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Original poster

If you have a kitchen island...

43 replies

soundsystem · 14/01/2018 18:51

Does it contain your sink, or cooker?

If so, could you tell me the pros and cons, please?

Looking at redoing our kitchen, and it seems like something will have to go on the island (as there isn't really room elsewhere)...

OP posts:

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 14/01/2018 18:55

I inherited mine when I moved. I'm using the room as a living room/kitchen just now. I wouldn't want the sink or cooker in the middle of the room. Mine seems to have been designed as a tv unit - has power and an aerial socket. Have given in and put the tv there and it sort-of acts as a barrier between spaces.

It has 2 cupboards, a wine shelf and if I moved tv would act as a breakfast bar.

If I had to choose I would prefer sink over cooker, but am not sure how plumbing would work with that.

acornsandnuts · 14/01/2018 18:59

I have my hob and a mini sink with a boiling water tap and remove able food drainer/sieve over it. Best thing in my kitchen I bloody love it even four years on. The main sink is on the side wall and just used for washing up.

Murinae · 14/01/2018 19:01

Inherited mine too and it’s just a large work surface which I use a lot. Not sure either that I would like a sink or cooker on it. Mine has power but no gas or water

wowfudge · 14/01/2018 19:03

Ours is L shaped and has the sink and dishwasher in it. Works well. We have seating on two sides and the sink isn't in the way.

HolyShet · 14/01/2018 19:04

If I had to have one I would just have work surface and storage and power for gadgets/radio.

But I hate them, always seem to bang my hip on them in other people's houses, and they always seem so cumbersome unless the room is ginormous. I think they are starting to look dated too.

PhuntSox · 14/01/2018 19:06

Cooker

IvorHughJarrs · 14/01/2018 19:11

Mine is just a big surface, I did not want hob or sink in it and have never regretted that. I think the kitchen looks bigger as it is clear.
It has cupboards on one side, wine cooler and wine rack on another, dishwasher and crockery storage on the side facing the sink and shelves on the fourth side with two power points at the side of the shelves so I can use appliances on it, etc

Firstaidnovice · 14/01/2018 19:14

We have the sink on ours. Pros and cons of both.
Hob on the island, pro, being able to look out into the room whilst cooking. Con, depending on size, danger from hot oil spitting out onto people perched on stools on the other side. Difficulty of fitting am extractor, depending on ceiling.

Cons of sink - dishes, dirty or clean on the draining board on display all the time.

We had to do one of the two on the island, went for sink, and it's fine. We very rarely wash up though, much to DHs annoyance I whack nearly everything in the dishwasher regardless of instructions.

In general though, I would say our island just attracts huge amounts of stuff. Kids drawings and small bits of Lego models in particular. Paperwork too. It's a constant battle.

Murinae · 14/01/2018 19:27

Mine attracts the cat!

Nomatchingsocks · 14/01/2018 20:19

Inheriting one too that’s plain, I’m already looking to update with a massive cooker!

QuitMoaning · 14/01/2018 21:41

I have one and it has the hob. For me I love cooking and my family and friends gather round whilst I am cooking, it is a social activity. Washing up is not.

I sit at it all the time and love it.
Fitted a downdraft extractor as kitchen has sloping ceiling.

QuitMoaning · 14/01/2018 21:42

I have one and it has the hob. For me I love cooking and my family and friends gather round whilst I am cooking, it is a social activity. Washing up is not.

I sit at it all the time and love it.
Fitted a downdraft extractor as kitchen has sloping ceiling.

QuitMoaning · 14/01/2018 21:42

I have one and it has the hob. For me I love cooking and my family and friends gather round whilst I am cooking, it is a social activity. Washing up is not.

I sit at it all the time and love it.
Fitted a downdraft extractor as kitchen has sloping ceiling.

Believeitornot · 14/01/2018 21:48

Sink

Because while I like socialising, I don’t like people staring at my cooking. Neither do I like the idea of oil spitting etc when I’m frying.

Our tap can be pushed down and we have a double sink, using the second sink as a drained so you cant see piles of washing up.

Maremaremare · 14/01/2018 23:40

Hob on the island is, I think, currently the 'fashionable' thing to do as it is seen as more social. But also I guess it depends on how much time you spend at the hob vs the sink.

Also consider that an extractor fan over an island is probably more expensive, possibly less effective and can't be hidden like it can if it's inside a dummy cupboard along a wall (in a run of cupboards).

Also, if you have very little children, you might be worried about them climbing onto the island and accessing the hob.

Also oil spitting.

Also, your sink, dishwasher and rubbish bin should all ideally be next to each other for the most efficient scraping/rinsing/stacking, so consider whether this impacts where you locate them (in terms of space etc).

Maremaremare · 14/01/2018 23:43

Also, I second what a previous poster said about getting a boiling water tap in your sink (Quooker brand). Instant hot water (for making tea and cooking pasta) and don't have a kettle out taking up space.

Titsywoo · 14/01/2018 23:44

Neither mine is just an empty surface. I didn't want anything on it so sink and hob are against the wall in an l shape and island is in the middle. I don't stand at the hob stirring much tbh. I do however stand/sit at the island with friends drinking wine and chatting . It's very useful for food prep as I can really spread out and still have the whole other side free for dc or dh to sit and chat to me.

Bellamuerte · 14/01/2018 23:46

My hob is on the island. I like that people can sit opposite on a stool and have coffee and chat while I prepare breakfast, or have a glass of wine while watching me cook dinner, etc.

W0rriedMum · 14/01/2018 23:47

Induction hob on mine. I love it - people gather round while I cook and it's very sociable.

godricshollow · 14/01/2018 23:49

There is a good old thread on this somewhere that I found helpful. In the end I went for hob on island too. I am really enjoying it so far. In my house the sink is a magnet for clutter and I prefer it tucked against the wall. I find it much better as I can watch the children while cooking. Or chat with guests. I have a pop up extractor.

pallisers · 14/01/2018 23:51

I used to have one which had the hob. I hated it because people sat just next to it and fucking stirred my sauces. Reading the phrase "spoony fucker" on MN was like reading the word schedenfreude for the first time - the sheer joy that someone had invented a word/phrase for a deeply-felt emotion.

Now in my new kitchen there is a massive expanse of the most beautiful granite the world has ever seen. There was a suggestion at one point that I should move the sink into it but I could not bear to interrupt it.

I love it - it is like a table (dh says he'll be laid out on it complete with candles). We gather around it but no one can reach my hob. Like Titsy, I spread out for food prep , or we eat breakfast or lunch at it but when cleared off it is just a beautiful thing to look at.

MiniCooperLover · 15/01/2018 07:52

pallisers, what colour is your granite, could you show us a picture? We are planning our kitchen and thinking granite, also a small island so we can have cupboards in it that just take the recycling bins, so nothing built into the actual island top. Don’t know if that’s a wasted opportunity though ...

Bluntness100 · 15/01/2018 07:56

We've nothing on ours either and we use it all the time, like a table.

If I had to do one or other due to space, I'd do hob. For the simple reason no one wants to be sitting round dirty dishes or pots and pans.

Foobarjar · 15/01/2018 08:02

Sink and dishwasher on island, hob directly behind, works really well. I would want a fancy pants pretty extractor if hob was on island. Bit like this one of the homepage www.tomhowley.co.uk

ilovewinterpansies · 15/01/2018 08:04

I have my hob on mine (inherited) - not a fan. It's messy and I hate people staring at me cooking (when I say people, I mean the in laws, who question every ingredient and every stir - it got to the point that I now only serve food that can be prepared in advance).

Clear is best but if I had to choose one, for those reasons I'd chose the sink.

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