I don't have one, but am considering one in our new build. I like the idea of one being a workhorse and the other with an eating area. Similar to the one in this link.

Here is a link that might be useful: double island

We considered it, but decided against it because we didn't want our kitchen that large. I have seen it done extremely well several times, actually.

Here is our proposed layout. Our islands are not drawn to scale (or even to the proper shape). We have some "deadspace" between the kitchen and great room so we thought it may be a nice option.

I worry about:

1) the pain in the bottom factor of walking around the islands
2) the fact that we can't move it easily without some demo if we don't like it
3) that we can put a table in there instead for much cheaper, but then again that would not look quite as finished and would probably quickly become cluttered up with stuff...

It requires a kitchen the size of a small cottage to pull off successfully. (Not at all kidding about that.) You don't have the room for it. It's better to have one island done well than two done poorly. You DO have enough room to create a much better functioning kitchen than what's presented in that plan though. The primary offender is the cleanup sink on the island. It's taking up all of your working space. Make that into a prep sink and move the cleanup sink down to the counter by the stairs. That will help to separate cleanup and prep and increase the ability of the kitchen to serve multiple workers.

"we can put a table in there instead for much cheaper, but then again that would not look quite as finished and would probably quickly become cluttered up with stuff."

If you are prone to cluttering up a horizontal surface, it does not matter if that surface is a table or an island.

I realize that two islands may look more expensive and impressive to some folks, but having both an island where people can sit and gather around you as you work "and" a table where you can all gather around "face to face" is the most family friendly choice, imo.

And in my house, my counters gather more clutter than my kitchen table, but that's just us. :)

This post was edited by bird_lover6 on Tue, May 7, 13 at 10:50

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! And great pix, kellyeng! The kitchen measures 22ft long (top of pix to bottom) and about 25 feet wide so I am not sure about the size being too small to put 2 4ft wide islands. As a matter of fact, I think there would be maybe too much space between islands, requiring a lot of walking to get from one to the other.

live_wire_oak, if I move the clean up sink closer to the stairs (with plans for the dishwasher on one side and trashes on the other), would I put the prep sink on the opposite side of the same island?

We were thinking of putting the prep sink on the outer island, closer to the fridge (by the stairs).

The prep sink needs to be in the PREP ZONE. THe far island isn't the prep zone. It is the furthest location from the prep zone. The prep zone is the area between water and fire and adjacent to storage.

I agree that "It's better to have one island done well than two done poorly".

You should post your design in the Kitchen Form for additional feedback.

This is only my opinion, but I find this new trend strange. I would much rather have a table instead of a 2nd island.

The plan looks to be a great house. In the great room there appears to be an architectural feature and then a table. Is this your dinng room? We have a similar setup in a 30x19 area; the kitchen is beyond it and is 14x17.

I like the islands. Have you looked on Houzz.com? The site has excellent examples. Another consideration is to add a lower level to the primary island that is table height.

Does the kitchen "work triangle" mean anything to you?

One island, much less two islands, often transforms the triangle into a highly complex, elongated rhomboid!

Hope you have good ankles and like to walk.

Good luck on your project.

Don't knock until you try it.

Thanks K. I like where you live--we have a daughter and grand-kids there.

As to kitchens and islands, I have tried it, designed and used it. Many times. The old concept of a kitchen "work triangle" is as beneficial today as many years ago with the term was originated.

Everyone has their own personal preference. Newbies, however, may not be so experienced, and may get carried away from watching TV or looking at picture books. For every design and building decision there are consequences..

Good luck on the OP's project.

I love what I can see of your plan! Looks like a beautiful house.

At 25', you have plenty of room for 2 large islands, or for 1 island and 1 table, with minimum 48" walkways.

Where is your main dining area? In the great room? Is this your only dining area? If so, I think having either a table or a second island in the kitchen is a good idea. I might opt for a table or a lowered island, so that you can have multiple-height surfaces to work on. Sometimes you need that, depending on what you're cooking.

We too have a tendency to clutter all horizontal surfaces, and LuAnn is correct - table or counter, won't matter. The difference would be additional chairs in the way, as a table usually has chairs on 2 or more sides, and an island usually only on 1 side.

The location of the prep zone is really dependent upon how you cook. To me, the prep zone is between the refrigerator and the cooktop. Having to walk far to the fridge to get out ingredients for prepping and then hauling them back to the prep sink, or even worse walking around a barrier island to get there, would be worse for me than walking an extra distance to the stove. Ideally you want your clean-up sink out of the prep zone, like kellyeng's kitchen, and close to the dining spot.

This post was edited by jenswrens on Thu, May 9, 13 at 21:31

Thanks for the excellent suggestions. Yes, our "great room" is a dining room and living room. We are one of the few American families who use the dining room every day for dinner and often for lunch. We don't eat by the TV or really in the kitchen even now (we have a breakfast table that we never use. So that is why I am hesitant to put a table there.

I am thinking another island will allow us more badly needed cabinet space and quite possibly another small sink so kids can walk up to the fridge, take out a fruit and wash it.

We spoke to our architect today and he seemed to be as torn about the double island as we are. I did go on line to houzz.com last night, motherof3sons, (OMG that site is amazing!) and got some great ideas of dual island kitchens vs just one larger one.

After much detabe, we are leaning towards having a professional kitchen designer consult and give us some more suggestions. We really want to get this right and figure it's best to let someone really "study" our personal lifestyle (casual, preteen kids, etc) and help us decide what might work best. The architect is suggesting putting the island IN for the bid and then we can always eliminate it quickly later on.

Thanks for the kind comments about the floorplan. We are still making some (minor) changes but I will be sure to post the layout as soon as it's ready for comments.

I am happy to receive criticism or suggestions. We don't really know what we are doing when it comes to kitchen layouts, which is why we are relying on our architect and others to help us navigate this important part of the house.

Katherine

We are finalizing our kitchen design and have debated double islands for our long, but relatively narrow space. In the end we ended pushing the short end of one island down to the wall making it a peninsula and kept the other island parallel to the peninsula. So, no longer a double islands, but close. Sometimes the double islands allows for good flow, but it is not right for that many kitchens. I am much happier to have passage between the peninsula and island rather than one gigantic island.

Good luck with your design.

This post was edited by OntarioMom on Fri, May 10, 13 at 17:49

We've looked at the peninsula idea too, or a u-shaped kitchen. Just can't make it work for the space given the need to enter the kitchen from 3 of the 4 sides.

OntarioMom, do you have pix? I'd love to see yours.

Daughter of a friend had a very expansive home and a kitchen with 2 islands. I really didn't like it and I noticed how much mileage she was putting on just trying to operate as we gathered around the far island and she was doing laps around the rest of the kitchen to bring drinks and such. On top of it, the island was bar height which I hate. Being vertically challenged, if I manage to skootch up onto a bar stool, I can't move it at all to get comfortable at the bar as my feet are nowhere near the ground. Our current island is counter height and at least I have a chance at sliding into position once I'm on the chair.

JMHO.

Hi kath0000,

We have not ordered cabinets yet, still using what remains of our original kitchen after the addition was framed in. Here is a plan that we are still tweaking. It seems to be a different shape than yours. This version is probably our 50th version of kitchen design. Most of the earlier versions were double island designs.

Good luck with your plan!

Carol

Here is the exterior wall in an elevation picture

Here is the floor plan that needs updating to include second window shown on exterior wall. It was the most up to date plan I have on photobucket but it will give you an idea.

Ontariomom, your two islands really function as one island with a break or pass through in the middle. They're not two lengthy islands running parallel to one another that you will have to walk around. It looks very nice to me. :)

Thanks bird_lover6 for your comments! We have really struggled with this aspect of our addition design. LIke the OP our kitchen can be entered from many sides.

Carol

Kath0000, perhaps something with feet or lockable wheels, more utilitarian than a table but not as bulky and permanent as a built-in island.

Steph Morris did you end up doing the two islands? I'd love to see some pics. We are contemplating the same. Our is more due to the fact that I don't want a seam(s) in my island. If we try to do an island that is 13x6.5 then we will have atleast one seam and the island may be too big and cumbersome. The kitchen size can't be changed as the upstair design would be impacted as well. SO I'm thinking two 5x6.5 or 5x7 islands with 3 feet in between and 4 ft on the perimeters.

We did, sonalbatra. We are almost done with our build so I will post pix in the coming month. We are supposed to be moving in late June! Cannot wait. The big advantage of dual islands that won us over was that we wanted an undercounter fridge and ice maker and more storage. Having a second island allowed all that. Also, we wanted one island to be near the cooktop and one to have barstools for people to hang around but away from the noise. We went through the plans with a professional kitchen designer company and they didn't make any major changes to our original plans.

In the photo below, the islands are right now residing in the Family Room (you can see them in the back) but will be installed next week in their correct location. The kitchen cabinets are on the left and the great room on the right past the arch.

In the drawing, the cabinets are on the very left but have been left off the drawing. The 2 islands are on the left and then the "passthrough" with the arch on the right towards the GR. :) Click on pix to enlarge.

Our architect tried to give me an island set up like that one and I nixed it because I thought it would annoy me having to go around one long island to get to the back side of my kitchen. I instead requested a similar set up to what I have right now. I will have a small center island that will have a prep sink with a disposal and water filter. If there's room he'll add a instant hot water dispenser. I like my current small island. Since it's in the center of the kitchen it's a great landing zone for unloading groceries to put in the fridge or pantry. It's also the perfect spot for putting the colander for quickly emptying pasta pots or peeling veggies to cook. Since the sink isn't right next to my prep space the kids aren't in the way when they're getting water to drink. The small size makes for great kitchen traffic flow. Opposite the small island I'll have a long wrap around island with the main kitchen sink and two dishwashers on either side. There will be a long expanse of prep space close to the cook top and plenty of room for bar stools. There will also be space for two different cooks to work without getting in each other's way. I often share the kitchen with my husband or my kids.

With this layout I can see what's going on in the living room or breakfast nook while prepping or doing dishes and if I'm getting dinner ready I don't have to worry about kids who are getting a snack or unloading the dishwasher getting in my way.

thank you Steph Morris. Can't wait to see the actual pics. I"m still struggling so hoping your inspiration will help me decide!

Islands are in! Just waiting to finish the cabinets, install the flooring and the granite. I'll post more when it is closer to completion. We are getting so close! Maybe 1 more month...

Your contractor is getting ahead of himself. All cabinets must be installed at finished floor height. Usually, that means the HVAC is on and the finished floors are done befor the cabinetry goes in. Cabinets should be just about the last thing done, right around the trim electric and finish plumbing.

Funny how things are different from one place to another. I'm in Europe and cabinets are usually first installed and then flooring, two reasons save money on flooring cost and to not have the flooring damaged vile installing the cabinets.

Flooring first, or at least I would layout cheap scrap. Unless 5 years later you would like to face a nice size size bill replacing a dishwasher that is 3/4" lower than the finished floor. Because you will be choosing either flooring or countertop, or rebuild an entire island. Yes dishwashers have adjustment feet, IF you can get to the back leggs.

Yes, how do you like the double islands? We have them in our current design and I’m so torn. Please let us know how it turned out for you.

Why stop at just two islands? The Hawaii Islands are eight major islands, and they're beautiful...

We had two islands in the house we just sold and over the 14 years we owned the house, they worked out VERY well. And as an additional note, I did all my design work out of the house and clients, after walking through the kitchen, duplicated it several times in their house.

Two-island kitchens are soooo 2013. Three islands, continent islands and more are de rigeur for the creme de la creme: hedge fund managers, rappers, Hollywood moguls.

(ARG's island is more of a creative half-wall than an island.)

BTW, if they are "islands", why are all the coasts so regular?

Two-island kitchens are soooo 2013. Maybe so, maybe not but that wasn't my point, that being this kitchen worked VERY well.

Edit: I do agree that the best two island kitchen is more than just building the same island twice. In my kitchen each island had a different function, one was a "working island" with the cooktop there...OMG!!! and the other was more of an entertainment island with a bar sink and beverage fridge.

Multiple islands seem more space-fillers than anything else.

You see how much more appealing islands are with irregular spacing and edges...?

And no stools...!

Steph Morris, Final project? how did it turned out? i am debating on double islands myself..

Steph Morris, interested to see if you like double island?

Steph - can you share the dimensions of your double islands?