3' would be the minimum, 3'-6" or more would be better.

Three feet is generally the minimum amount of space between counters or for traffic flow, however, you'll need to consider things like having enough room to open an oven, refrigerator or dishwasher door or drawers in the island or counters. Four feet between would be much more comfortable.

39" min 42" ideal Any less and you may regret your choice. It is all about "flow". The tendency for many homeowners is to select a island that is to large --------- This can be true with dinning tables as well.

If you leave only 36" you will find yourself turning sideways to look into base cabinets. Leaving too little room around an Island is a common mistake made by the less experienced. The good news is that in your layout the sink and the range or cooktop are not accross from each other. If that had been the case 48" would have been the least amount of space I'd leave. I would leave 42" of space and make my island smaller. Besides the problem of looking into base cabinets, and the dishwasher door and range door opening into the space; Two people better both be thin ant turn sideways to pass each other in a 36" space. And above all DON"T forget the countertop overhand and the projection of the front of a range when you are calculating the space you are leaving.

42" is the minimum if possible for a one cook kitchen, 48" minimum for a two cook kitchen, measured from counter edge to counter edge or furthest obstruction (cook-top, fridge), not cabinet base.

Well am I ever glad I put that question out there before floor plan became reality. Very hard to tell about space on graph paper. I am back to the drawing board to put together a smaller island ( 3 by 4 ft.) instead of 3 1/2 and 4 1/2, and 42" around, instead of 36" around. I was planning on a french door style fridge, so clearing the door is no problem. Luckily my husband loves to BBQ, leaving it a one cook kitchen. Thank you for your input!!! Priceless.

Even with a french door style fridge you need to be careful. Remember that you have to open both doors to pull that dang center drawer out that they all seem to have now, and then you need room to stand in front of it and pull it out. Also, even if only one person cooks others may want or need to access the fridge. Depending on where you put your fridge you may want to consider a counter depth one if you are short on space.

Thanks Ruthmand for your feed back about the fridge. I used cut out graph paper strips to represent the door swings on the fridge and stove, and it seems OK. But I will do it again with trying to visualize me pulling out that dang center drawer. Thankfully the fridge is at the end of the bank of cupboards so people can get into it away from the busier work zone. Thanks again.

You are very welcome and I hope you get to enjoy your new kitchen before long.

Hi, I'm planning the same layout as pictured (20' x 11') with an 8' island. I was going to do 42" from island to range and 5' from island to sink. Is 5' too much space? Kitchen is open to living & dining room. Thanks!

All of these space questions can't really be answered without a floor plan and kitchen layout. Whether there can be seating at the Island, the depth of each appliance. There are dozens of considerations. The wonderful thing about kitchen designers is at least our initial help is usually free, and without commitment. And any later deposit is usually applied to the cabinet order. In the end you will be buying cabinets from some kitchen designer somewhere. Unless you are at a place that truly sells only terribly made cabinets. Home centers and every kitchen showroom will have designers of different levels of experience. Let a professional measure your space and come up with an initial plan, they will bring up at the very least the most obvious space concerns. How well your kitchen is designed, how well your money is spent, and how smoothly the job goes is primarily a reflection of how good the kitchen designer was. There really is no substitute for a knowledgeable professional.

I started with a floor plan to scale on graph paper and used a Home Center's planning guide with their cut outs for cupboard placement etc. I added the dimensions of appliances I am planning to buy and have print outs of their specs, so adjusted the plan to the measurements. Then with rough plan in hand and several printed coloured pics from Houzz.com I sat down with 2 professionals for estimates and feedback and ideas. I am having the cupboards made and installed by a professional, as well as the granite countertops, back splash tiles, flooring. The second professional from a Home Center, is doing a computer profile of my plan with the cupboards and colour I picked. The interesting thing, is that both professionals I saw said the 3' walkway between was the absolute min., but should be OK. It was the feedback from this thread, and points brought up for consideration, that changed my mind to make the island smaller and the walk around area wider to the consensus of this thread, that it should be a min. of 42". I am so thankfiul for this website and the folks who take the time to give advise! I agree with Main Line Kitchen design, that there really is no substitute for a knowledgeable professional.

Sounds like you put a great deal of thought into everything. Of course Home Centers do tend to have the least experienced people. However even in home centers there will be some kitchen designers with a great deal of experience and some fresh from transferring over from the garden department. Choosing which one you work with is the best time you will ever invest. You can call around and find the most experienced person at a home center near but not necessarily nearest to you. There may even be one who is a CKD (Certified Kitchen Designer) although the certification guarantees only experience and not any kind of actual ability. Kraftmaid is the best cabinet line carried at Lowes and Home Depot. Here is a link to a relevant Blog posting of ours.

http://www.mainlinekitchendesign.com/general/let-the-cabinet-buyer-beware/

Best of Luck.

Our kitchen has a similar layout. We have just over 3 feet between the sink/dishwasher/counter and center island and about 5 feet on the opposite side of the island which has the microwave/ wall oven combo, wall pantry, and desk. I like a tight work space so I can move a pan or dish from the sink to the island work space with just a pivot. There is no real "traffic" on that side (sometimes my husband gets in the way) and we wanted to keep the other side wider for free flowing traffic.

42" is standard & 48" is required for another person to pass behind when the dishwasher door, oven door, etc. go to NKBA website to read the rules!

One more thing, measure the distance from the edge of the countertop not the cabinet itself. That's usually 1 1/2" both sides - 3"

I was assuming that most posters here needed guidance. I think Kitchen Designers with deep experience can bend the rules when appropriate. But if you consider the cost of a major kitchen renovation, it's no place for free styling. I don't mean you can't be creative. Good designers use creativity to solve problems & to enhance the style & beauty of the client's space.

Thank you Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath for your feedback and personal experience from your own kitchen. I'm still smiling. I can get 40 and 1/2" at the range to counter top overhang on the island,. Smallest spot being 36" between the sink and island counter top, because I really wanted the sink to bump out a bit. ( Houzz.com you areIt would be 39" if it didn't bump out. I have 39" at the dishwasher. My butt is still small. LOL, but with my new kitchen coming, that may change! I have already made the island smaller by 6" all around , now measuring in at 4' by 3'. I considered asking my builder to make the addition one foot larger to try and get me those 42", but the entire cottage is being renovated, 2 small additions, roof ripped off and relined, a few walls moved. $$$ and climbing, so one more foot would send my builder running, right behind my husband!

Rosecottagehome, from personal experience I say ask for the extra foot. It can't hurt to ask and you'll be surprised at how easy your plans can be modified for that extra space (remember you'll never have this opportunity again). I added an extra foot to our 2 story addition and looking back those 12 inches were essential. Who knew? Good luck with your project and post pics when your done.

I've been at this a long time and 42" is good rule of thumb .

OK, I hear you. You are right, it doesn't hurt to ask anyways how much more an extra foot will cost. Like you said sheapeeps, I will never have this opportunity again ( my husband will second that motion!) As you all know, doing a major renovation to an older structure just seems endless with the details, adjustments and new issues that I know will come up as it is happening, the budget just keeps getting higher and higher. I will see where I can trim the fat in other areas. Example: replace arched header windows with long rectangular ones ( oh but I do love those arched ones ), or,no cultured stone on the wall behind wood stove ( yet, do it later), I think I may start a new thread on small changes to keep big reno budgets down. Thanks for the push for 42".

GREAT info her when planning a kitchen! Thanks!

thanks so much! i am in the same dilemma and you all helped me answer some of my concerns! 48" between island and counters will work perfectly for me!!

OK, I can really speak to these spaces! Our 1833 farmhouse kit was remodeled in ‘70’s – it’s a galley kitchen; 49” between counter top edges, and is 11’ long. A true ‘triangle’ kitchen – sink on right, stove at the very end, and ref on the left. If the dishwasher door is open, only inches to get by, and cannot open the ref. – and if the ref door open – no one can get by, and if oven door is open, person using the sink must move to other side of the sink AND my buttox is in the way of anyone getting into the ref! THAT’S 49” people, so consider all of this when you locate your appliances. Mine is a one person kitchen with that space down the middle, and if anyone else is in there, they are in the way!!! And even carrying dirty dishes into the kitchen, there if no room for one person to pass by the other to reach the sink, let alone open the ref to put those items away!

The advantage of an island is everyone doesn’t have to move in the same space, but again, be cautious about appliance doors you must open. If your stove has the oven below, you need the room to approach from the front and room for bending over too! If you are loading the dishwasher, is there room to move past the open door? – most can be loaded from the side but many times you must move to the other side for additional loading or someone must get past you to the stove etc. I plan on having a prep sink in the island, directly across from the stove so a quick turn for washing hands or getting water will keep me away from the main kitchen sink.

also plan on a ‘coffee/beverage’ area right beside the ref, at the very end of the kitchen, so anyone fixing drinks or coffee will be out of the way too. Want a VERY small sink in that space as well – with water.

Now, if your kit is TOO big, you run your legs off getting around it. So, think of your traffic areas, where your seats are located at the island etc. If your island is long-ways in the kit, and seating has their backs to dining or living area, no open doors to worry about when people sit there.

I’ve seen gorgeous kitchens with the main kitchen sink in the island and wonder why they would think they want everyone to see all those dirty dishes, especially if seated facing it and/or it opens into a great room.

IF you open that dishwasher door (left of sink in this pic) it takes up at 24" of space. Is 1' enough for others to walk around?

IF you open that oven door (in pic) it takes 24" plus your buttox, is there ANY room to move by then? Fortunately people ca go around to the other side of the island, but is that what you want all the time?

In planning my new kit in my retirement home, 48" is minimum, depending on location of appliances! I've researched and looked at hundreds of pics on houzz, took pages of notes, now am prepared to lay outmy 'dream kitchen'!!!

We were told by an architect, no less than three feet.

I have the same L shaped kitchen, our sink is currently in the corner but we can't stand it! I'd like to move the sink to the island, but it would be across from the refrigerator, how much space should I leave between the island sink and refrigerator? Should the sink be centered in the island or could it be off to one side?

rule of thumb 3' minimum 4'6" maximum

What is the square footage of your kitchen love the layout

which kitchen layout e you referring to?

This is a very interesting discussion! We live in a very urban city with tiny kitchens. The thought of standing in front of my oven or the dishwasher with the door open let alone someone waking in front of it would be so rare. For us, I prefer to have my counter top closer, like 39" so I don't have to take multiple steps to use the prep space as I hardly have any next to my oven. Just another perspective!

I agree with Alison, While many people prefer wider distance, I made mine 42". I like to be able to cook something then turn around and place it on the island without extra step. I don't really care about number of appliance or people working in the kitchen. For me, I don't open my oven/dishwasher/refrigerator at the same time and still walking around. And for a typical family, normally just husband and/or wife cooking, so it's manageable. I rather have extra space for the living room.

Remember to measure from the handle of the range to the edge of the countertop, not cabinet front to cabinet front. Use the 48" width if others will use the sink at the same time the main cook is using the range.

I feel so bad when I go to a potential clients home for an in home consultation and they have been given bad advice about space needed to have an island with an eating bar. I learned a long time ago that making that minimum size of 36" really doesn't work. The biggest problem is that when the customer realizes the 36" is too small they already own it. It isn't about the sale it's about making a workable design. If the space isn't large enough we as designers need to come up with a design that does work. Even tho you want an island sometimes the space you have won't allow it.

would a distance of 5 foot or 60 inches between the range and island be too far away for a comfortable working area?

I feel it is a bit. 48"-52" is usualily enough. But it also depends on how many people will be in the work space at the same time. Hope this helps.

we always mostly have 2-3 people in the kitchen. I think 52 might be more than enough. Will ask the architect to change it to 52. Thanks a lot!

No problem any other questions you may have feel free to contact me. Good luck!

the space between my kitchen sink in island and my cook top behind is 4 feet but it seems really tight seems like as soon as you open a dishwasher door located in the island beside sink there is no room to walk around or even function moreless if 4 feet seems tight am I dumb for thinking it needs to be like 5 feet

Let me see if I have this correct. Your cooktop is in the island with the sink behind it? If this is the case we usually try to offset the fixture so they are not hitting you or feel to tight. We try not to make the opening much larger then 52” because then it seems to far away once larger then that. Hope this helps. Any more questions please ask. Greg

I’m sorry I got that backwards. But the answer is still the same we offset the fixtures so they are not in top of each other. Hope this helps.