In our fast-paced, streamlined society the kitchen can become a great space to take time and enjoy family gatherings, bake aromatic homemade cookies, or create a delicious and artistic meal. Recent trends in kitchen design have focus on adding convenience, storage, and space to facilitate activities in this very important room of the home. A few simple steps can help you find the perfect kitchen cart.

Step 1: Determine What Function Your Kitchen Cart Will Serve

Prioritizing your needs will establish what type of cart will be the best fit. Do you need it to be mobile or stationary? It is primarily for food preparation or storage? How much space can it take up?

Rolling Carts

  Mobility is the most important feature of these kitchen carts. They feature casters that often lock for added stability for your kitchen cart. These portable carts make excellent serving carts when entertaining guests. Utility kitchen carts often feature casters and are characterized by their space saving size. Perfect for out-of-the-way storage when not in use, they are a popular choice for a busy kitchen. 

Microwave Carts

  Instead of taking up precious counter space, microwave carts are a functional and mobile option to house one of the most used appliances in the kitchen. Not only will accessing the microwave be even easier, many of these microwave carts feature overhead storage cabinets or shelves. 

Butcher Block Carts

  Make food preparation a breeze with hassle-free butcher block carts. These are defined as kitchen carts that have a wooden top at least 2 inches thick in order to create a perfect cutting surface. Available as both a mobile or stationary area, the high-quality wooden surface is easy to maintain. Reduce worries when cutting or chopping as butcher blocks do not scratch or chip. 

Kitchen Islands

  For larger spaces, a kitchen island can be that added luxury to improve your favorite room in the home. As a larger unit often featuring casters, lots of storage space for utensils, dishes, or other kitchen items, islands provide ample work space to make cooking even more enjoyable. Many kitchen islands also include space for a breakfast bar or seating. 

Food Preparation Tables

  With longer work surfaces and multi-tiered bases for storage, prep tables offer the most useful and demanded feature of many cooks; simply, more space. Allow yourself multiple areas to prepare a great meal, or provide enough room for two or more people to pitch in and create a fabulous dish. Treated finishes make for easy clean-up. 

Cutting Boards

  Protect your counter tops and knives with cutting boards. Ideal for putting over granite or stainless steel counter tops, these boards ensure that your countertops don’t have ugly knife marks.

Step 2: Determine the Kitchen Cart Features You Need

Establishing the specific design features you require will help you to narrow down your kitchen cart or island search.

• Color: An important feature of any kitchen cart is color. Wood, black, red, yellow, white, or metal finishes may complement your design scheme.
• Drop Leaf: These carts expand space when you need it for food preparation or dining.
• Enclosed Undercart Storage: Allows you to tuck away extra dishes and appliances you don’t use every day.
• Open Undercart Storage: allows for easy access to items and keeps the area open and airy.
• Wine Storage: allows bottles and glasses to be at your fingertips when you are ready to entertain.

Step 3: Choose Your Countertop

The countertop is one of the most essential parts of the kitchen cart. It is where almost all of the activity will take place and will need to be tough and long-lasting.

Granite

  A rich, refined look with easy cleaning - these are the benefits of granite countertops. Use of a cutting board when cutting upon a granite surface will stop a knife from dulling. 

Wood

  Wood provides a great cutting surface at a comparably low price. These counter tops provide a casual country look.

Stainless Steel: Cleans up easily and gives the kitchen cart a modern look with a sleek smooth cutting surface.

Butcher’s Block

  These kitchen carts feature a wooden countertop that is thicker than 2 inches to provide the finest cutting surface that can be offered. Butcher block counter surfaces do not dull knives or show scratches in the surface. 

Tile

  These kitchen carts feature unique tile tops with wooden borders. Like granite, tile is easy to clean and a cutting board should be used when cutting upon a tile surface. Tile is used primarily upon kitchen islands.

Step 4: Choose the Perfect Kitchen Cart Style

• Casual: Distinguished by simple structure and design, these kitchen carts often combine materials such as wood and metal, a popular combination. Casual carts often feature kitchen carts accessories like towel racks, pot hooks, or spice racks.
• Traditional: These carts are characterized by their simple design, an all-wood base, and ornate handles. While they may not have the many accessories of a professional cart, they still offer elegance and function that harkens back to the days of traditional family kitchens.   
• Professional or Gourmet: Teaturing a lot of storage for everything a chef would need, professional kitchen carts are modeled after the workspace of the finest restaurants. They include gourmet accessories like knife holders, pot racks, power strips, etc. Usually larger than casual or traditional carts, professional styles are built to hold everything that a cook would need.

Step 5: Set Up Your Kitchen Cart and Enjoy the Art of Cooking!