If you have a kitchen island...

[soundsystem]

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)...

I have a big island with an induction hob up one end and as I cook I face the big TV on the wall... it is a big room though. I know someone who put in an island you can barely walk round and it looks ridiculous.

Mine has an induction hob on one side and is a breakfast bar on other side and storage on these two sides. Drawers on on the hob side and cupboards on the other side.
It has lots of power points in the other two sides.

We have an induction hob and seating. I'm really pleased that we did it this way. We also have a plug socket hidden underneath

Nothing. Apart from drawers and cupboards and the wine rack. It is lovely when clear. Which is rare.

I said mine just had an induction hob... well, that's all that's visible on top, but it also seats 6 on bar stools and there's a combi microwave and drawers and cupboards, lots of them. Love the way we've done it, it just works for us

We’re having one put in at the moment and it will have the hob in it. Ours won’t have seating at it so nobody can sit there and stir my food. But I will be able to keep an eye on the kids when I am cooking and see out into the garden.

Yes there's an old thread about this. It really depends on how you live / cook / manage pots etc.

We had to have 1 or the other, and for us the sink works best. We don't have pots in sink (almost everything goes in dishwasher and if anything needs washing, its done straightaway and put away). Conversely, the thought of having guests sitting on the island watching me cook, trying to have a conversation through a cloud of steam or dodging splashes from the pan didn't appeal. I also wanted so far as I could to keep cooking "debris" (utensils / chopping board etc), plus smell of food cooking, away from the middle of the room. My children sit at it pretty much continuously too and whilst its 120cm deep, still thought from a safety point of view, sink was better.

A big consideration too for us was extraction. A ceiling mounted extractor (above hob in island) would have spoiled the sight line through the room towards the garden. We could have opted for a pop up extractor mounted in the island but they're v expensive. Hob on wall was best / most cost effective solution for us.

As far as islands go generally, I've had 4 kitchens since 2000 (due to house moves!) and have had islands in all of them. Don't think they're going to be dated any time soon when they're such useful / sociable spaces.

Induction hob on mine as well as seating for 5. I absolutely love it

I've had two kitchens with islands.

The first one had an induction hob with an extractor above. It felt sociable cooking and facing out towards the room, but did mean pans, trivet and oil splatters on the worktop.

This time I've gone for a bare island with induction hob built into a chimney breast and the sink under the window.

I prefer having a clear work space and just have a big bowl of flowers, or glasses and drinks when we entertain. Also attracts the cat too.

I have a hob ( children can’t get at it any more than a conventionally positioned hob), veg prep sink, 2 x pop up sockets and lots of cupboards and drawers and two pull out waste bins. I wouldn’t be without it.

my friend and SIL have hob in theirs - its prettier to gather round than a sink full of dishes

Baxdream is that a pendant extractor you have hanging over your hob?

We have a sink and dishwasher, but currently looking to change it. It was designed in a very last minute fashion and isn't ideal. We need to keep the same things in it, just redesign it a bit. Add a seating area etc where currently we just have cupboards.

Sink works ok but as others say you need to keep it tidy! If we redo it I will get a new worktop that can have built in drainage channels in same material as surface, rather than a stainless steel draining board, as it really dominates the island at the moment. I want the sink to be less visible, so may go for one of the undermount-sinks too.

@wowfudge would you be willing to post or pm me a picture of your island? It has same stuff as ours and am thinking L shaped if we can fit it. There are so few sink / dishwasher island designs out there I am struggling!

Thanks all!

I'm leaning towards having the hob in it, for reasons mentioned above - seems more sociable than gathering round the sink. And the kids can sit on stools and peel carrots for me (for some reason this is DD's favourite thing at the moment).

I think a sink only works if you don't leave dishes draining there, and I'm not sure we're tidy enough...

In an ideal world, we'd just have a lovely big space for food prep, but that's not really an option, unfortunately...

The one thing that really annoys me about my inherited kitchen is a pantry cupboard right beside the oven.
Not sure if you're considering one of these and it would be so handy anywhere else, but beside the oven it's too hot and the veg spoils.

SuperLoudpoppingAction, that’s so helpful to know !! Thank you 👍

My main double butlers sink is against the wall and not in the photo. Having a social space within the island makes a lot of difference and I recommend it.

Having a sink and a dishwasher is easy to design if the island is big enough. You have water and drainage so you put in the DW adjacent to the sink(s). However I think they are better placed against a wall because the washing up, associated clutter such as Fairy and cleaners are kept tucked away rather than in full sight. I like my veg prep sink being separate from the washing up/dishwasher area. It’s closer to the fridges so handy.

Bubbles your garden is beautiful!