Well, you are really not going to have 42'' at the range aisle, either because most slide-in ranges are more like 27''-28'' deep. (Not all).

What if you did 18" trash and a 24" inch drawer bank facing the same direction as the trash, pushed the whole thing to the left a few inches and had a spot for one perch on the end?

12" is not comfortable long term for adults but it should be an adequate perch for a child.

Getting in and out of that fridge will be incredibly tight. A peninsula would really have worked MUCH better than an island in your space. MUCH better.

By the time you factor in the clearance needed for the fridge door for a counter depth (6") and the overhang (6") for both island sides and the perimeter, the island needs to be a minimum of a foot shorter, or 24" wide. In other word, face this island towards the sink and you really only have room for about a 30" base, and 15" trash, and 12" of seating on the end for one stool.

seriously, I have 36" cabinet to cabinet aisles and I've not died yet - including in front of my fridge/oven/dishwasher. We also have 12" overhang for seating and again, it's not ruined my morning coffee. Have I ever given it any thought? Not really. Did I have plenty of people tell me "OMG you'll HATE THAT KITCHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ROOM FOR IT ALL" yes.

Are there ways you could have changed it? Probably. Would you be happy with how it is now if you did nothing? What if you were told you couldn't change anything?

The aisle width really depends on whether you can work comfortably in it. As buffet girl said, its just fine with some people. I did have a kitchen once with 3' aisles and I hated it - even tho I was the only chef. I don't like being attacked by cabinet knobs - especially from the back.

If you did a row of a single cabinet depth with a 30" wide countertop for the island, it would create almost 40 inch aisles. Maybe consider doing a 30" x 48" counter height table and push it up against the wall. It could be a little extra work space when you wanted pushed up against the island or seating for 3-5.

I don't think you have enough space for a big table and chairs - it would kinda blockade the laundry even with the chairs pushed in.

The drawing isn't to scale and there's a slew of missing measurements (how big is the table space?) so its hard to tell about much else.

I think the aisle width is more than just comfort: if your refrigerator ever needs to be serviced (or replaced) it would be nice to be able to pull the ref all the way out without removing the doors or moving the island.

Check the specs of the ref you plan to use carefully. Even those marked 'counter depth' are about 29-30" deep with the handles, and require 1/2 - 1" of airspace behind for ventilation (more space might be needed if you have water lines for an ice maker or water dispenser.) So the measurement from the front of the handles to the wall behind the ref can be more like 30-31". Also check the expected door swing, especially if you're not using a French door or side x side, to make sure there's room.

I just want to make sure you're taking into account the actual space your ref will require and how that will affect your aisle width.

The 160" dimension is what I am working with too. I tried the U with an island as you have it and felt I wouldn't be able to live with the aisles at this width. Have you tried an L with an island? or an L with a peninsula?

I don't think I would like to have the MW right next to the range. I could be wrong, but it looks like you put it there for symmetry reasons? range in middle flanked by 27" drawers (one with MW) and then lazy susans in each corner... If this is the case I think the MW will throw it off.

Just a quick idea without much time spent fussing ... this creates a bigger island (maybe enough room for your MW in this) and puts your trash next to your sink. Not sure if the window is existing or will be new so perhaps this doesn't work if you are trying to have your sink under your window.

My best advice would be to try to slow the process down if you can.

The whole length of the room is 258 inches. The windows are already there and I do not plan on moving them. My table measures 3ft x 4.5 ft. Mamadadapaige, that was the previous layout of my kitchen and I hated it. I think it would work if the whole wall into the living room was opened up but this is a load bearing wall and more than we wish to mess with. The island can be shifted if need be to allow more space between it and the oven. I am just second guessing myself because I felt 3 feet was enough room but once I found this forum everyone was adamant that it wasn't, so buffetgirl gives me hope that my layout may just work for me. I put the MD to the left of the range because it fit there best. The range is centered and there are open shelves all the way across that wall. It just seemed to look better.

ditto the recommendation to stop this speeding train. one of my huge lessons learned is to not rush the design process - it is iterative. i would contact the cabinetmaker and put all construction on hold until you better understand what if any changes you wish to make. assure them you are not cancelling the order, you just need to confirm some aspects of your design. how far along are they?

i felt a lot of pressure to sign off on stuff as the vendors wanted to work and reach their milestone payment and get paid but i am the one who has to live with the end result. i learned most of the time the deadline is a false deadline, intended to get me moving and negotiating for extra time was usually possible and always a good idea.

Just to make everyone faint..lol.. I only have 30" from the front of my fridge to my island. It's JUST enough to get the fridge in and out. Just. It is tight when we open the door (side by side) but not so much that it bothers me since we have the island right there to put things down on. I'm glad I kept my island as is, because we're in a very small space with little storage and losing a whole cabinet in the island would have killed me more.

Discussions of aisle widths should note that the plan above has two 36" aisles as the only entrances to the kitchen, with both potentially blocked by open appliances.

I think one of the overlooked aspects of comfort with narrower aisle widths may have to do with "foot room". Some of the islands I've seen have cabs with no toe kick or legs; instead they are finished with shoe molding, which makes you stand further away from the working area on the island. I have just about 36" counter to counter from my island to sink area, but because there is a place for my feet to go when standing at the island, I certainly do not feel cramped ... nor has anyone else mentioned that there was any issue.

Helene

Just be aware that if this needs to be inspected, it may not pass your local codes enforcement. Many placed do require 36" traffic aisles as a safety concern. Some places don't codify this, but it is a national building standard because of safety reasons.

A barrier island and too small isles plus pinch points is bad design. Period.This isn't a place where "do what you love and it'll be fine" is reality. It won't be fine. Either for daily function or for resale. This is creating one of those "before" kitchens that don't work well and people cannot wait to rip out.

STOP! Ge the layout right before you move on. You do not want to regret spending this much money.

Since you said that you didn't have to have island seating, perhaps you could eliminate the seating and the trash from the island and then turn the island. This would give you another foot in the aisles. One spot you could consider for the trash could be the lazy susan near the sink. I'm not sure exactly how it would work, but I would think that it could be put in on an angle with trim on either side. You would lose a little storage space but that could be worth it for the peace of mind about the aisle width.

Whatever you decide, good luck with your new kitchen!

MrsBrad- I like your kitchen plan! I think the overall layout is good, but you do have narrow walkways. If you changed the island (as you suggested) to 24" x 54" it would work better, but you would lose some seating. If you think this is the best solution, it would solve the aisle problems.

Since you have the table right there, I would think about making the island smaller and having the seating, at the table. I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but the stools will stick out further, when someone is sitting there...which would make the walkways even smaller.

A nice island (maybe with contrasting countertop) would be a great work/prep area and give you extra storage. It doesn't have to have seating, although a stool for the cook, might be nice. One that can slide out of the way, on the end closest to the table? Maybe you could have the 'only those who wish to prep can sit here' rule :)

Mrs. Brad - I agree with the other posters that if your gut is telling you to pause, you might want to pause...the very worst case you have a little more time to work things out. I will share, though, that we have 36" all around my island (with a surrounding L perimeter), and it is fine for us. Slightly wider aisles would be great, but it was about priorities in the kitchen, so 36 it is. Looks like you'll have some amazing storage and counterspace!

Each of your advice has been very helpful and it has given me a lot to think about. Buffettgirl, your kitchen is very beautiful! It is helpful to know your kitchen has worked for you as well as jalsy6. I am going to talk to KD and see what my options are. Does anyone else have 36" aisles? Thoughts? Thanks!

This isn't a 900 square foot NYC apartment where huge compromises with space planning are a given. It's a fairly sizable suburban kitchen, and that comes with certain expectations for both the users and the buyers. Those expectations include room to move through the kitchen properly and safely.

You keep saying "36" aisles, but that isn't true! Your math is all wrong! Your sink aisle will be 33", by the time you add in overhang. The only place you'll have a 36" aisle is in front of your range, and that's because you didn't factor in how much it sticks out and the island overhang. You need to take a giant cardboard box and place it in front of your refrigerator at 29" away from the handles. Live with it for a day. I'll bet you can't. Especially if you have more than one person trying to get into the fridge. That is what your layout is proposing.

It's bad enough to have a pinch point in front of a fridge, but it is disastrous to have one as small as that in front of a fridge. That is the second most used item in a kitchen behind a sink, and it's the most used kitchen item when you count the trips to it for snacking and non food prep use.

This kitchen could really use a peninsula instead of an island.

You are right hollysprings, my math is off a bit as I stated in my original post. Aisles are actually 38 inches cabinet to cabinet. 42 inches is the measurement from the stove handles to the island cabinet, not cabinet to cabinet. I should've stated that before. If I push the island back to 48 inches from the range handles it puts the fridge handles no longer in front of the island. The tightest point would be 33 inches between fridge edge and island. With fridge door open it leaves me 15 inches between the open fridge door and counter edge. Still not ideal, I know. I actually did put down boxes last night and that's where we discovered it works better to push the island back. It is hard to visualize without the perimeter cabinets in.