Talk to me about kitchen islands

[GraciousPiglet]

We are about to remodel and are moving our existing kitchen to our new extension. We had a good floor plan but now I'm nervous that we are not using the space very well and that perhaps we don't need an island.

The space is about 3.5m square And we have two walls available for cupboards to go on. The rest of the kitchen space backs onto other areas.

We will have one row of cupboards and counter tops and then a few tall cabinets (like a pantry cupboard) on the wall opposite. The ovens are built in at eye height.

We were planning to then have an island, and on that island would be our sink - a small sink as we don't really wash up. The island will be just under 2m long and 1m wide.

There would be approx 800mm between the row of cupboards and the island, so essentially by adding our island we are creating a sort of galley kitchen, which I'm now feeling a bit nervous about.

If you have an island, what space do you have around it? If you don't have an island how do you find it? Has anyone regretted putting an island in their average sized kitchen? Is having a sink on the island a terrible idea?

If we don't have an island we'd basically have an l shaped kitchen with loads of space in the middle of the room. I can't decide if that's weird or not?!

I'm not sure Islands are a tool of subjugation any more than a kitchen table or a kitchen itself

Time to find a new husband (but keep the island).
We moved into a house with a kitchen peninsula when our children were young (toddler and preschool age) and had no problems with bar stools.
My mother, as she ages, also finds it easier standing up from the bar stool than a normal dining chair.

Agree with the idea of induction hob or prep sink (with a proper sink elsewhere) but not a proper sink on the island.

@foggygreyday - maybe. We cook everything from scratch too as live overseas where ‘ ready anything’ does exist.

I just use the main table to bake and prep if needed, as comfier height to sit at and kneed bread or let toddler cut biscuit dough. If we have lots of people over we all sit around the table facing each other to help prep meals, chop etc.

We've curved corners. Works fine.

I don't like them, which is just as well because I don't have one, don't have room for one, and don't want one :)
It's not sour grapes though, I hope. I just find them always so hard and cold and distancing rather than comfortable-making.

To answer the question though, no, it wouldn't be weird at all, it might be nicer.

I will caveat my love of islands by adding that I don't particularly like bar stools.

Islands are great (when done well with enough space) for ease of movement around the kitchen, sociability, and loads of storage in cupboards underneath.

Bar stools are a PITA IMHO, there's rarely enough space to move around them when they are occupied and by and large are completely pointless if there's a perfectly good dining table with chairs two metres away.

Please don't assume having an island automatically necessitates bar stools.

(And hopefully I've now removed the typo 'bad stools' which sounds like an unpleasant topic for the health board)

@Moonshine5

I'm anti Island. On a personal level I feel that they were created for women to multitask in the kitchen: watch the children while cooking and or entertaining and now WFH. On a practical level I think dining tables are better.m, more comfortable and socially friendly. With islands the bar stool type seating is hard on the back and not everyone wants dangly legs sitting so high up. Also who wants to stare at the cooker / sink. Plus sharp corners young children etc. I'm aware I'm in the minority with my view (Islands being a tool of subjugation).

@Moonshine5, YES! I couldn’t agree more.

I feel the same way about The kitchen is the heart of the home but have never articulated it. That’s exactly it.

Also, I hate islands and the telly is the heart of our home

We’ve recently moved. The kitchen is 3.4m wide, with units down both walls. There’s not quite enough space in the middle for a table, but too much space to move from one row of units to the other easily. It’s really crap layout to be honest.
At 3.5m wide, 2 rows of units are 1.2m, then if you leave 1m clearance each side of island that would give you only a 30cm deep island, which would look ridiculous and be useless. Instead, I’d have a run of units (including tall ones for fridge etc) on one wall and a 90cm deep island, but nothing on the other wall (other than narrow things like a radiator, maybe a bookshelf, a chalkboard).

That would give you an island about 90cm deep by 2.5m long, which should be plenty of prep space even with a hob.
It sounds an odd layout but it avoids an open space in the middle of the room, stops a corridor effect, and more worktop space and storage than 60cm units on the other wall. A house we viewed had this layout and it seemed pretty workable and looked nice.

You could try mocking it up with cardboard to get a feel for how the layout would be.

PS - Islands are a great way to get you to buy more kitchen units and worktops than you’d need if you just had a table, so am sure kitchen companies will rave about them to you.

I have no actual advice to give you but I'm not fond of the "must have" kitchen island layout either. It's such a ubiquitous feature now, it will surely date.

MN islands are like MN en suite bathrooms it seems.

Sink in my island here. Works fine. Over got a row of fake plants to 'screen' it. 120 gap between island and counters. Bit narrower near the fridge but not a problem.
Island is 2.5m x 1.7m.

I also don’t get the kitchen is the heart of the home mantra in the UK. The UK culture is certainly not traditionally like other places where cooking is part of the socialisation.

Instead, the kitchen is the heart of the home is a trend and one that has led people to attach huge extensions to the back of their homes rendering the rest of the house dark and of little use.

Essentially people build these extra space at the back of their houses, then fill that space with a kitchen with an island and living area in one. Put the TV there and voila, it’s the heart of the home.

I’ve seen some really nicely thought out extensions that use the space well but most is just a box tack on to the back.

We have a sink and a hob on our island - the sink is used for washing veg - so it's useful to have it for food prep - the island has chairs facing the hob - I love when we have a natter with whoever is cooking but we don't eat at the island, sometimes the kids did their homework there as I cooked. Space between units and island is 120cm - feels like the right size for us.
We've just bought a new house with a dining room attached to the kitchen and units on two walls, with a big empty space in the middle. I want to add an island but I'm concerned it's a bit pointless if it's just work surface - the cook would have their back to the food or the person they were having a chat to - which doesn't quite work.

I also don’t get the kitchen is the heart of the home mantra in the UK. The UK culture is certainly not traditionally like other places where cooking is part of the socialisation

It’s more about being social within your family, especially as having two working parents is now common and coming home to food on the table is unlikely for most. Someone (usually whoever collects the children) will be in the kitchen sorting dinner and it’s not only nice but also very helpful to have the children in the same room.
Our kitchen and living area is very much heart of the of the home and has been since they were toddlers and now they do homework, play, chat or watch tv with me or DH whilst we get the food ready.
It won’t be long before they start pulling away from us so DH and I are enjoying this time with them, rather than being in a separate room from them whilst one or both of us cook, prep lunches, clear away.

When we have friends over for dinner, it’s nice to still be part of the conversation whilst serving up rather than one of us having to leave to see to the food etc

I did a lot of research about gaps between island and other worktop.

One the side of the island has 2 "workstations" ...so sink on the island and directly behind on the run of stuff on the wall is where we planned (and still have) coffee making stuff/cupboard etc Here I have a 4ft gap so has space for two people to work, bum to bum.

On the short end of the island there is nothing. Just the end board and drawers in the wall behind. So only one "work station" putting stuff on drawers or using the worktop. So only ever going to be one person/bum there at a time . .so left 3ft gap.

Works perfectly.

One does not need an island or open plan to be social with one’s family. I cook from scratch, fresh everyday. It’s just part of my culture and in my case, it does not take much time. I prefer to let food boil or bake away whilst I relax in a nice, warm cosy room with my family.

Each to his own I guess.

I have an island - just a plain granite top. No sink or hob, no bar stools - I hate anyone in the kitchen when I'm cooking. It's perfect for baking, cooling and decorating cakes or serving up meals for example.

We've inherited a kitchen with the sink randomly plonked on the island. It looks messy when the draining board is in use , water splashes everywhere. I think it was put there to avoid the cost of moving the plumbing. Just very annoying.

Bar stools, however, love them.

I love my island - I had to be talked into it, but I’m glad I relented!

It’s the only workspace in my kitchen- there’s a draining area around the sink but the rest is floor to ceiling cupboards/drawers. The hob is on the island.

I love the versatility of the space - it’s easy to work at any of the four sides, we used it as a buffet space at Christmas; the dc sit up and do homework while I’m making dinner; it’s lovely for entertaining because I’m not cut off from the conversation; it’s a great workspace when you have extra people because they don’t have to be concentrated on one side.

IF you are putting a dishwasher in the island you will need at least 120cm so you can fully open the dishwasher door and get around it.

Recommend a sink and a half not a single sink. Better for pouring forgotten tea out of the mugs before washing up and better for rinsing during washing up.

The room does sound a bit small for an island but it is your kitchen and you should have what you want.

I would recommend that you show your design to a proper kitchen designer for some feedback. They usually have some good ideas that you might not have thought of.

Good luck with the project.

Who mentioned husbands .... Thanks for proving my point.
How family / back friendly are bar stools? This is my experience and my view. My children are too young to enjoy them. And I find them uncomfortable - is that allowed to be voiced? The chef (any gender) normally stands. You don't need to tear down others to put your perspective across, in fact it detracts from the point which is that you haven't talked about islands (that the OP asked).

We have island - with induction hob - it makes it much more usable and the chap I bought the kitchen from showed me a vast kitchen - Oh my word I would have been exhausted going from fridge to hob to sink . I think galley kitchens are brilliant , just go from hob to sink to fridge to dishwasher drawers with implements all there - and then the other space is just for more relaxing and eating. - so create a galley kitchen even if your kitchen is big . One other point - if you do have an island - spend what you can on bar stools / chairs - they are used a lot - get ones with arms . Anyhow just my two tuppence worth

@GraciousPiglet

We can't have a peninsula as we have a slight level change and, well its very boring but it doesn't work!

Husband designed the kitchen for us as we are having to reuse a lot of what we already have to save money - mostly worktop!

We have taken all this on board though and we have increased the gap so it's now 1m. I feel a lot better about it.

If we had cupboards on the two walls we'd end up with a huge space and no way of filling it - partly because of the step change and also because of a supporting pillar. Basically it's not really open plan even though it's 'open' visually. So the dining room can't encroach on the kitchen.

We don't need a table as it's right next to the open plan dining room. So I'm hoping our island will be more part of the kitchen for prep etc than for eating. I expect the kids will Potter about at it but we'll eat at the table still.

Sink wise, definitely rather have the sink on the island than the hob as I would worry about kids touching things when I'm cooking etc. Sink also takes up less room.

The sharp corners def fill me with dread, not going to lie!

You could reduce to 75cm wide for Island

You could have rounded off corners. They do end up at children head banging height for a while.

@Moonshine5

Who mentioned husbands .... Thanks for proving my point. How family / back friendly are bar stools? This is my experience and my view. My children are too young to enjoy them. And I find them uncomfortable - is that allowed to be voiced? The chef (any gender) normally stands. You don't need to tear down others to put your perspective across, in fact it detracts from the point which is that you haven't talked about islands (that the OP asked).

Did you not also say: “ On a personal level I feel that they were created for women to multitask in the kitchen: watch the children while cooking and or entertaining and now WFH”? I commented: time to get a new husband, as it’s men and society that subjugate women, not the kitchen set up.

OP asked about islands (as you have pointed out). You said it subjugated women. I disagreed in one line and now you are saying that I have detracted from the point . Apart from that one line, the reminder of the post was answering the OP’s question.

Of course you can say bar stools are uncomfortable - I am just offering our differing experience.
I don’t feel remotely upset that you have a strongly different opinion to me. Sorry that you feel that have been torn down.