Make the island a bit narrower.

What’s on the right? Pantry cabinets?

I agree, 3 foot island is plenty. And plenty wide for a microwave or dishwasher or whatever you’re needing.

I would make the island a bit narrower. A workway aisle should be at least 42" (aisle between island and your range). A walkway aisle should be at least 36" (aisle between your island chairs and the cabinets behind them). I do think the walkway behind your island chairs will be tight and / or impassable when someone is sitting in those chairs. I'm not sure a narrower island will help this. If you can, I'd do your best to use some tape and map out these dimensions on your floor to see what you think. Do you have to have the double doors leading outside?

Does anyone have a picture of a 3" or 40" wide island?

The kitchen would function better with the fridge across the aisle and the island attached as a peninsula. You’d get better seating and storage both.

The island is too deep for the space. Unless you knock out some walls, you really can't have seating on that side. You could probably get two small stools with an overhang on the end near the dining.

We looked at an option with a peninsula and weren't crazy about it. It threw off some other stuff

Can you put the slider by the dining area instead?

Not crazy about it and functional is far better than the must have fantasy shoehorned island that makes a mockery out of those fancy new doors. When you completely block the traffic path to the doors with those way skinny aisles, what’s the point of spending all of the money doing this project? It won’t work as shown.

Either the kitchen actually has a traversable 60” space behind your seating, or you put that door somewhere else. Or, you do the peninsula with a realistic wide traffic path to the doors.

Here's a 36" top on 30" cabs.

Contemporary White Kitchen · More Info

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5786193/kitchen-width-to-fit-an-island

You're not going to get workable seating, nor a functional cooking space within that footprint. At the very least, you'd have to get rid of whatever is along the walls to the right, and settle for a narrower island. You should thank your cabinetmaker. He's correct.

Also, a 36" island is not "plenty" for seating. Uncomfortable for most, and miserable for anyone with long legs.

Don't map it out on the floor--that will be misleading. Get some big boxes and mock it up if you don't believe it.

Do you have another dining room, or is the table and chairs where you'll entertain guests for dinner?

Try a skinnier island that extends into the dining area with a table. The island only needs depth for the DW, sink and a dish drawer on the dining end of it.

bulthaup · More Info

White Shaker Kitchen with soapstone countertops · More Info

You do not have room for an island that wide. 2' wide is the most you can go and you do not have enough room for seating around your island. What is on the wall opposite the fridge? What is on the other wall across from the stove and below the hallway?

You need to think galley kitchen and stations. Make a fridge station, a cooking station and a cleaning station.

Move the fridge to the wall across from the stove and below the hallway.

Move the stove to the wall to the right of the sliding door.

Move the sink to the proposed wall where the fridge and stove are proposed.

That will give you lots of counter space.

If you insist on an "island", you could make a peninsula at the bottom of the proposed fridge stove wall and have seating there.

We need Buell to chime in here please!!

Start with: the shallow depth runs on the walls behind the stools have to be reduced . You have to have room for the stools. if each length of each run was reduced by half, isn't that at least some storage and then the stools have a chance? You can't fill up those walls and have stool space. So for whatever reason you want the stools at an island, reduce those two runs. It doesn't have to be no seating ...but you cant fill up those walls and have seating. New kitchens have better storage you will find so those walls don't need to be completely laden w cabs.

You have to cut back what's on the walls behind stools. You now make Important storage and display spots in dining section far CORNERS .......these will be easy to access for somewhat lesser used items and certain drinkware and serving dishes etc. and the kitchen will be more efficient w stacks of drawers and island storage also.

The seating is going to need to be eliminated at the island. And the shallow cabinets behind it. Aisles on birth sides are inadequate. The fridge in the corner doesn’t have the right clearances to be able to open the right hand door.

You can can do better. This isn’t really a kitchen where an island works well.

You need to present a floor plan on graph paper with all the doorways, windows, etc. included. Then it will be easier to see what is what.

My remodeled kitchen is 14' wide and I have room for a 2' island with no seating or sink or dishwasher or anything.

I really think you are going to have to view this as a galley kitchen.

Maybe others can help better after we get the floor plan.

What makes you say this big island plan is the best design you’ve seen yet? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about the others?

Your aisles are too small. You don't have room for an island with seating and you especially don't have one with seating and cabinets behind it.

Additionally you don't want the sink centered on the island because you won't have enough prep space on either side. 32" give or take a few inches is not enough to prep.

Please post a measured plan showing all doors, windows, etc and measurements. Also show us how the kitchen relates to the other rooms so we can see how it should flow.

take each cabinet wall behind the stools and reduce the runs to approx. 36 in ...the one at the top near the French doors can have added depth as opposed to 12 in deep.... And reduce island to standard 24 in for cabinets on kitchen side and overhang of 15 in for total 39 inch deep island. If you want to keep the narrow aisle between island and range wall you have to stagger sink and range so they are not directly aligned. 42 -45 in aisle is more advisable and by cutting back the stuff behind stools to 24 in wide and make at least one of these runs deeper w rollouts you can then push island back a couple inches. don't feel bad about using just 24-30 inches on the walls behind stools.....there are many many ways this will still work for storage or landing or secondary usage.

Stools with people on them will take too much space in the narrow aisle. The other side of the island doesn’t have enough traffic space either. With the dining table so near, I would not want to have counter seating.
I find stools uncomfortable for more than a few minutes because my feet aren’t on the floor. Stools aren’t easy to move into place once you are seated, and you must have the stool pulled out to get up onto it in the first place. I would eliminate the stools. You could have storage on both sides of the island, if desired.
When I have guests who want to visit in the kitchen, they would be in the way if I needed anything from a cabinet. Giving them a convenient chair at the table keeps them comfortable and out of my way.

You also have the option of using a reduced depth cabinet. Full hight vanities or bathroom cabinets are only 21" deep standard and can be as low as 18"deep. Most cabinet companies do reduced depth or you can go custom which is usually less expensive anyway. I do agree that a detailed floor plan needs to be presented for us all to get the full picture. That being said anything is possible. I am a commercial and residential kitchen and bath designer/ consultant/ renovation solution specialist. It's been my experience most of the time people can have everything that they want if they're willing to think outside of the box. Feel free to send your plans to my email. I can guarantee you there is a solution to this.

thepinktapemeasure@gmail.com

There is no space for an eating counter walkways need to be at least 42” and at the seating area 60” You barely have space for the dining table and chairs IMO forget the island do some cabinets and counter along the right walls and use the DR for everyday eating.

The area behind the fridge is what now? Why can't you access the outdoors via that??

We really need a floor plan to see how the kitchen relates to the rest of the house.

Why do you feel the need to put seating at the island when the dining table is right there? Consider moving the fridge to the left-most spot on the wall rather than in the corner. That makes it so no one has to go through the kitchen to grab something and allows you to fully open the fridge door(s). I'm glad it sounds like your cabinet maker is looking out for you.

Based on the size of your kitchen, I really don't think you need seating at your island. I would maximize the cabinet layout there and try to get as much storage in your island as you can.

And thank your cabinet builder for giving you good feedback!

You really should be working with an architect or independent Kitchen Designer here. This is a very expensive project to make all of these structural changes and end up with something just as bad as you were trying to solve. At least your cabinet maker had the good sense to tell you how bad those ideas were.

Hire a Pro. You can’t afford not to.

i think wanting maybe one or two stools is understandable. But maybe less overhang and stools that push under...maybe one on an end and one on long side of island .....but cutting back to get some dimension within reason for aisles needs to occur. The other way is to shrink island and eliminate seating and build a banquette against far dining wall and have also some chairs around.....this can be a great destination and be made usable for day to day or dressed up for get togethers.

You also need to read the NKBA guidelines, if none of the space planners or contractors have recommended them. They explain the suggested clearances and the science behind them: NKBA guidelines

I like cpartist's L, but I think the fridge is too far from the sink and range. But if the fridge and range are on the same wall (left wall), then there isn't much space between the sink and range for prepping.

This is based on your plan, but with an island that is only 41" deep (one inch overhang and minimal back panel thickness). The 5 inches saved on island depth is added to the work aisle, and the shallow storage on the PR wall is omitted. You could have some stud-bay storage if plumbing and electric wires don't fill the bays. If you don't opt for the stud bay cabinets you'd have 47.5" behind the seats.

I moved the shallow storage to the shorter wall, and moved the seating toward the door, with a shallow cabinet on the corner.

A helper could be unloading the DW, or gathering dishes to set the table, while you are prepping, and could help prep on the 41" side of the island. You'd be giving up some storage and counter space, but you'd have the island with seating.

You could also use a base cabinet and counter for one section of the storage on the back wall:

Sorry for the second post, but I can't seem to edit.

Houzz article on stub bay storage.

The problem Mama is there isn't even enough room for the table in the OP's layout. Look how close to the wall it is. From the edge of the table to the wall, the absolute minimum needed is 36".

And the sliders in the middle of the room really don't work which is why I moved it over.

If the OP moves to a single door, gets rid of any storage on the right hand side, it is doable to do an island. But it's tight with cabinets on the right side and there doesn't seem to be enough storage now.

The OP has a total of 156". Perimeter cabinets are 25.5" so 156" - 25.5" = 130.5"

The minimum for a 1 butt kitchen as we know is 42" between island and perimeter and that's counter to counter so 130.5" - 42" =88.5".

The OP wants a sink in the island as well as seating. Cabinets are 24" + 1.5" overhang on the work side for the counter = 25.5". The minimum for comfortable seating at an island is 15" and that's assuming there are no panels on the rear of the cabinets. 25.5" + 15" = 40.5" so 88.5" - 40" = 48.5" which is fine for the walkway on the right side. However there is not enough room for pantry cabinets or any cabinets on the right.

I think all the seating will need to be at a table integrated into a skinny island.