I have 48" aisles .- and I think they are very comfortable. Sometimes there are two cooks in the kitchen and it still works fine. However, I wouldn't mind having more space between my range and island - when the door is open, if there are two people, I feel like a bit more room would be nice.

I have a U-shaped kitchen with island.

Kitchen sink is at the bottom of the U and I have 51.5" counter to counter.

The sides of the U have 50.5" counter to counter, which gets slightly narrower at the range and fridge locations.

I would not want it any narrower.

i have 56 inches and I appreciate it. [galley style] Two people in there quite a bit.....we are larger than average individuals ..i dont think 48 inches would be comfortable. it really depends / you could think about moving the island out if it doesnt crowd anything over yonder....you could have less than a 15 inch overhang if that helps. what is the situation w people in that aisle....in some cases it might be alright. can you get up to 52?

You’ve brought up a very important topic. I absolutely hate my island and I think perhaps it’s because the walkway is too narrow between counters. When I back home Monday I’m going to measure!

Three thoughts:

- I would not like to have 4 1/2' aisles (in most places). Too wide.

- Be sure you know whether you're talking about cabinet-to-cabinet or countertop-to-countertop. Countertops can protrude 1-2" past the cabinets, so you could potentially lose 4" of space if you misunderstood the measurements.

- Go to Lowes and walk through their sample kitchens. Stay a while, take your time: Open the refrigerator, open the stove. They place things 3 1/2' apart. See how that feels to you.

It is marked 4’-6” from countertop-to-countertop.

Show us your plan for the best suggestions.

I had a cramp in my leg, had to walk it out in the wee hours and I ^^^read

Mark and now I still can't figure out if the scream is the laugh or the cramp!

I think anything beyond your 54" is IN this case might be unnecessary.

Why? You have no appliance/sink on the island. Someone is at the stove and the other is chopping and slicing ? That fanny does not NEED to be directly behind you, sink or cooker, as. there is a completely useful 101 inches of clear prep space!

Now.......if the cooker side of your island is where every pot pan and tool is stored? Bending to grab a skillet from a drawer? Who knows Maybe you want a full 5'. I think more than that feels odd, and is actually a bit inconvenient in use..

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^^

My client had a choice here. Fifty four? Or more? We chalked on the floor , as she and hubby are huge hosting types. a crowd here at the lake EVERY summer weekend with thirty folks not uncommon., We chalked it further and nope. Settled on fifty four., and that island is loaded. Two sinks, two dishwasher, trash pullout etc.

Cookware is all stored on the cook wall. as is the fridge. The sons are jolly giants. someone is always helping and there is still no issue!

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In the end? Only you can decide. If you WANT better advice? Upload the 2 dimensional plan, with every inch of everything, including the surroundings. If you're building / remodeling and the space is simply a TBD kitchen , marked in by an architect, and not yet final with all apps and cabinetry? It then becomes more difficult to advise: )

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I entered this scenario , long after the house was built. You DO what makes sense when you have constraints, I could not adjust windows, but I erased a lot of yawning dry wall next to a looming fire, with stone that was not there , when I turned up.

In short, what's the whole, of the whole space. Nothing lives in isolation.

I like Mark's formula but I was waiting for the part to include the diameter of the butts.

Jan that place looks amazing! What a great place to visit or host a gathering!

You're thinking of the other method of calculating isle width which gets into more delicate data collection that I was trying to avoid.

if you can get 60" without cramping the other sides...

Really depends on the size of the kitchen.

My two cents, the wider the better for me, even though rarely is there more than one in the kitchen & we’re thin. Btw, ”back & forth” walking good, more steps daily.

We have 52” I believe between island and wall of cabinets. This is great for dishwasher being open, two cooks in kitchen and so on. We have 48” between fridge and island and it’s fine but a few more would have been nice

IMO architects suck at kitchen design almost always. We need to see the whole plan, walkways are only one item to consider in a good kitchen design ,IMO there is no such thing as straightforward kitchen design , every one I do is done for a clinets needs .As for wallkways I like 54" in front of the fridge and if you insist on a sink directly opposite a range the same

Imo some kitchen designers do not know how to integrate the kitchen into the great room concept. And architects are poor kitchen designers. Both use rectangular islands where no one seated on that one side can interact. And uncomfortable height stool seating. Think of a table with either feature, let alone both- failure.

Open concept is primarily for family interaction and on a much lesser use, like once a month average, for friends. Formal use, if you value that, requires a separate room. Nobody wants to pay for that almost never used space. But some designers try to compromise the living area seating to sneak that in.

"And architects are poor kitchen designers."

Please stop making false statements, they are misleading and slanderous.

Apparently no help needed .BTW I have worked with many architects in my last 40+yrs and not one of them either wanted to do KD or were good at it . They all had KDs to do that work I guess for a reason. I can only speak from my experience and that is not slander , only an opinion.

My distance between counter and island counter is 36 inches. Now I understand why I always feel annoyed when I’m in the kitchen with anyone. I thought I was just becoming a nut job.

48" isn't a "sweet spot", it's the recommended minimum for a Kitchen with 2 or more people working in it. More is sometimes better, sometimes not. Without more information, we cannot really tell you which is better in your case - we can't see Kitchen traffic, etc.

BTW...42" is the minimum recommended for a 1-person Kitchen.

(@Elizabeth Williams - the picture you posted incorrectly measures the aisle cabinet-to-cabinet, not to/from the items that stick out into the aisle the farthest on each side, which is the correct way to measure aisles.)

I have 50" and find it fine. My aisle, though is not a main path through the Kitchen. If it was, I would probably want at least 4.5' (54"), maybe even more. I would not want it narrower.

I use to stay at a bed & breakfast that had 30" between the sink countertop and the island countertop. The husband and wife both prepaired meals at the same time; it was poetry in motion. It helped that they loved eachother very much.

My mother was 5’1” at her peak. She designed her kitchen mostly herself, for herself. Lower base cabinets (only an issue when it came to the dishwasher), lower uppers, and 36” aisles (and an island, a novelty in the area in 1970). It worked for her. and even when there were more people working in the kitchen, it worked. Really!

We design houses for ourselves, why not the kitchen for what works for us? Even if it ”breaks the rules”?

A 'simple' indicator. View on their site or ask to see a floorplan of any designer/architect whomever you are considering for assistance. If the kitchen plan they are associated with has a double sink, you are om notice.

Kitchen design is not their area of interest or expertise. Simple.

^^^

: )

"And architects are poor kitchen designers."

Please stop making false statements, they are misleading and slanderous.

I doubt anyone here, applies the statement to you, Mark, Let's just call you the amazing exception, because I've seen some GAWD awful from highly talented residential architects.

Not y.o.u in the gawd awful and amazing renderings also appreciated.

There is great danger in categorizing people and then demonizing that category.

There is a life lesson there that does not just apply to building a house.

Agree! I suck at everything but this endeavor. Don't ask me to dance , btw....: )

48" isn't a "sweet spot", it's the recommended minimum for a Kitchen with 2 or more people working in it.

Eh, disagree moderately. I think 48" is a pretty good size for most kitchens -- but it matters whether we're talking about an L-shape or a U-shape or whatever else.

Speaking only for myself, who wants two people working in the kitchen together? My husband and I both like to cook, but we dislike anyone else in the kitchen while we're working. Our peninsula works great because the non-cook can sit /stand and talk to the cook -- and the cook doesn't feel like his /her space is being invaded.

It's important to analyze your own style before you create a kitchen. It's also important to build for reality /not a fantasy about the family all coming together to cook and sing and possibly invite in forest animals to do the cleaning.

I use to stay at a bed & breakfast that had 30" between the sink countertop and the island countertop. The husband and wife both prepaired meals at the same time; it was poetry in motion. It helped that they loved eachother very much.

I love my husband of 36 years, but that doesn't mean I want him in the kitchen while I'm cooking.
We design houses for ourselves, why not the kitchen for what works for us? Even if it ”breaks the rules”?

People do that all the time!

"It's important to analyze your own style before you create a kitchen. It's also important to build for reality /not a fantasy about the family all coming together to cook and sing and possibly invite in forest animals to do the cleaning."

HAHAHA!

I'd call that the Kumbaya kitchen?^^ : )

I just measured. I have 50.5" counter to counter in my large galley style kitchen. It's fine for 2 cooks. Hubby and I are often in the kitchen together.

When it is NOT wide enough is when the dogs are in there. Designed with the cocker spaniels in mind (when we started the process) and did not take into account the "width" of the German Shepherd.

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Dogs are exactly the kind of issue that are hard to design for and the one thing I struggle with in an open concept. Its hard to know on a blueprint where my doodle's favorite spot to lay..