Kitchen Layouts: Island or a Peninsula?
Attached on One Wall, a Peninsula is a Great Option for Smaller Kitchens
Houzz contributor & founder/ principal designer at KitchenLab | Rebekah Zaveloff Interiors. We're a Chicago based interiors firm specializing in kitchens & baths – the rooms which often begin as the focal point of many of the projects we design & manage. We create a link for our clients between the design process & the construction process which is often missing & we offer tailored interior design services for adjacent rooms or whole houses depending on the scope of the project. We love to mix styles and make our spaces feel like they "grew there" and were collected over time. We also offer e-decorating services through our company Design in a Bag.
Visit me at http://kitchenlabdesign.com http://designinabag.com
Our work has been featured in Kitchen and Bath Ideas Magazine, Dream Kitchens,...
Houzz contributor & founder/ principal designer at KitchenLab | Rebekah... More »
If given the choice of kitchen layouts, most homeowners desire an island above all else. Islands are great if you've got the room. They create extra space for work, storage, and a place for family and friends to hang out while being out of the cook's way.
But sometimes a peninsula is a better solution. It has circulation on three sides, vs. the island's four, with one end usually attached to a wall. Sure, there's the kind of peninsula you commonly see in a U-shaped kitchen, but there are a few others that will have you doing a double take. After seeing these kitchens you may put a peninsula at the top of your wish list:
But sometimes a peninsula is a better solution. It has circulation on three sides, vs. the island's four, with one end usually attached to a wall. Sure, there's the kind of peninsula you commonly see in a U-shaped kitchen, but there are a few others that will have you doing a double take. After seeing these kitchens you may put a peninsula at the top of your wish list:
| |
| You can still mix countertop materials when you have a peninsula rather than and island. Here the butcher block top doubles as a prep area and snack counter. |
My personal favorite expression of the peninsula is the one that's attached to a perpendicular wall, without any cabinets on that wall. It looks like an island; the only difference is that there's no walkway on one end, and this can often translate into more counterspace and better circulation. For smaller kitchens, this is a great solution. When you have to carve out at least 36 inches on both sides of the island, that really eats into your real estate. If you're looking for a more spacious circulation path, this is the way to go.
Tip: To get this look, where a peninsula looks more like an island, resist the desire to put cabinets on either side on the perpendicular wall or even above the counter.
Tip: To get this look, where a peninsula looks more like an island, resist the desire to put cabinets on either side on the perpendicular wall or even above the counter.
| |
| An alternatve layout to this kitchen might be an L-Shape with an island turned the opposite way of the peninsula shown. To do this, you would have to raise the sill height and change out the window in order to fit base cabinets below. If you want to avoid doing exterior work like this, then a peninsula like this is a terrific solution. |
Because of the extra circulation space created by doing a peninsula, you can often add another seat to the end of the counter.
Tip: To get this more asymmetrical look, don't make the peninsula the same length as the cabinet wall behind. Hold it in a bit and give yourself a bit more room for an extra stool.
Tip: To get this more asymmetrical look, don't make the peninsula the same length as the cabinet wall behind. Hold it in a bit and give yourself a bit more room for an extra stool.
Here you can really see how much space is gained by connecting this peninsula to the wall. If this were an island with circulation on both sides, that wine refrigerator would have to go, plus some. The top, without any counter space on the right of the sink, would be too small to for a comfortable workspace.
| |
| In this L-shaped kitchen , the decision to do a peninsula over an island solved so many problems. There's more space in front of the range, more counter space, and a better sense of separation between the kitchen and family room/sitting area (see more next). |
| |
| Here's the same kitchen from the opposite view. The peninsula helps to define the kitchen as a separate space for the family room/sitting area. |
| |
| Here's a different approach. This kitchen was too small for an island, but making it a galley would have wasted quite a bit of space in the center. The solution was to bump out a small peninsula off the main sink, giving the cook much needed extra counter space. This peninsula also is home to an under-counter freezer and allowed the homeowner to do a full, all-refrigerator unit. This small peninsula also has enough of an overhang for someone to pull up a stool on the other side. |
| |
| Working on a similar premise but in a larger kitchen, this peninsula helps to define the room and add counter space. It's a perfect example of a kitchen that's just a little too narrow for a full-size island. |
Even the smallest peninsula can be well worth the effort. This kitchen wouldn't have any seating if it weren't for this clever addition.
This L-shaped kitchen has a spot for a few stools and adds much needed counterspace.
| |
| The classic U-shaped kitchen with a peninsula. This keeps the cook in his or her domain, and everyone else out of the way (technically). A banquette on the back of the peninsula creates table seating rather than counter stool seating.
More: Ideas for L-Shaped Kitchens Ideas for U-Shaped Kitchens Take a seat at the new kitchen-table island |
Ideabook published on Feb. 21, 2011.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
Where do 10 of 12 of these kitchens have their refrigerators? I'm assuming they are hiding them in a closet like area?
In my California kitchen, I have a peninsula, and I LOVED it. It was good and deep, had a ton of storage for all my pots and pans and even a drawer for all my kitchen gadgets, and I used it to death for my baking/cooking. It was basically just a giant counter.
In my Maine kitchen, I wish I had a spot for a peninsula, but my kitchen is u-shaped and the only wall I could use is a traffic wall next to the basement door, so that's out. One leg of the "U" is just too narrow to work effectively as a good baking counter, so I'll have to go with a Farm table or an island in the middle instead. Thankfully the kitchen (pictured) is wide and deep enough that it will accommodate an island easily. Now I just have to find the "right" one for us.
However, now that I've had one, I definitely believe a peninsula is the way to go, if you can manage it in your kitchen layout.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
plus, the sink is in the peninsula, which I also hate, but there isn't anyplace else to put it now. I would have designed the kitchen totally differently--it's a good size, lots of cabinets, but wildly inefficient. we are thinking about taking out part of the peninsula to make an island, which in this case would be far more efficient, and i can afford to lose the one cabinet that would go away. so...just depends on the kitchen!