Put a prep sink on the island with the seating on the cleanup side, and it's fine--with bigger aisles. But prep REQUIRES water, and doing the do si do around the island with small aisles. will get really old. So you might want to move it to the sink run, and it will all work much better, without having to redo the aisles too much. You need bigger aisle clearance, no matter what you do.

Can you show more of the spaces the kitchen connects to. I don’t love where the fridge is and to me the kitchen doesn’t seem big enough overall to warrant a prep sink too

it is open concept to dining room and the living room on the other side

The island is too big. It crowds the table.. The work aisles are too small. It creates a weird maze in which to try to do a actual kitchen work.

This is a kitchen that needs a peninsula. NOT an island.

Team peninsula. 100% the solution.

Also team peninsula and show even more of the plan

We had something similar in our last house, when we remodeled the kitchen we removed the island ( oh , the reactions we got ) and replaced it with a peninsula which easily seated 3. The island was just an impediment. The kitchen seemed twice as large afterwards.

People always want to cram in an island even when it doesn't really fit, and makes it function worse.

The peninsula is the answer here.

My design books recommends 48" corridors and a sink-refrigerator-range perimeter of no more than 23 feet. The distance between your sink and refrigerator alone exceeds 13 feet.

Your kitchen plan needs a major geographical reset.
Erase the barrier island.
You do not need all those chairs crowded together.
Make a peninsula,which will still allow seating.
Fridge is better if situated closer to sink and prep space,giving easy access to drinks without crowding the work area.
All advisors have the right idea; following their suggestions will make epic sense once you start actually working in this space.
Do show us your upgrade!

I’m usually pro-peninsula (I have one!) but can someone explain how that would work here? Would it go between the kitchen and dining, or between kitchen and pantry? Seems like either way blocks something. My kitchen table is next to the peninsula, and I sure wish we could have a stool or two at the counter. Not for family meals, but a perch for chatting with the cook, or a snack or cup of coffee or wine while waiting for something in the oven.

Definitely agree with refrigerator on the sink or range run. I would opt for near the range, it protects the storage for dishes.

The dishwasher should go to the left of the sink.

Actually, my brother and SIL just renovated their kitchen and it is nearly identical to what you have with the following exceptions:

Fridge on the wall with the range

Pantry cabinets on wall where you have fridge (no other pantry).

Island is 40" wide - seating on same side as yours, cabinets on the other side 48" aisle

Table and chairs situated like yours.

It functions quite well.

My sister has a wonderful home with a huge kitchen and huge island (4'x 8') and every detail seemingly thought out. In her entire home the only things she says she would do differently if she were to build again is she would have a smaller island, not have the island block the path between the fridge and stove and have wider aisles. (U shape kitchen - fridge on 1st leg, sink on lower leg, cooktop and ovens on 3rd leg, 42" walkways).

Even with the peninsula, it's still 13' betwen the sink and refrigerator. I'd put a measuring tape on the floor, extend it 13', and be sure you'll be happy walking that distance every time you want to take something from the refrigerator to the sink.

And it’s about 9’ from the range to the peninsula, yes? our peninsula is 6’ from the cooktop and the refrigerator next to it, and I certainly wouldn’t want it further.

Put the refrigerator on the same countertop as the range, moving the range down a bit. There’s still plenty of prep space.

Then use the old fridge space for the cookie jar! And the pretty china you’d like to conveniently store and display.

If you do the peninsula, be sure to have the base cabinets open on both sides, or at least the one in the corner should open to the dining side. Drawers especially, for placemats, napkins, candles, etc.

First off, move the DW to the left side of the sink. Since you only have one sink, the primary Prep Zone will be b/w the sink and the range (direct water access is a KEY component of a successful/functional Prep Zone). Whenever possible, you should avoid putting the DW in the middle of the Prep Zone. The only time it makes sense is in a very tiny Kitchen that doesn't have room for the DW on one side of the sink and prep space on the other side. Your Kitchen is not a very tiny Kitchen. In addition, your table space is on the left so it makes the most sense for the Cleanup Zone to be on the left side of the sink - dirty dishes go into the Cleanup Zone and clean dishes are put away in the Cleanup Zone where it will be easy to set the table for a later meal all without interrupting/getting the way of someone else working in the Kitchen.

Aisles

Note that work aisles where more than one person might work on the aisle (prepping, cleaning up, cooking, etc.) should be a minimum of 48". If you're a one-person home, then 42" is the minimum width.

It does look like you are correctly measuring the aisle counter-to-counter instead of cabinet-to-cabinet b/w the sink and island. However, you are not measuring it correctly b/w the range and the island. Since aisle widths are measured to/from the items sticking out into them the farthest, you should be measuring that aisle from the range's oven handle to the counter overhang on the island.

Island

The island is a "barrier island". That means the island blocks access to the sink and primary Prep Zone from the refrigerator. This is something to be avoided/eliminated, not deliberately designed in.

My DB and SIL had a similar layout and my SIL hated it! When she remodeled, she removed the island. However, she didn't have room for the refrigerator on the walls with the sink or range, so she left it where it was. She said just removing the island made a HUGE difference in functionality. She had hated running around the island to get to the refrigerator. It also freed up space for the table so it wasn't jammed up against the opposite wall b/c of the island and the sliding door to the backyard. She now has plenty of space for the table and everyone is able to use the sliding door without anyone in the way.

Personally, if it was my Kitchen and I absolutely had to have an island regardless of the issues, I would probably rotate it, add a prep sink, move the refrigerator to the range wall, and shorten that pantry so it was aligned with the wall the current refrigerator was on so there was more space to work with for the island.

Is that a freezer in the pantry? If so, then be sure you have plenty of ventilation and a very wide doorway that's left open all the time. Why? Pantries should be cool, dry. and dark. Freezers (and refrigerators and MWs) add heat and moisture - the exact opposite of what you want for food storage! (If the food is in cabinets it will be dark enough, but if food is on open shelves, light might also be an issue with a wide open doorway. Windows are also a bad idea - they add light, heat, and, on humid days, moisture.)

---

Hard truth here: Just because you see other Kitchens with layouts similar to what you posted does NOT make it a good design. Nor does it mean everyone is happy with the layout (or is willing to admit it was a mistake). There are a lot of poorly designed Kitchens out there! Unfortunately, there are many people designing Kitchens who are really cabinet salespeople and don't understand about functional Kitchen design - they just want to sell you as many cabinets as they can (and the more expensive the cabinet the better). Some who do know, are afraid to lose a sale so they cave to the demands of the client even though they know it's a bad idea.

None of us here have "skin in the game". We're not worried about losing a client, so we can tell you the truth. Please listen.

In the end it's up to you, but at least you'll know the pros/cons of your final choice (and no whining about the results or asking why no one told you the issues!)

I would select a fridge that is either counter depth or as close to it as possible.

Here are two alternate options for the fridge.

What @Buehl said.

The brainwashing that’s been going on for years, that every kitchen needs an island to be current/up to date/modern, has done such a disservice. Truth is, not every kitchen has the appropriate dimensions for an island. In many of the kitchens I’ve seen on HGTV and this forum, the island is a barrier to get from sink to fridge, or even to get from one side of the kitchen, to another.

You have a perfect U, with lots of counter space for prepping between the range and sink. There’s no reason to block the space with a barrier. And, yes…the dishwasher should move to the left of the sink.

BeverlyFLADeziner: "Here are two alternate options for the fridge."

From a non-designer: placement at the end of the sink row would seem to be the best "utilitywise" but sticking a big box between the windows and adjacent to the dining area would be less attractive. I'd probably put it at the end of the range row.

Have you got about 6 feet to the right of the stove? If that's correct, you seem to have room for a prep sink along that counter - my prep sink to the right of my stove is quite small but I love it for rinsing veg, filling pots, draining pots, and I have a board that fits over it which is handy at times...

Not much to add to the good advice here. The sketch with a “U” looks best to me.

Just wanted to note

1. I think it is important that where you prep and cook is not also where people will be pushing rudely through on Very Important Business like “I need more ice for my soda“ or “hey beer me” or ”quick quick where’s the bathroom”. So map all the routes that these inconsiderate people, if we even call them people, may take, and keep your prep + cook zones away. It is ok if the wash zone is on one of those routes, because you can grab one of those trespassers and set them to work, and the others will stay far away.

2. A long distance from refrigerator to prep zone isn’t ideal, but if that’s what it takes to achieve #1, I’d live with it. You just learn to be organized, instead of a trip for the carrots and a trip for the onions and a trio for the butter, fill your arms and make one trip, done.

It doesn't make sense to me to have island seating with a main travel aisle + fridge right behind the stools. Beverly has provided better places for your fridge.

Q - do you have a separate formal dining room in addition to the table in the kitchen? I assume that you don't - but I thought I'd ask to make sure. Obviously, If you do have a formal dining room, you wouldn't need to use the area next to/in the kitchen for another dining area = you could extend the kitchen to the left.

I have a u shaped kitchen - and I would never give up my island. However, the smallest measurement from countertop to countertop is 42" in one area - the rest are 46"+. There are no appliances/pantries behind where the stools are for my island + my refrigerator + pantries are both located outside of the prepping/cooking/cleaning zone which works well for me.

Plus, my island does not create a barrier between my sink/fridge/range. Maybe if you can reconfigure your island, you could make it work?