A combination of new technology and traditional materials is at the centre of a new range of kitchen island designs, it has been reported. With homeowners increasingly looking for innovation and uniqueness when it comes to kitchen interiors, designers have been willing to step up to the challenge. Among those new design solutions showcased in the latest edition of home decorating trends magazine Trendir is an island workstation by Schule Design which combine tough, wooden surfaces with an in-built workstation, allowing users to keep on blogging on their laptop or listening to their iPod while cooking.Such use of technology is also prominent in the new kitchen island designs from Binoa and Ernestomeda, which feature remote-controlled sliding panels and doors, all of which can be concealed to give completely smooth surfaces. In contrast, Paris-based designer Jouin Manku has gone back to basics with his kitchen island design, with his luxury centrepiece made of solid stone, with the magazine noting It would be a sin to have this spectacular, gorgeous hunk in your home and not have it at the heart of it all!It added that, with the choice on offer, the only limit placed on kitchen designs these days is your imagination.