Meg Ryan's simple but elegant kitchen island is unlike anything I've seen before – its welcoming design encourages conversational seating

As a celebrity style writer, I love a statement kitchen island. I delight in how it can define and anchor a room, becoming a bold focal point – almost as much as how it provides extra space for food prep and storage. Growing up, the kitchen island was where my family gathered for breakfast and after-school snacks. It's one of my favorite pieces for transforming a house into a home.

Given my proclivity for islands and my job that requires looking at beautiful celebrity homes all day, I was surprised to see something completely new in Meg Ryan's kitchen remodel: a pedestal kitchen island. The actress's Montecito kitchen was designed by the iconic Becker Studios in 2021, and it has been one of the Homes & Gardens team's favorite kitchens since. However, it wasn't until this week that I noticed the unique shape of the island and how it deserves to take center stage.

The unique kitchen island type is rectangular, with a white marble top with subtle gray veins. Its base is a swooping gray pedestal with rectangular elements, giving it an artistic, sculptural feel. At first glance, the exposure on four sides might make one think it's a dining table situated at the center of the space, but the freestanding sink on the island shows that it's an intentional, permanent aspect of the kitchen space. Ryan has positioned kitchen chairs on two sides of the island, encouraging conversation in the space.

There are so many reasons I love Ryan's kitchen island, but I think the primary one is how it interacts with her black and white kitchen color scheme. With so much black, the space could easily look too dark or boxed in. The delicate shape of the island's base helps to counteract the heaviness of these colors. It allows the light from the windows and the white marble shine through, brightening and uplifting the kitchen.

I'm also obsessed with how the shape of the island fits perfectly into the larger kitchen. The rectangular top imitates the straight lines seen throughout the space, continuing the linear, geometric theme. At the same time, the curve of the pedestal mimics the stylish arched doorways. These details give Ryan's kitchen a unified, cohesive feel.

Finally, it's very important to me that Ryan's kitchen island is not only stylish, but highly functional. I've already mentioned the small sink on the right side of the kitchen island. Around it is ample prep space for large scale cooking, or easy use on a lazy evening. The other side of island has chairs arranged on two sides, encouraging visitors and family members to sit close to one another. It's one of the most innovative examples of a living kitchen I've ever seen.

Shop the Black and White Kitchen Edit

No matter the design of your home, you can replicate the elegant, elevated aesthetic of Meg Ryan's space with kitchen styling using sculptural, black and white dishware.

If you love the look, begin with planning. While the classic vision of the kitchen island is cabinets underneath, perhaps with bar stool seating on one side, there are an endless array of design possibilities. No matter your style, Ryan's kitchen is inspiration to think outside the box when designing your kitchen island. What look will fit best into your color scheme, the shapes in your space, and your lifestyle? Answering these questions can help you design a kitchen untethered by convention.

No matter how many kitchen islands I look at, I think I will always return to Meg Ryan's as my favorite.