Open plan kitchen - is island unit too big for space?

[BugEyedBeans]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71900830.html

Do give me your opinions! Especially those with experience of living open plan.
The pictures are lovely, but there isnt much space left for a table as the island unit is so big.
And open plan living - noisy washing machines, cooking smells etc - What do you think?

Where would you sit if you want to look out at the garden?

I think it is, that’s why they have benches instead of chairs. Sadly, the island is useless as a table, even if you find lower stools there’s not much space to get your legs under it to sit comfortably near to your food.

I agree with you OP - I think the island is too big for the space.

Also probably expensive to heat in the winter.

It depends if there's a utility for appliances and if there's another space for dining - didn't read the description. We have open plan kitchen/dining/living but do have a utility with a door and a smaller separate living room which works great for larger homes, before we extended we had separate rooms and no utility.

Yes far too big. Every kitchen designer or DIY-er seems to think they absolutely MUST squeeze an island in now, whether it's appropriate to or not.

I don't think so. We have a peninsula and we eat there. I could bring the dining table in where we have guests but as a family we eat at the peninsula and I like it.
I don't mind noises and smells go quickly by opening the doors. But cat on the worktop... next house won't be open plan.

There isn't space to pull the table out to have people round for a meal or to have a family dinner. They've tried to do too much in a small space.

That kitchen is the classic example of why it is important not to follow the latest trend or fad in interior design. What works in one house will not necessarily work in another.

There should never have been an island in that shape of a room. The kitchen table should have been in the middle of the room which would have allowed a small seating area at the bottom of the room in front of the doors so you could fling the doors open on a nice day and sit down and enjoy the view/kids playing, etc.

All the utilities are in the kitchen, so you would have the noise of the washing machine / dishwasher in your living space.
There is space for 3 stools at the island unit, 4 at a pinch. The table is quite small and pushed against the wall.
I was taken with the house as it is a good price for our area and everything is done and newly decorated... but of course then you are stuck with the previous owner's choices.

Yes Blunt just what i was thinking.

I think you should see this one in the flesh before writing it off. The island does look a bit too big, but it still might work in real life.

What struck me when I looked at the details was less that the island was too big, more that the whole kitchen/dining area was too big. Basically the kitchen is more than double the size of the sitting room. Odd.

Judging from the position of the 2 bar stools, I guess that the family usually have the table turned 90 degrees with the short end up under the island.
It's a lovely looking house but I couldn't do open plan without a separate utility for the noisy stuff and mess, and at least one other room not part of the open bit.

I would push the dining table up against the island, tucked under the overhang bit. Then you have a 3 sided area to eat. Not bad. You need to see it. Or maybe remove island and fill in floor with contrasting tiles. Have a big table there.

Unlike the rest of MN (but like most people I actually know), I love a kitchen island. That one looks too wide - we have a very similar layout but ours is narrower and we can sit people on all sides of our kitchen table, albeit with a bench against the wall. But if you like the house otherwise worth viewing as photos can be deceiving.

Yes it's too big. I'd want to be able to fit in a sofa facing the garden and the fact that there's no separate sitting room would put me off. Lovey house but I think they've tried to achieve something that would work better in a larger property.

I think it's worth a look. There seems to be space at either end of the kitchen for maybe more seating. There's also a void under the stairs where you could put a utility cupboard

Yes, I think the whole kitchen/dining area is too big. It seems like a waste of space having such a big kitchen area with such a small lounge.

But then because of the island you don't have the whole 'heart of the home' thing as the only thing you could realistically do in there is cook or watch other people cooking. It's like they've tried to put a rand designs kitchen in an average sized house, and it just doesn't work as a usable space.

Could you put a table where the purple box is and a sofa where the red box is?

It's a nice extension but I agree with everyone else that it's not really in proportion to the rest of the house and odd use of space.

Also having lived in an open plan flat I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a utility. The noise of cooking, dishwasher, washing machine is really irritating. Could you add a wall to the living room?

Thank you everyone! It has really made me think about how the space could be used and of course that is about how you want to live.
So here...you could make fantastic meals but then have to squeeze onto a tiny table looking at the wall, to eat.
The fact that the kitchen, bathroom and decorating have all just been done also bugs me - looks like it is out of a magazine and it is 'too good' to change.
No. I won't be making an offer.

It's not a big island but the house is just really tiny. I think open plan works better in such little houses as it gives a better sense of space. Otherwise, every room would be the size of a cupboard.

Agree , tons of wasted space in the extension. I think it's very common to desire more space, create the extension, and then struggle to zone the space effectively.
I wouldn't write it off - even if it's just been 'done' that doesn't mean you can't change it.

It is really a very small house with a large kitchen extension and poor use of the space.

It's a very narrow house, so the island is definitely too much with that orientation - might have worked better to keep to fairly square zones, following what was likely to have been the original layout.

And moving on from that, that third bedroom might be the smallest box room I've seen. The other two bedrooms are tiny, too.

Or maybe remove island and fill in floor with contrasting tiles.

There already is some weird hexagonal tiles, there. Maybe that was the original plan and the island is an afterthought.