This is when I break out the blue tape and boxes to mock up the layout; it helps so much to "see" it. I think that 39 inches, counter to counter, is too little for one cook (unless this is the only option) and especially if your DH is in the work area washing up. I had a 39 inch bottleneck in my last kitchen and would encourage you not to build one into yours. :-) I think you could steal 4 inches from the stool side of the island and not even notice the difference and quite possibly a bit more than that. It will make your life easier every day. Good luck!

Do you by any chance have a layout you can post. We might be able to come up with some ideas you may not have thought of.

How deep is the pantry cabinet? Do you have to put a stool in that part of the island? Could you do cabinetry in that part of the island instead?

I have about 39" on the fridge/MW/cookbook-browsing/low-traffic side of my island. It's fine for me, my DS, and my CD fridge, but anything less would feel claustrophobic. Keep in mind that counter overhangs and knobs & pulls will reduce that space another 1-2".

How about mocking up some boxes and trying it out for yourself? Whether you would be happiest with more than 39" or less than 39" is a really personal issue, having a lot more to do with your space using/sharing and scoochability quotients than anything else.

I have a setup and limitations very similar to yours, and my work space is just short of 36" counter-to-counter-- nicely efficient. I don't want more and even less would have worked well except that I needed to be able to slip past an open oven door to baste from the other side. That's done sideways, a happy tradeoff for me, totally intolerable for someone else.

I wish I had 39" in my work area! I have 43" and it feels like too much space. The island is my prep area and the stove is in the counter run right behind it. When I'm prepping, I'd like to be able to just pivot to add things to the pot on the stove. As it is, I have to pivot and step. Not a huge deal, but a little less space would make it feel more efficient to me.

On the stool side, you should be fine with 52", especially if your stools fit under the island overhang. We have less than that (48", I believe), and it's plenty of room.

Thanks for the thoughts. Yeah, I've set up best I can a faux space and tried to pretend, but with the layout of my current kitchen it's hard to get a feel for anything.

I guess the good part is that what I'm dealing with is just personal preference. But the bad news is that if I screw up there's only me to blame!

If anyone one else has a comment I'm all ears!