THANK YOU!!!!

You've done exactly the same thing with the island (built out at the ends, room for stools in the middle) that we plan to do. This is SO useful to see!

That aisle looks plenty wide to me! How does it feel? Cramped, or all good? Do you wish it were wider, or do you not even notice?

Is the island 39" at the cabinet or including overhang?

This is so tremendously useful, I cannot thank you enough. Sometimes it's so hard to visualize how it will look until it's in and too late!

Beautiful kitchen by the way - what wood are your cabinets?

Thanks again!

Bumping in the hope of seeing more islands/ aisles!

Thanks. : )

Hoboken,

Glad the photos helped! The island is 39" wide including the overhang (I love that I can clean the whole island from one side... I don't have to walk around to reach the other side!) The cabinets are cherry (Plain & Fancy) and I'd have to dig up my plans to see what the stain is... let me know if you want that. (We did this kitchen 3 years ago and I thought I was done with my GW obsession, but now we are moving into another fixer-upper and I'm starting the process all over again!)

When we bought the house, it had the original 1960s cape cod kitchen -- small, not eat-in, and closed off from the family room and dining room. We removed walls between the kitchen/DR and kitchen/FR to open it up. I originally thought we wouldn't have enough room (width) for an island and that we'd have a peninsula between the kitchen and family room, but my architect suggested that this aisle width would suffice and she was right. The island is much better for us than a peninsula would have been.

I love the cabinets on either end. I have two boys and they each have an end for their "stuff", ranging from homework supplies to leftover halloween candy... It has been especially useful as we don't have a desk area in the kitchen. The ONE thing I don't like about the island design (and it's minor) is that when all 4 of us are having a meal together, my husband usually stands up on the other side of the island to eat. He doesn't mind, and we only do it when it's casual (lunch or breakfast); when we have dinner together we eat in the dining room. Even if it's the two boys and I, I don't love sitting 3 in a row and I sometimes wish I could put another stool at one end of the island so we could look at each other. BUT it's a small inconvenience and I far prefer the symmetry and we just deal with sitting 3 in a row. (And -- who am I kidding -- I usually stand on one end of the island and serve the boys!)

In terms of the aisle, it would probably be too cramped for some families, but it works for us. It is tight when two people are passing in the aisle and a drawer is open, so if someone has the silverware drawer open to set the table and I need to walk past, I wait for a minute for them to close the drawer. This is such a minor inconvenience compared to having my gloriously long island!! I think it helps that the refrigerator is at one end of the aisle, so I can have the kids get milk, etc. out of the fridge without getting in the way. The tightest time is when the dishwasher door is open, but there is definitely room for it to open fully and to have the 4-drawer trash bin that is directly across from it open, but not open all the way.

Let mw know if you want any detailed pictures as you are going through this process!

Here is a picture of the before kitchen:

and another view of the aisle, before we got the new bar stools:

My island is almost 9' long; 27" wide at the skinny part opening up to 50" wide at the "table" part. Clearances are 33.5" at the dishwasher, 38" at the wall of pantry. Works great *for us* but you have to know yourself. What works for mine is that the ultra skinny aisle at the dishwasher is *my* zone, noone really enters there.

Plan:

Try to find farmgirlinky's posts. I believe she has a narrow -ish island with narrrow working aisles on both sides. She has a commodious prep sink on the island, and old AGA-centered cooking wall one counter and a big sink/DW clean up space along the exterior counter. Fridge at one end and round table tucked into another corner. A lovely space.

I tried to find more and better pics of her kitch (They were here, but the bad GW search function has defeated me.) I did find one pic in someone else's thread below. She may have email, or you can ask specifically for her by name.

HTH

L.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down for pic of farmgirlinky's kitch w white AGA

Roulie - this is our third Gardenweb kitchen so I get the obsession! : )

Your pics really have been SO useful as the aisle and island are similar widths to ours and your island is the same shape we are planning! What a piece of luck you saw this thread!
I was worried the island would look skinny, but at 39" yours looks very substantial to me, and I also like being able to clean it all from one side! Ours would be a couple of inches narrower, but I can't see 2 inches making a huge difference?

In our proposed plan the dishwasher drawers and fridge are not in an aisle (they are placed opposite each other before the island starts) so no issues with those.

The oven will open into the 36" - 38" aisle, but I think that will be just fine as it's not like that ever stays open. Just a quick open and close and that's it.

The 42" - 44" aisle is more of a concern - no appliances, and only decorative cabinets with 'special' stuf in them which I doubt we will use regularly so no opening and closing on that side, but it is a thoroughfare between the hallway and the family room (although could also go through the sun room if necessary).

I don't think it will be bad though. The current configuration has a 27" aisle into the kitchen from the dining room (major thoroughfare also) and that seems too tight.

The other advantage is that we have a breakfast table area in front of a fireplace at the other end of the room. It's a bit far from the fridge, but will seat 4 very easily. So the island seating should be for lounging on while someone is cooking.

Thanks CoCo! I love your wall color - do you remember what it is?

It's funny but looking at your pics the aisle at the dishwasher looks wider than the pantry wall aisle. : ) Probably just the angle of the photo.

The pantry wall looks like it is a thoroughfare to the hall? Do you find it tight, or does it feel comfortable? Love your pantry cabs - very pretty!

I don't have a built-in island in my modest kitchen but, fwiw, the aisle between my range/sink cab run and my prep table island is 39". Because I can move my table, I played around with a variety of clearances. However, I kept coming back to that same 39". I like being close to the prep table while at the range. However, that's where my main prep is, instead of next to the range.

liriodendron, now I'm very curious, because farmgirlinky's kitchen is both gorgeous and the aisles don't look narrow to me AT ALL.

I'll try and search, but the search function doesn't work for me either - I can't even find my own old posts. ; )

You guys are definitely giving me hope though - maybe it's all in the eye of the beholder, but the aisles all look pretty roomy to me!

My aisle between the stove and island is 34" (37" from counter to counter). I LOVE it. I prep on the island and just pivot and turn. It's a bit tight when there's 2 people there but we're a close family and don't mind. Many nights 4 of us are preparing dinner together. We LOVE our island

The distance from the short end of the island to the sink wall is 41.5". We have our dish drawers on the island so we can empty both DW and have the drawers open at the same time. This is a thorough way between the mudroom and outside to the rest of the house. This works great here too.

The other side of the island is 36" from the brick pillar to the island. I would have liked it wider but constrained with our kitchen walls. There's an under counter fridge on this side.

One thing I highly recommend is mocking up the island and live with it for a week or more (we used boxes and a table). At first I hated it - never had an island and boom- immediately ran into it from the dining room. It took awhile to get use to it. The mock up helped us position the island in a tight place within 0.5". We couldn't make the kitchen any wider because of the 18" brick wall on one side and the stairs on the other. We love our kitchen now.

I am just loving seeing these - thank you all. Again, all the aisles look plenty spacious enough to me - in fact any wider and it might look too far apart!?

hobokenkitchen, you'll generally have better search results by doing a google search with "site:ths.gardenweb.com" along with whatever you are searching for. I didn't find farmgirlinky's reveal thread immediately but I did turn up a thread that linked to her reveal thread (see link below).

I don't have a long, skinny-ish island but I do have a skinny-ish island. It's 38.25" wide, 60" long. So, in case it's helpful to you, here are the dimensions, counter to counter or counter to appliance in my kitchen.

I have 39" between island and DW run and island and wall oven. To be accurate, the oven opens partly across from the island and partly into the aisle between island and fridge. There's enough room to walk with care - no speed records set - past an open DW door and open oven door, although I prefer to close the oven door instead. The only time I find these aisles crowded is during holiday meals but I would need more than a few inches to make a difference.

We have 42.5" from island to face of CD fridge and 46" from island to perimeter cabs. Before we got the CD fridge, we had about 2" less than this (we had an old SxS fridge). This aisle seems so roomy now. When we remodel, we will likely shift the island an inch or two closer to the fridge to gain a bit more space between island and table. I wouldn't want too narrow an aisle here, though. I saw a kitchen on the recent remodeled home tour that had only 34" between CD fridge and island, 37" between island and perimeter run. It felt claustrophobic - the fridge loomed large in the space.

We have 40" between island and kitchen table. The island has an overhang but we've never put stools at it. There's just not enough room to have back to back seating here. This is a main thoroughfare from front hallway to back door. I never realized it was less than ideal until I started measuring as I planned for our remodel. That said, I wish it was a bit more generous, especially since we plan to replace the overhang with cabinets.

I don't know if it will help to see pics of my pre-remodel kitchen but here they are:

We may leave the island/oven aisle at 39" but I'm tempted to increase the island/cook top aisle to 42".

One last thing. We aren't large people. I'm 5'4" (okay, not quite), hubby is 5'8", my oldest son is same and skinny, my youngest son is nearing 6' and hefty. If we were all built like my youngest son, I think our aisles would feel snug.

Here is a link that might be useful: farmgirlinky kitchen before/after -- too long, too many pictures

Our island is about 8 feet long, 25'' wide. There is about a 38'' walkway on the left from countertop overhang to countertop overhang. On the right about 35'' from countertop overhang to wall.

No problems with crowding, partly because if two or more people are in one passage the next person can just circle the other way.

Hope this helps.
Sandra

You have no idea how much these help!

It seems like a lot of us have (or will be) breaking aisle width rules.... and it seems to work remarkably well!

It's so great to see these!

Lisa - thanks for the search tips - I'll give it a try. The link to farmgirlinky's kitchen is great. I can't believe the aisle widths in her kitchen, below guidelines on both sides, yet looks so spacious and a lot of poster's all time favorite kitchen!

I am feeling so much better already. Now if we can eke out a couple of extra inches on the island I'll be a happy camper. : )

You're welcome, hobokenkitchen!

Looking forward to watching your remodel progress again.

farmgirlinky's is one of my most favourite kitchens ever... I had to find her pics for you. In her actual reveal thread she describes her clearances for all of us desperate "width-challenged" folks. I'm pretty sure at least one of them is a 33-34" aisle.

Here is a link that might be useful: farmgirlinky's beautiful kitchen

Oops, further down on her page is the link to her actual reveal with dimensions and discussion:

Here is a link that might be useful: Real link to farmgirlinky's beautiful kitchen!

Hoboken, your 2009 kitchen is one of my top 2 favorite GW kitchens!!! It was definitely an inspiration for my kitchen.

My island is sorta long and skinny, though it's broken up into 2 heights. The entire length is 105 inches (8.75 feet) and width at the counter height section is 32 inches.

The aisle from counter edge to counter edge is 40"; from pull edge to pull edge : 38.5 inches. I would NOT want it any wider, as I prep on both counters and the island is just a pivot-step away from the perimeter, yet still wide enough for traffic behind me if needed.

This picture is a bit distorted at the edges because I was experimenting with a fish eye lens on my iphone, but as you can see, it doesn't look cramped at all, and it definitely is a very comfortable width to work with.

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

I am so flattered and definitely see aspects of our kitchen in yours! Thanks for the compliment - it's so nice to know all the work came out well and is even an inspiration! You made my day.

Thanks for your pic - once again it looks spacious and not cramped at all. Interesting that you wouldn't want it wider. Very reassuring.

Our island is only 29" wide and 7' 4" long. The pantry side aisle is 38" wide and the main aisle is 40" wide at the refrigerator and 44" where the prep sink/Advantium is. This works really well for us and we're always amazed at how many people comfortably hang out in there while entertaining. We have two counter stools on the narrow side and even while sitting there one can walk behind.

Another beautiful (and spacious looking!) kitchen.

Thanks so much for posting it!

Do you have extra thick marble on your island? How thick is it? It's stunning looking!

When we DIYed our kitchen about 13 years ago I was told by the people at Home Depot that we didn't have space for an island so we went without. Later on, during a bit of redecorating upstairs, I moved a small desk into the middle of the kitchen just to store it for a few weeks while we worked on my daughter's bedroom.

I IMMEDIATELY fell in love with that extra bit of work space! It didn't impact usage of any of our appliances and was so convenient!! I knew I had to find a small island the same size - about 2 ft by 4 ft. Found one at IKEA with a butcher block top! LOVE IT!

It's many years later and we're doing a full reno in the kitchen (about $40K's worth of custom cabinets and Alaska White granite) but I'm refinishing that same IKEA free standing island (the base, not the top) and incorporating it into the new design.

The point is you can't listen to KD's rules all the time. It's about function as well as beauty. I love my little narrow island and don't mind at all the narrower aisles I have to work with.

I like the mock up idea to really get a feel for the space.

Hi, hobokenkitchen
Guidelines are just guidelines, and my husband and I never have felt crowded with the aisle and dimensions that we have in our kitchen -- true we each have a body mass index under 25! But things feel efficient in there: we can easily turn from one line of counters or from the range to the island without taking more than a couple of steps, and the 24" square island utility sink is easily accessible from both sides of the narrow island, from the prep counter against the windows and from the range on the interior wall. The refrigerator/freezer doors are not 36" wide, either, so it doesn't swing too much into the space, and even when the dishwasher door is fully open (on the window side, to the left of the island utility sink) it is possible to sidle around it. I think my only concern having lived with this arrangement for over a year is: it will be interesting to see how well the cork floor holds up over the years, because we really do cover the same territory on that floor over and over. So far no sign of extra wear. But I have extra cork tiles saved! Good luck to you, and thanks to CoCo for supplying those links.
lynn

I did an L-shaped island in an L-shaped kitchen. One island leg is 10�X3�; the other is 6�X4. Each leg has a 40 in clearance between the edge of the counter and the front of the cabinet doors. If you were to include the handles, the clearance would be about 39 in.

This works for me. (I'm petite, but I�ve been in the kitchen with others who are not.) I can see the benefit of wider aisles, but I couldn�t do without sacrificing my main goals: maximizing storage and counter space. Wider aisles would have changed not only the size, but also the proportion.

The kitchen in my parents� home is U-shaped, with an island, only 36 in. of clearance. When I was home and cooking with my mom, I did a lot of simulation. I decided that my clearances would be fine for me. Visit a few showrooms, they usually have different aisle widths, and you can see how it works for you.

This is the best photo I have to show 42" aisles on either side of the long skinny island. On the right side, where the seating is, we have a large opening to the great room which allowed us to pull the counter out wider there. As far as cooking and movement in the kitchen, I feel like I have plenty with the 42" aisles. With that amount of space, people can pass by me if I am prepping at the island. I have been very pleased with the flow.

The island measures 13 feet by 26" at the narrow end and 36" at the fatter near end.

My island is 82 x 36 (end of counter) I have 46 inches to sink wall and 41.5 to fridge/oven/pantry wall. The double oven goes about 6 inches into island space. There is plenty of space. The space between the end of the island and stove wall is 35. The kitchen is still in progress, all bottom cabinets still need to be stained and sealed.

These kitchens are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing long skinny islands and 36" and 42" aisles. Very helpful.

FiveZs I can't wait to see more of your kitchen.

More very useful posts - thanks so much to all!

FiveZs - that is exactly the width our island is planned for (although I hope to gain an inch or two). It looks great - not skinny at all! So nice to see one that is exactly the width we are getting. Ours would be longer which might make it look thinner, but looking at yours I think it will just be fine. Thanks so much for posting!