I've seen a lot of tiny kitchens sporting equally tiny islands, and if you're set on having an island, it is possible. But how can you tell if an island will work in your kitchen? There's one important dimension you need to know.
Most small kitchens with U- or L-shape layouts can accomodate an island, writes Better Homes & Gardens. But the key metric to keep in mind is that the walk space around the island should be at least 36 inches wide. So, a long island might not be in your future, but you might be able to swing a small, square version as long as you have enough walking space!
Do you have any other island tips for small kitchens?
Related: Space Saver: Folding Kitchen Island
(Image: Better Homes & Gardens)
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OK, the pictured island is a miniscule exception. Consider more than just walking space when designing your aisles: Do you want to be able to get past an open door to a cabinet, fridge, oven or dishwasher? (or to pull that fridge out to clean behind it?) Do you want to put Emeril Live-style bar stools on one side of the island? I put on a kitchen addition that had to be squeezed between a 7-foot lot line buffer and a garage, and I could certainly use more space between.
If you have room for 3 feet all around your kitchen island, you do not have a small kitchen. I have an island in my kitchen and I certainly don't have 3 feet around it and we manage. Yes, it's hard to manuver with more than one person in the kitchen but given the layout it'd still be hard to manuver if it wasn't there.
We had the luxury of space, so designed for 42" margins around our island. I'm glad we did; the extra 6" makes it much easier to pass by each other while cooking, and, as Joel noted above, provides more generous space for open dishwasher and oven doors.
I'm an architect and while most of my kitchen design experience comes from working on high-end houses, we use a 36" min. clearance around non-working sides of an island (usually the short sides, where no appliances are facing it) and 42" min. clearance on the working sides.
Other things to consider in placing an island are clearances for appliance doors (fridges, dishwashers, ovens)
Cute as it is, the island in the picture really doesn't add a lot of workspace to the kitchen... I'm guessing for more than a one-cook kitchen, it would be so much easier to walk around if there just wasn't an island. (If you want a cute display piece you could always get a little sideboard or something for the dining room!)
I cheated and did 2'9" on a non-working side that isn't a through traffic route, but went with 3'6" on the working side. Consequence was that I needed to go with small footprint backless stools on the non-working side so they could tuck nearly 100% under the overhang.
Is it tight on the non working side? Yup. But more better than not having an island.
We're building a penninsula that will provide enough clearance for two people to stand back to back (one at the penninsula, the other at the stove). There's enough room for the dishwasher door to swing all the way down, but not enough room for someone to walk around it. Unless space is a luxury for you, there are concessions to be made.
It totally depends on the cook and the kitchen. All my cabinets, my sink, and my stove are against one wall of my kitchen. I was dying for counter space so I took a risk and put a big ikiea island parallel to the cabinets and just shy of three feet from the sink. It was the greatest thing I could do for my kitchen. I have zero clearance on the other side as I put my small kitchen table directly against it, but I'm the only one who cooks here so why would I need to stand on both sides? I was nervous because I can't open the door to my back deck the whole way, but it ended up working out great because the island has become a staging spot to put all the stuff I need to take outside when I'm grilling. The other end is a little closer to the washing machine than I'd like when the door is open, but I realized that I don't ever need to walk past it when I'm loading it anyway. There are costs - it would be more challenging for me to entertain guests in there, I can't skip wildly across the room, and I am limited in the size of table I could use. But thanks to the added workspace, added storage, and great looks of the island; it has become my favorite thing in my kitchen. My friend thought I was crazy when she helped me carry it into my apartment, but she sure likes the brownies I made on it! Measure and plan it out based on how you use your kitchen and don't listen to people who may have completely opposite priorities in their kitchens.
I'm in the process of redesigning my kitchen right now so thank you for this timing post, and all of the grab comments. My designer recommended 42 inches all around which sounded like a lot to me but I think I will stick with it since 3 of the sides will have appliances that will need to be open. If I can cheat it down to 3 ft. I might, in order to give myself a bigger island.