Ina Garten serves as a constant inspiration for us at Homes & Gardens. From her advice for cooking to her outlook on interior design, the Barefoot Contessa speaks and we listen. Since Garten's style is undeniably timeless, her home often embodies the most enduring interior design trends of the year. The extra-long island in her kitchen taps into one such trend: conversational seating.
We spotted the kitchen island in photos of Garten's home, and it stretches almost the full length of the room. The statement piece has dozens of white cabinets with black countertops above. Small silver pulls echo the stainless steel splashback behind the stove. The right side of the island has enough room for six stools, providing room for the entire family to sit and enjoy breakfast or a snack at the same time. On the other side of the island, a built-in sink provides extra preparation space. Lamps and candles add a decorative edge to the functional design.
The style provides infinite space for eating and cooking, making it so that residents can easily spend time together while easily living in the space. Laminam predicts this kind of 'social kitchen' will be one of the top kitchen trends of 2025. Claudio Corniola, leading kitchen expert at the surface brand states: 'With 1.3 million posts on #entertaining on Instagram, the thirst for having family or friends round for food and drink is as popular as ever. To create the ultimate social kitchen, think of multifunctional islands with an integrated table or breakfast bar attached, wine cabinets, coffee machines, and warming drawers. 2025 will see homeowners hunker down, inviting people over to save money on going out while still enjoying socializing in the comfort of their own kitchen.'
Part of how Garten creates this social energy in her space is through appropriate zoning. By marking out different sections of the kitchen, Garten keeps it easy to know where to spend time. Carniola says, 'Taking over the reign of open-plan living, broken-plan kitchens are a way of zoning a space with semi-permanent partitions – think bookcases, breakfast bars or islands – split levels and different finishes for floors or walls.'
Beyond its conversational properties, the extra-long kitchen island is brilliant for all of the storage it provides. Garten's island provides nearly infinite room for storing pots, pans, plates, glassware, and kitchen tools.
Shop Garten's Top Kitchen Picks
Socializing like Garten requires cooking like Garten, and the easiest place to start is with all of her simplest kitchen appliances and tools to set you off on the right foot. Here are some of the best pieces we've spotted over the years. All are stylish and small enough that they would be easy to store on or in your kitchen island.
Using 100 percent diamonds, the patented abrasives sharpen faster and easier than any alternative – for a sharp, longer-lasting edge. Garten keeps her knives constantly cooking-ready with this tool.
This Garten-approved spinner has a one-handed pump for maximum drying with minimum effort. We love that it has a patented brake that immediately stops the basket with a simple press.
To create conversational zones in your kitchen in a stylish way, Corniola recommends: 'Mixing and matching porcelain surfaces on tables, islands, breakfast bars and peninsulas is a great way to add interest to the kitchen while ensuring peace of mind the surface of choice is durable.' This will help you create a seating layout that designates certain areas for socializing and others for food prep.
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