Try for 44" aisles behind the island, if at all possible - but don't sacrifice aisle width b/w the island and perimeter to make it wider. I'd rather the people sitting at the island had to move/get up to allow traffic to pass by than make someone who is working in the Kitchen move!

I assume you have 42" to 48" aisles in front of the island...(42" is minimum for a 1-person work aisle and 48" is minimum for a 2 or more-person work aisle)

I do think windows vs opaque wall will make a difference - it may feel closed in b/c of the narrow aisles and amount of cabinetry in the space.

Do you at least have a window on the perimeter? If so, is it large to offset the closed in feeling?

Even the Kitchen above looks a bit closed in, but the 3 fairly large windows are a big help so it probably wouldn't be much of an issue for most people.

I really like that look; it's what I wanted. DH said no- we are open to the living room BUT if I hate it, in 5 years the wall goes up! LOL.

Is your kitchen a dead end or do you have to walk through it to get to other parts of the house. If it's a dead end like DIY2Much2Do I think if you have to you can (according to your own preferences) go as narrow as 36" between an island and a wall "to edge past" seated diners according to the NKBA guidelines. 44" to walk behind seated diners is preferred, but I strongly recommend you don't go less than 42" on the working side of the island. If possible, I also recommend putting the fridge on the open end of the kitchen and the range on the back of the kitchen to keep frequent trips outside the work space.

Thanks for the comments. Here is the layout from stove to island is approx 41". From island to wall is 40" and from island to fridge is 60".

Wall behind the island is the living room with a 5 foot opening where the pantry is. And next to the dishwasher is an eating area that opens to a family room.

Another angle.

Ypu can get to the kitchen from the LR or the dining area. You never have to walk through the kitchen to get anywhere.

Diy2much.... how wide is your island? I absolutely love it!

Our island top is 37.5" wide. (36" cabinet boxes + 1.25" overhangs at each side.) I concur with the other posters - don't shortchange your working aisle width. My outside aisle is 36" which allows "slide-by" traffic. There's just two of us so it's not an issue for us, but your plan and traffic are different. This let us make the working aisle 44".

Oh I see

would you recommended me placing the island 36" from wal and using the extra 3" in the "working space"? Thus giving is 44" from island to stove?