How to design a Kitchen Island with ease

Choosing the right size kitchen island is crucial to the room’s efficiency and safety during food preparation and cooking. If you have an island that is too large, it can impede the flow of the room or not prove as helpful as it should, while if you have one, that’s too small, it can ruin your kitchen’s style and compromise its usefulness.

It may be an additional working area, a place for the family to eat, or a gathering place for visitors, but kitchen island dimensions are vital to a successful kitchen remodel.

Homes with an open plan can design kitchen islands better, considering the liberty of choosing whether you want to design them with walls or without. Most new constructions in Mumbai have seen home buyers choose bare-shell apartments to design as per their preferences. Some residential complexes in Worli, like Vraj Tiara offer 3,4 & 5 BHK homes that are bare shell apartments with 10.5 ft clear height with French windows and balconies overlooking the azure Arabian sea.

Size becomes an important factor in ensuring optimum style and function in this very important space.

What size to choose
While there is no standard kitchen island size, there is an average size of 40 by 80 inches (around 1 by 2 meters). It is essential to have sufficient space around the island for a successful design to work. At least 36 to 48 inches around the island for accessibility and maneuverability is recommended. The size of your kitchen island should be less than one-fifteenth of your overall kitchen floor space.

Choose the right countertop
The materials used for countertops range from laminate to natural stone, manufactured composites, wood, and other materials like stainless steel and concrete. Each has its own care and maintenance requirements.

Because an open-plan kitchen is on permanent display, the worktop is also set against other surfaces in the living and dining areas, so consider the aesthetic appeal alongside other materials in the room and the kitchen’s design.

The best place to start when planning kitchen island measurements

Some questions that could help as indicators while designing the kitchen are:
–  How big is your family?
–  How dynamic is your family?
–  How do you cook and eat?
–  Do you entertain often?

This determines how the kitchen flows and how large the passage around the island should be. The minimum passage is 39 inches, and the maximum is 48 inches. I subtract cabinet depth and passage length from the total space to calculate the island’s size. It is an effective method for medium to large kitchens.

Why is it essential to design an oversized kitchen island?
Large kitchen island designs should consider the slab size available for your chosen kitchen countertop. However, if your kitchen is large, it’s not just the length of the countertop that should be considered.

– If you have a vast space where this guidance is not present, you must focus on what works aesthetically and ergonomically. By providing access to what would be an island big enough to park a car without a break, two square islands in line might work best in this case. A kitchen with extra depth can be equipped with two parallel islands, one of which can be used as a “working” island and the other left for dining, studying, or partying.

What is the perfect space between the island and the counter and seating?
A kitchen island’s size is heavily influenced by the distance between it and the counter.

A simple island without bar stools should have at least 3 feet (1m) and not more than 4 feet (1.2m) between it and the surrounding counters or wall.

You need at least 4 feet (1.2m) of space behind bar stools, between the island and adjacent counters or walls if traffic flows behind the bar seating. A kitchen island used as a seating area will require an overhang. ‘A standard overhang is 12 to 14 inches.

A seat with at least 28 inches (71cm) width will allow your family or guests to sit comfortably together and not rub shoulders. If you have swivel stools, you may need an additional 6 inches of space per person.

The width of a kitchen island with seating will depend on the dimensions of your kitchen. It is recommended to one at least 36 inches (90cm) wide with an overhang for a kitchen island with seating.