Kitchen island - good or bad?

[DitaVonCheese]

We are hopefully finally building our extension with an actual kitchen in it this autumn (after two years of cooking on plug-in electric hobs). I think it's going to be quite big - about ten foot square - so DH has suggested an island. I feel as though I'm constantly going to be going around it, iykwim, but extra counter space might be good ... ?

Experiences? Good? Bad? Help me!

Well, this being mumsnet there will be a correct answer to this and I don't know it. I only know that I would love one. I stayed at my cousin's house recently and it was great because I could just pull up a sstool and chat while my cousin made all my meals and topped up my wine. I found it very sociable. Whenever I didn't know where to put myself I went and sat up at the island. so i didn't feel in the way like three day old fish.

IMO this is too small for an island.
The base units around the Walls will eat up 4' leaving only 6' for the island, this is not big enough as you need about 900mm (3') circulation space around the island.

It would make it a lot easier if we just didn't have the option! Maybe I'm wrong about the size - maybe 12 foot square? It's going to be slightly smaller than my mum's kitchen, which has a dining table in it.

Like the sociable aspect :)

Make sure it doesn't cut across the working triangle.

And do think twice about a breakfast bar instead of a table. We're stuck with a breakfast bar at the moment and I just hate the perching.

I think anything less than 4m square is too small for an island. If you have cupboards in it, or opposite it, you need 1.2m space in order to open these. If there are no cupboards either side then 1.0m is minimum IMO. This would mean, assuming you had an island with no cupboards (and why would you?), that it could only be 800mm wide which is hardly worth it, and you'd spend so much time walking round it you'd go mad.

Do you have floorplans? These will tell you the size of the room.

I recently got an island and I love it. I'm a work from home caker, and its my workspace. It is slightly in the way of the working triangle, but DH was always leaving bags and tools where it is, so doesn't make much difference to us

Could you possibly use a couple of cabinets and put them in the space that it will take up, and see how it looks?

I'm also not sure that an island unit would work - either in a 10ft square room or a 12ft square room. IMO they work well where you have a large kitchen diner, or a very large kitchen. I'd want a table and chairs rather than an island unit if that was the size of my kitchen.

Having said that, we had one in our last house (had knocked through into dining room to make big kitchen diner) and I absolutely loved it.

My new kitchen is 16ft square and I tried hard to fit an island in but I couldn't, so have gone for a peninsula instead. This may sound silly, but DH is disabled and we need at least 4'6" width everywhere. An island needs two corridors so that is 9ft gone already so with units round the edges it just doesn't add up.

Have you thought of butchers trolley on wheels? That what you can move it around to suit your needs.

I would love a island one day. Or even a butchers trolley! Not much chance in my kitchen sadly :(

I have no spatial awareness so have no idea if yours is big enough or not, but I love mine. Extra work surface is brilliant and gives the kitchen a focal point

Island is fantastic imo but only if there is enough space between it and other units, you need at least 1m, preferably 1100, and enough space to pass the other side of it, say at least 800mm (plus a bit extra for stools if you are having them).

I love my island in my kitchen, it is the heart of the home. Love having it as a serving zone when we have people over and still having a working area to use.

Thanks all for the thoughts. Kitchen will be in extension which isn't actually built yet, hence no floor plans etc for exact size.

Atm the kitchen is going to be kind of half-open plan with the dining room, with a unit/work surface between the two (like a serving hatch I guess, only bigger) so hopefully that will mean that anyone wanting to be sociable while I cook can sit on the other side of that and chat/drink etc. I think it probably is too small for an island (hate feeling cluttered/claustrophobic!).

We were going to put an island in our kitchen and I'm so glad we decided against it. The feeling of spaciousness is lovely, and we have toddler playdates in there with them all running around all over the place - an island would get in the way. That said, we have plenty of work surface area and cupboard space; I might feel different if that was more limited.

I adore having an island, and have had in my last 2 kitchens. Very sociable, and now I couldn't bear to stand and look at a wall whilst I prepare food.

Having said that 10 or even 12ft square might be a bit tight, and I would suggest a peninsula instead. (although it depends if you are going to have units on both sides, or if, for example, one side will be wall opening with french doors)

If you go for a 90cm wide worktop on your peninsula you can have 60cm deep base units underneath, and it would give an overhang for people to sit at. We have an overhang which goes around the corner, so people can sit at 90 degrees from each other, which stops that feeling of being lined up at a bus stop.

If it is going to be open plan with the dining room, I definitely wouldn't go for a dividing overhead unit, IYSWIM - I think it would create too much division.

If you are knocking through into the dining room, why don't you use the kitchen for the full space i.e. extension and existing dining room?