consider the drawer/door openings on the island and the cabinets facing it. It is ideal to be able to stand (or squat) directly in front of the cabinets to access the things inside them. It is really annoying to have to stand to the side to access them. If you have a drawer or door on the island open can the opposite cabinets be open too? can you be on one side and have another person be behind you working? My remodeled kitchen allows only 1 person in any place- we knew that it would be that way and were limited by space but it is really not efficient. You look like you have plenty of space to use efficiently. How wide is a door on a 42 inch cabinet? If your space in between is 40.5 can you open the door all the way?

Have you considered the size of the stab for these different options? From everything you can read on Houzz, there are advantages to having a single slab because a single slab will not necessitate any seams. And poorly matched seams are a frequent topic on this site. Good luck.

A 7 - 7.5 island is a long walk around. I have a 6' and feel like I'm traing for a marathon sometimes

I would prefer at least 42" of clearance between any side of the island and any wall cabinetry, especially between the island and a dishwasher, oven or refrigerator.

schnable1--my son's island is 9 feet and it is spectacular- you don't have to walk around it all the action is on one side-bar stools and eating on the other-it keeps spectators out of the traffic flow

The island we have in our new build will be about 10 feet l. We will have bar seating along here & we also have extra storage, shelves 12" w for our extra glassware, etc, Other side has, DW/ sink/ trash pullout & MW drawer.

Be aware of space in front of appliances + the space needed for person to access it comfortably.

artistsharonva, that is about the worst place for the fridge because the OP would have to walk around the island to get to the sink.

Cpartist, I agree about your fridge comment.

The previous picture was just a representation of open appliances, however I made another picture to clarify.

We have a 42” aisle between our island and stove wall and it is fine for multiple people. If you can do 45” or 48” that would be ideal, but don’t be afraid of 42” (counter to counter) if that is the most you can get. I wouldn’t want to go any smaller though.

Our island is 9’ and I don’t feel like it is too big to walk around. I think 7’ is fine as long as it fits in your space.

Totally agree you should look at drawers rather than regular lower cabinets. SO much more functional!

I would do option 1 or 2. Keeping the 42" traffic space so two people can bypass with ease. Looks more balanced in the space too. Also remember drawers have more usable storage then full Door cabinets. If you do the 2qty 42" cabs maybe consider to them as drawers with good heavy duty full extension slides. If storying baking appliances in island then consider two drawers in each 42" Drawer cabinet.

Echo that the 42" would be a minimum necessary, but that this needs to be counter edge to counter edge, not cabinet edge to cabinet edge. So add 1 1/2" to the depth of your perimeter (25.5", not 24") and to your island.

Are you planning to have seating/overhang on your island? Just the cabinet boxes would make for a pretty narrow one? Standard minimum depth for the island would be 24" boxes, plus 15" overhang for seating, plus 1/2-3/4" finishing panel at the back of the boxes under the seating overhang, plus 1/2-3/4" for the faces of the cabinet doors/drawers, plus 1" counter overhanging the boxes facing the perimeter= 41-42" deep slab. It's all these little things that no one tells you about! :)

Length of the island is less of an issue, IMO. If there's no sink in it, some folks in small kitchens have 4-5' islands that still provide useful workspace. If there's a sink, personally I would want at least 6'. I love my 10' island! But the kitchen is very well laid out (thanks to GW help!), which means I never feel like I'm having to walk all the way around it to do anything. Layout is key. Physically walk through the space (or a similar one--some put boxes in a room to estimate, we just taped the outlines on the floor) doing your common tasks and you'll quickly figure out if this will work for you.