Premium custom kitchen design by a North Carolina home builder, showcasing a massive dark wood island with white granite countertops, white perimeter shaker cabinets, high-end stainless steel appliances, and matte black dome pendant lights.

9 Big Kitchen Island Styles

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Large kitchen islands are a great place for gatherings: Food. Hobbies. Homeschool. Projects. Here are 9 photos of popular NC 2021 home design trends to help choose your next kitchen island.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #1: Placement

This Chef’s Kitchen designed by Chatham County new home builder Travars Built Homes is designed to provide as much working space as possible, with a massive kitchen island, cabinetry and countertops.

Premium custom kitchen design by a North Carolina home builder, showcasing a massive dark wood island with white granite countertops, white perimeter shaker cabinets, high-end stainless steel appliances, and matte black dome pendant lights.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #2: Size

Island kitchen floor plans separate countertop space from the rest of the kitchen, to increase its potential to be used for a variety of purposes.

Elegant kitchen profile emphasizing a long dark graphite kitchen island topped with thick white quartz countertops, illuminated by three hanging black iron lantern frame fixtures over oak plank flooring, built by Travars Built Homes.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #3: Design

This kitchen island was designed to be noticed, with a look all its own as the focal point of the room. The ability to create the look you’d like is a great benefit of working with a creative team in design build custom homes.

Custom kitchen layout showcasing white perimeter cabinets, a light gray subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, and a large wood-paneled kitchen island with a speckled stone countertop.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #4: Style

Your sink choice can make a big difference in the appeal of your kitchen island. Apron sinks (also known as Farmhouse sinks) are especially popular in 2021 new home design trends.

Modern kitchen island design featuring a dark navy blue base, a light granite countertop with an apron-front farmhouse sink, a black gooseneck faucet, and three industrial-style pendant light fixtures.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #5: Lighting

The pendants you choose for your lighting are especially important over the island. They serve as a punctuation of your architectural style and highlight everything in your design build new home.

Two-pane view of a modern farmhouse kitchen featuring a large olive-green center island with an apron-front farmhouse sink, ornate stone countertops, and industrial black cage pendant light fixtures.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #6: Seating

Tuck under seating is the choice made most often for big kitchen islands in 2021 home design trends. The ability to place bar stools out of the way when not in use provides a feeling of functionality and great use of space.

Custom open-concept kitchen highlighting a granite-topped island illuminated by three orbital black iron cage pendants, a stainless steel chimney hood, grey subway backsplash tile, and a glass patio door, built by Travars Built Homes.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #7: Purpose

This formal kitchen island exudes elegance in design build custom homes, with a furniture look that draws the living area further into the kitchen – an inviting look of luxury that increases importance.

Custom kitchen with large quartz island, black lower cabinets, natural wood uppers, herringbone tile backsplash, gas cooktop, and pendant lights by Travars Built Homes.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #8: Color

This kitchen island blends beautifully into extended gathering areas with its muted tones that create a sense of comfortable informality. It’s one of the most requested styles in island kitchen floor plans.

Wide open-concept floor plan displaying a high-end custom kitchen with white shaker cabinets, stainless steel appliances, premium granite countertops, and rich oak hardwood floors running throughout the expansive space.

Kitchen Island Design Tip #9: Surface

The surface material you choose for your kitchen island can be just about anything in a design build custom home. Granite. Quartz. Marble. Tile. Wood. Recycled glass. Cement. There are a lot of possibilities to explore in 2021 home design trends.

Wide open-concept floor plan showing a seamless transition from a high-end kitchen with a large island and dark countertops into the dining area and living room with dark hardwood floors running throughout.

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Close-up of a detailed 3D scale model house resting on top of architectural blueprints, accompanied by drafting pencils, a protractor, and planning tools.

Can a custom builder make my floor plan bigger? 5 Ways to add square footage.

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Yes, a design build custom home builder can add square footage to your floor plan. Below are 5 of the most cost effective ways that Travars Built Homes can add space to your floor plan.

How to make a floor plan bigger: Guest living and multi-gen suites

Adding a small apartment such as a multigenerational, mother-in-law or other extended guest living arrangement to your home usually means adding semi-separated living space. Special adaptations such as adding a private entrance to the exterior are also common. Additional square footage is often necessary to be able to fit in all of the extra requirements.

Blueprint layout for the upper level of Architectural Designs Plan 500037VV, emphasizing an upscale multi-bedroom layout with private en-suite bathrooms for every bedroom, a library loft, and a large optional bonus room.

This kind of modification to a floor plan typically involves rearranging the existing layout, such as changing two bedrooms and a bath on the main floor into one bedroom, bath, and living room – possibly with a kitchenette.

How to make a floor plan bigger: Expanding the kitchen or master bath

This is one of the areas where it’s important to work with the custom builder to create the space you need, as you will be looking at pushing out specific walls to increase a small portion of the home. Sometimes the result you’re looking for can be accomplished within existing square footage. We will show you some options as we talk through your needs.

Detailed close-up section of a home builder's floor plan drawing highlighting red-marked layout adjustments to create an expanded custom kitchen layout next to the dining area.

How to make a floor plan bigger: Basements and bonus rooms

Basements and bonus rooms are common areas to start with when factoring in the need for additional living space. Most one story floor plans – and plans with a two story great room – are good candidates for adding square footage to the second floor.

Pittsboro New Custom House Plans

How to make a floor plan bigger: Adding a sun room, screen porch or covered porches

Indoor/outdoor space is often expanded to increase the ability to utilize more of the property as living area, both in heated square footage as well as exposed areas.

Detailed first-floor architectural blueprint for Plan 500037VV by Architectural Designs, showcasing a spacious open great room, large kitchen island, private main-level guest suite, and a screened porch.

How to make a floor plan bigger: Expanding the garage

Adding a third car garage, carriage garage, or turning a front facing garage to a side load are popular requests for custom homes. Aside from the ability to park more vehicles inside, this is also a great way to have space for hobbies or storage.

Custom residential floor plan blueprint by Frank Betz Associates showing redline draft modifications to significantly expand the kitchen perimeter and alter the garage wall line.

As with all modifications to custom floor plans, it’s important to know what can be changed, and how it can impact your curb appeal, roof line, and the build of your new home. When recommending changes to your floor plan, Travars Built Homes will take into consideration the details of your floor plan, homesite, and potential restrictions such as local regulations and community covenants.

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Vintage-inspired guest bathroom featuring a unique double-faucet white porcelain trough sink, a large black-framed mirror, and classic black-and-white mosaic tile floors, designed by Travars Built Homes.

3 Ways to Get a Better Bathroom for Your Guests

Posted by Travars Built Homes on

Here are 3 different floor plan layout approaches for your guest suite bathroom from design build custom home builder Travars Built Homes:

Vintage-inspired guest bathroom featuring a unique double-faucet white porcelain trough sink, a large black-framed mirror, and classic black-and-white mosaic tile floors, designed by Travars Built Homes.

Approach #1 The bathroom is attached to the guest bedroom and hallway.

Approach #2 The bathroom is between two bedrooms (also know as a “Jack and Jill” bath)

Approach #3 The bathroom is only accessible through the bedroom – this allows for complete privacy.

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Guest Suite Bathroom Idea #1: Bath Shared with Common Areas

One of the most common layouts for a guest suite maximizes usability while minimizing cost by including a full bath with access from both the guest bedroom and main areas.

The layout has a second door from the guest bedroom directly into the bath so guests have full privacy but homeowners are spared the expense of an additional private bath.

See more of this modern farmhouse, the Norwich here:

Detailed residential main level floor plan blueprint for a custom farmhouse layout, featuring a master bedroom suite, central kitchen island, breakfast nook, screen porch, and a two-car garage.

Guest Suite Bathroom Idea #2: Jack and Jill Bath

This floor plan illustrates a “Jack and Jill” bathroom, where two bedrooms share a bathroom. With this layout, a guest would share a bathroom with someone in another bedroom, but would have the ability to close off that bathroom.

Main level residential blueprint floor plan ("Blackstone" model by DK Designs, Inc.) demonstrating an efficient layout with a Jack and Jill bathroom shared by two secondary bedrooms.

This floor plan, the Blackstone also has a powder room on the main floor, so the designation of this layout would be that the Jack and Jill bathroom would typically be limited to use by people in those two bedrooms, with semi-private usage.

Guest Suite Bathroom Idea #3: Full, Private Bath

In this floor plan, there is already a full bath beside the mudroom and guest bedroom. With a small expansion to the exterior wall of the bathroom, we can change the functionality of the space.

Take a look at the redline modifications. By expanding the bathroom slightly, it can be accessed en-suite, providing total privacy for the guest suite:

Architectural floor plan blueprint from Southern Home Designs, Inc., highlighting specific custom redline drafting adjustments made to reconfigure the mudroom and guest suite bathroom access lines.

The redline modification at the foyer illustrates how to add a separate powder room on the main floor.

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