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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Hobs in kitchen islands

23 replies

papalazaru · 11/02/2014 10:36

I'm trying to plan my new kitchen. We currently have a large island with the sink in it. The main part of the kitchen runs along the opposite wall and the hob is directly opposite the sink. My gut feel is that I don't really like hobs in the island but I'd like to hear what others' experiences are.

OP posts:

Damnautocorrect · 11/02/2014 10:39

I'd always worry there's more splashing / knocking potential as people walk past.

17leftfeet · 11/02/2014 10:40

I like the hob in the island as I don't feel like I've got my back to everyone when I'm cooking

I've got 30cm of work top behind the hob and people don't sit there as mine is a long kitchen with a table

RoganJosh · 11/02/2014 10:40

We had one in a holiday house and I didn't like it. It felt vulnerable, it also seemed to waste the space behind it.

Original poster

papalazaru · 11/02/2014 10:45

Yep, my main concern is safety. And then there's the splashes and splodges when things bubble over (regular event in my house). Speaking of which - how does the extractor work without being really unsightly.....?

OP posts:

CiderwithBuda · 11/02/2014 10:47

Love it. We put hob in our island having had one in a rented house. Feels sociable when cooking. Ours is a big island though. A friend did the opposite as she wanted to be social e when washing up. I find that always looks messy unless you wash up constantly as you go.

CiderwithBuda · 11/02/2014 10:48

Oh - our extractor is one that fits flat into th ceiling. Got it from John Lewis. You can also get ones that come up out of the island.

lurkingmurking · 11/02/2014 10:48

We are debating this too at the moment. I like the social aspect of having the hob on the island but we are both messy cooks so it may be better to 'hide'.

I also want to use the island as a breakfast bar so am worried about splashing and safety.

I am actually leaning towards having a totally clear island.

dontcallmemam · 11/02/2014 15:38

I've got one on my island now, an induction so very streamline, but I won't next time. It takes up too much space, I'd prefer more prep space. In my next kitchen I'll just have a blank top on the island.

AwesomeMrsFox · 11/02/2014 17:40

Also a 'love it' from me! My friend had a sink in her island and said she hated everyone looking at her messy dishes which inevitably piled there, so we decides to out our hob on our island with this in mind. Again, I have a large island and a streamlined induction hob so it looks neat and isn't a safety issue at all. The kids love it when we are cooking and they can see what is going on and I also I find it sociable when we have people round. There are some very funky looking extractors now - I opted for a falmec flush to ceiling so it is completely out of the way.

SilverLining · 11/02/2014 17:46

I have an induction hob in mine & love it - very social although I feel I'm on a cookery show when people are round and sit on stools chatting! It's a fairly big island so I still have prep space - I wouldn't have done in otherwise.

Original poster

papalazaru · 12/02/2014 10:55

Seems like the jury is still out. My dilemma is that I want a raised dishwasher so if the sink stays in the island then we have a split height island - which I actually quite like, I've had one before in a rental property and they work well. But the more streamlined route is to have a one height island and in this case I would need to swap the sink and the hob over. As I spend more time washing up than stirring pots on the hob I think it would be more sociable to face the room at the sink..........

OP posts:

Sleepwhenidie · 12/02/2014 10:58

We have an induction hob on our island with a downdraft extractor, sink on the back wall, so just behind you when you are cooking. There's not a lot of traffic on that side of the island, it sort of works as a galley kitchen that way, but everyone else tends to be on the other side of the island where the stools are.

HazleNutt · 12/02/2014 10:58

love from me as well. As Awesome said, when sitting around the island, I would rather look at the pots on the hob that sink full of dirty dishes. You do need a good sized island though to have prep space.

Sleepwhenidie · 12/02/2014 10:58

I love it by the way!

OnePlanOnHouzz · 12/02/2014 11:24

if you have the sink in the island - maybe consider one that comes with a slide over lid type option - astracast do a range of them - it hides any unwashed stuff !!! or have an under mount sink with an enormous chopping block that can slide over it !!!

( I have induction too - love it !!!)

minime74 · 12/02/2014 12:25

Another love from me, too. We were advised to consider putting the hob in the island in our new kitchen and I'm glad we did - saves on a lot of walking! You need a good extractor, though.

Taffeta · 12/02/2014 13:17

I have a big island with a hob in the middle and lots of work top either side. I love it, it's exactly what I wanted. I have a white silestone work top that is very easy to clean, so any splashes aren't a problem. We have a wall of folding sliding doors that I open if it gets very smoky which is rare.

I have no extractor above the island as I can't abide the look or the noise. We have a tiny one hidden away on a back wall covered by a Woden box DH made. We had to have one for building regs. They are a waste of space, money and time IMO.M

I was insistent about the hob on the island as I love cooking and socialising and didn't want to do one at the expense of the other. The children also love cooking and we can all chat as we cook, them either by the island or at the big table we have parallel to it.

pootlebug · 12/02/2014 14:37

I love my hob on the island. Our extractor has an external motor - so the motor is mounted on the outside wall of the house and sucks air from there, which means it is really quiet (the main problem is it is so quiet we forget to turn it off sometimes). Our island is deep so I can cook with the kids sitting at the breakfast bar opposite it and no danger of splashes etc.

I don't like sinks on islands as sinks are a messy-dish-magnet - much prefer to clear dishes to the side of the kitchen out of the way where the dishwasher and sink are.

greyvix · 12/02/2014 18:04

Another love it from me. It works really well with an induction hob. My sink is always a mess, so would not be a good feature on the island. It also makes me clear the cooking stuff away more quickly after the meal.

Deux · 12/02/2014 18:15

Another one here too. I have an induction hob and quartz worktops so it is very easy to clean.

I think it depends where your circulations are in your kitchen. In ours the hob is away from the main circulation and high traffic areas. Ours is in a corner of the island but has about a 3 inch lip around it. The island is 2.4m x 1.4m.

Like tafetta, I don't have an extactor above but one in the wall which works well.

Sparklegeek · 13/02/2014 13:36

I think it depends on the size of the island. I love mine & it does make for a very social space. But y island is 2.2 X 2.7 m so quite large so the other things the island is used for are some distance away (sink/5 stools for eating). It is high maintenance too, not just on the worktop it's set into, but also the hob itself, I have to properly clean it every day as it's just so visible smack-bang in the centre of the room slattern

Original poster

papalazaru · 14/02/2014 14:11

So it looks like those of you with island hobs do love them. I've been convinced then to go back to my designer and ask them to draw up new plans switching the sink and the hob. It will make for a much more streamlined island without the need for two heights so I'll let you know when I see the new design what I think of it. Thanks all!

OP posts:

YellowBellow · 14/02/2014 14:23

We have a large island which curves and gets wider as it goes along. It seats at least 5. Hob and sink built into it and still loads of space around it. Dishwasher 2 cupboards and a wine fridge underneath. I love it. Great for dinner parties. Don't have problem with dishes as wash up as go along. Wherever your dishes were in the kitchen they'd still look messy. I have gone this route as I wanted a floor to ceiling bank of units along the long wall with ovens etc built in. All looks ace. V modern. Clean lines and clutter free.

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