Kitchen/ dining area inc island - plan attached

[JoanDarc]

I’m trying to finalise our extension plan to include a kitchen / dining area with island and space for a 6/8 seater dining table.
If I can add in dining table to the kitchen area it means my existing family area will be much larger as dining table currently occupies a space in between. (In front of door to hall)
If you have this sort of set up can you share your dimensions? Any plans/ pictures appreciated! I’m trying to balance having enough room without increasing sq m too much! All suggestions welcome!

Looks good though a bit tight between where the bar stools and dining chairs are - how much space is there as you need to walk comfortably between them?

That looks really tight. What is the gap between the island and the kitchen units?

If the gap between the main kitchen and island is accurate for size then the gap between the island and table is definitely too small. An alternative would be to have an island/table, split level with seating attached on one side.

Do you need the breakfast bar? If you get rid for the bar stools & have a slightly narrower island then you have more space for your table.

You don't seem to have much counter space and the island is really close to the dining table.

An island table would really work and make best use of the space. The one below has integral seating which makes good use of the space, but there are unlimited possibilities.

From island to units there will be 1m of clearance. I’m also probably not going to have any units running the full length down to the dining table, so this is different from the plan. The island will only be 90cm wide x 180 long so will still have 1m clearance all around including between the island and dining table. As it isn’t a passage way only for chair access, I thought this would be fine. 🤞

@Lonecatwithkitten thanks, that’s an interesting option, I’m looking to have bar stool seating along with the full dining table so will measure this out to see if it’s an option. 👍

We have a fairly similar layout. Our distance between island and units is 1 metre which is fine. Our distance between island and dining table is 1.3 metres which is generous, and I think you could get away with a metre or perhaps 90cm. Otherwise I think it will be tight.

We have 1.3m between edge of island and edge of dining table. We also have stools that sit under the island top when they're not being used. It's ok. I wouldn't go any narrower than that or it will just look cramped.

I've never really understood the point of a breakfast bar right next to a dining table.

Thanks @MrsCat1 for that picture, I’m definitely looking to increase the length of kitchen to try and get a larger gap.
@Africa2go thanks!
@CasperGutman I never really sit at ours however the kids do, especially at breakfast and any visitors when we entertain gravitate to our high stools, despite dining table being really close. (In current set up)

Could we see the plan including the utility room? The way your island is drawn on that plan, there's 1200mm between it and the units (width of the sink cabinet and the adjacent one) so if you're saying IRL it will be 1000mm (the minimum you'd want it to be, really) then you've already gained 200mm for the spacing between the island and the table.

Can you "borrow" any space from the utility room? Even 300mm (ie half the depth of a standard unit) could be enough. I think 1300mm between table/island would allow you the two lots of seating back to back in comfort. Otherwise you do risk constantly having to shove chairs and stools back in so that you can manoeuvre around your kitchen.

Alternatively do you need all 3 bar stools? Obviously you do if you have 3 kids, by the sounds of it, but if not you could put one stool at the window end of the island and another on the table side, and you'd then have fewer obstacles between the two (and only one stool to push in so you can get round when you need to).

I think it is too tight. We have 1.5m gap between the unit and island and the island is 1.5 m wide plus space for the chairs sticking out. It is roomy but I wouldn't want to reduce it much. That would leave you 1.5m for a table and space between table and island

Thanks everyone for input, is really helpful to have fresh eyes looking at it.
@Zinnia plan including utility attached. In theory we could borrow 300mm from utility, I only have units along one wall and don’t mind a utility space being narrow. I’ll probably change the door to come in from hall instead of kitchen, if this makes a difference.
Ignore the sizing of the island on the plan, We’ve done about 10 different versions of plans so haven’t scoped this size out properly with architect. To be honest I hoped that some of the questions I’m asking of mumsnet could have been answered by our architect but the dimensions from previous plans seem to be very optimistic with table clearance, etc. The minimum width of any island would be 900mm given it would accommodate 600mm units and overhang for seating which is what we have at the moment and it works for us. Length wise would be looking at around 1.8m max.
That’s a good idea re: stools, have 2 kids so would be minimum of 2 stools, would be nice to have more but not fixed on this.

Our kitchen units are pretty much the same layout as your first plan. We have the fridge and ovens in the same position as marked on your plan. Our bottom run of units is floor to ceiling so we mainly use the island as our workspace. The island is 3.2m by 1.2m with an overhang where the bar stools are marked on the plan so we find the amount of workspace is fine. We also have a walk in larder bottom left which is not shown on the plan as our builders constructed it rather than the kitchen shop.

Behind the island however is open space with doors to the garden. Our dining table is left of the island.

I'd definitely make the utility smaller unless you'll use it for coats, wellies etc. If it's just a laundry type room then I think you can afford to lose a bit.

Yes, I'd steal a bit more from your utility. 1m all round will feel tight. You have fridge doors, oven, and hob in that kitchen area which all need space and although you say the space between the island and the table isn't a passageway, it needs to be so that those seated on the right can get to their seats without walking through the kitchen area.

This is pretty much the layout I'm planning too. Ours will be 4.8m wide, so just a touch wider than yours.

I'm planning to only have 90cm between wall kitchen run and island (I'm only little!), the island 90ish cm wide (1 cupboard depth plus overhang for stools), then the table along the other wall. There will be enough space, but not loads. I'm planning on having a bench along the table wall so I can shove the table right against the wall when not in use.