrowing down the wide array of carts and islands is to first determine what style is best for your kitchen. Once you know which of the primary styles that are available from today's manufacturers is best for you, you can then move onto comparing storage options, sizes and special features that make some islands and carts better than all the rest.

Our Buyers' Guide to Shopping for Kitchen Islands and Kitchen Carts by Style will introduce you to the biggest styles of islands and carts available today. For each style, we'll explain its common features, its benefits and the things you'll need to remember about the style. Read over the entire guide from start to finish to familiarize yourself with the various styles. Once you're finished, you'll be ready to start exploring the selections of islands and carts that are available for your home or commercial setting.

With Wheels

The Style: Islands and carts with wheels are rolling work surfaces that feature sturdy metal casters. Their designs can range from basic square shaped carts with wood, stainless steel or butcher block tops to full islands with four or more cupboards.

When It’s Best: Carts with wheels can serve a variety of functions within a kitchen. They are ideal to use as work surfaces that are stored in another room and rolled into the kitchen as needed for food preparation. Similarly, you can keep a cart with wheels in an out-of-the-way corner of your kitchen to keep traffic moving easily through in the space when the cart is not in use, and then roll it into a more open space for working. Some home cooks like to roll their cart throughout their kitchen to transport ingredients and cookware to different work areas in their kitchen, such as from the stove to the island. Carts can also be rolled up to the table for serving.

The addition of wheels on islands makes them easy to move out of the way when you need to clean your floors. They can also be turned to accommodate seating or serving needs or shifted to the side to make extra space in your kitchen to make room for large crowds. Usually, rolling islands are kept in place when not in use.

What to Remember: When selecting a cart or kitchen island with wheels, always look for styles with locking casters. Being able to lock the wheels in place will help you to prevent the shaking and accidental shifting that can cause injuries when you use your cart as a work surface.

If you plan to use your kitchen cart in one room and transport it somewhere else for storage, make sure that you measure the walkways through which you will be moving your cart to ensure that you purchase a piece that can easily fit without scraping the cart against the walls or your cabinetry.

With Shelves

The Style: Open shelves are incredibly common on kitchen carts; most styles feature at least one shelf for storage beneath the work surface. Some styles include a pair of shelves placed one above the other, doubling the storage surface area, but decreasing the height clearance.

In islands, open shelves are sometimes found between the cabinetry and the worktop, leaving a space where you can place things to keep within easy reach as you work. Other island styles feature two, three or four shelves on their ends to hold small items in addition to the storage space provided by their cabinetry.

When It’s Best: Open shelves are ideal for storing items that you want to be able to quickly retrieve without having to step back from your work surface to open a drawer or cupboard.

What to Remember: Since open shelves keep your stored items visible at all times, they can look cluttered if not properly organized. With kitchen carts, there is a risk that items can slip off of the open shelves while in motion.

With Cabinets

The Style: Cabinets are storage areas covered by hinged doors. They are found primarily in kitchen islands though some cupboard style rolling carts also feature cabinetry.

When It’s Best: Carts and kitchen islands with cabinets resemble furniture and come in a variety of colors and wood types to blend seamlessly with your other cabinetry. Cabinets are excellent features for pieces that will be left in one place within your kitchen year round. They also typically offer the greatest amount of space storage. The hinged doors on cabinets keep your stored items out of sight for e neater appearance as well.

What to Remember: To access items within cabinets, you will usually need to step back slightly from your cart or island.

The addition of cabinets usually results in a heavier cart or island, which can make a rolling style more difficult to move.

With Drop Leafs

The Style: Drop leafs are wooden work surfaces mounted on hinges that can be raised and lowered when needed to expand your working area or even offer extra seating.

When It’s Best: A drop leaf is ideal when space in a kitchen is limited and you cannot purchase an island of ideal length for your working needs. Since the drop leaf can be easily lowered, you can temporarily block a walkway with it and then free the space up once again after your food preparation is complete.

What to Remember: Since the drop leafs do not have the support of a base beneath them, they are not as strong as the actual working surface and should not be used to hold heavy counter top appliances.


Microwave Carts

The Style: A microwave cart is a rolling stand for a kitchen appliance or television. Crafted from wood, a microwave cart has a hutch area that the stored equipment fits into. Cupboards and drawers are usually included for storage purposes.

When It’s Best: For kitchens where counter space is limited, but there is ample floor space, microwave carts allow you to keep your microwave, rotisserie or other appliance in its own space, freeing up more working room. The casters on microwave carts make it easy to shift the piece to access the plug or clean the floor.

What to Remember: Before buying a microwave cart, be sure to measure the appliance or television that you want to store on it to be sure that it will fit within the cart's hutch. You'll want to leave about an inch of space on each side of the appliance or television to make it easy to slide in and out of the hutch.

Utility Carts

The Style: Built for function rather than for form, utility carts are heavy-duty carts that are crafted from stainless steel and typically include two or three shelves.

When It’s Best: Utility carts are designed to bear heavy or large loads and are most commonly used in commercial settings. In restaurants and food service businesses, the carts can be used for serving or concessions. Since utility carts are crafted from stainless steel, they are resistant to bacteria and easy to clean, making them perfect for maintaining sanitary conditions in working spaces.

What to Remember: When you are shopping for utility carts, it is vital that you check the maximum weight limit for the styles and that you have a rough idea of how heavy a load you will need to carry. Bear in mind that in order for a utility cart to carry its full weight, you must evenly distribute the weight across its surface.

If you will be transporting extremely heavy loads, consider buying a two-handle style, which can be moved easily by two people. Two handle styles also allow you to roll up the cart by pulling from one end, filling it and then pulling from the opposite end to avoid having to turn it.


Folding Carts

The Style: Made from wood, folding carts feature a work surface and one, two or three shelves. When not in use, the carts can be completely collapsed and stored within a closest or cupboard.

When It’s Best: The folding cart is ideal in any situation where the kitchen area is too small to accommodate a permanent additional working surface, and there is not adequate storage space available for a traditional cart.

What to Remember: If you plan to fold up your cart after each use, the storage area on it will be usable only while you are working. You will need to empty it before you fold it up for storage.