Bumping this because I am interested as well - trying to decide whether to go with an island (seating would back to dining room table and I definitely don't have much space there) or a peninsula (it would be pretty open behind the seating as it would be off to one side of the dining room table.)

I have about 4 feet, but I have a round table with the chairs positioned to slide to either side of the island, not straight back toward it, so it feels more spacious.

Totally Confused

Not an island, but a peninsula with the DR table on one side. We have approx 48" from table-edge to counter-edge if we move the table as far into the DR as possible w/o "exposing" the chandelier to heads! It's OK if no one is seated at either and we can scoot by if someone is sitting at one...but if there's someone sitting at both, there's no room to get by and someone has to move out of the way. I wish we had another 10" to 12" or so.

(Our problem is our chandelier...when we took down the wall b/w the DR & Kitchen and added a peninsula w/seats on the DR side & "inside" the DR, we forgot to take into account the fact that the center of the DR was moved by a foot or so away from the kitchen. Our chandelier is in the center of the DR so it limits how far into the DR & away from the peninsula our table can be moved.)

Hi All, interesting post. It sounds from the responses so far that 5 feet from table to island would be the ideal minimum?

Wanted to clarify, that, like Totallyconfused, our table is round and has the chairs at a diagonal, so not straight toward the island or the wall behind the table. ALSO, this is our kitchen table, used very casually, not our dining room table. I wouldn't want the island so close to the table we used for family dinners and with guests.

Are you looking for back to back seating, island to table? Or any arrangement?With 48" between table edge and counter edge, we have ample walk-through space (major thoroughfare), but we don't have back to back seating at island and table.

If that's what you want, I will send a pic later. The only one I have at the moment is embarrassingly messy, with a cat on the counter. : ) And it doesn't show what you want at a good angle.

eastbaymom...funny you should suggest that...I was just talking to my DH about just that! Our chandelier is heavy, so he thinks we will need to attach it to a beam but we don't know if there's one placed appropriately. So in answer to your question, we're looking into doing just that.

The chandelier in our dining room is centered with a window on one end of the room and the arch into the living room on the other. If I move it over a bit so that I can move the table, I'm worried that it will look funny off-center. (Windows can't be moved or enlarged here per homeowners' covenants!) Do you agree?

Thanks for all the feedback. The island and the table will have chairs back to back. The island is more for a chatting area while I am cooking I don't think it will be used for eating since the kitchen table is only a few feet a way. Does anyone else use their island this way and does that make a difference in the space between the island and the table?

thanks again

That's the way ours are used...peninsula for visiting, etc. and table for meals. However, I still find there are times when someone sits at the table for reasons other than meals. My in-laws are big on sitting at the table to do crossword puzzles, visit, read, play games/cards etc. When that happens there's often someone sitting at the peninsula at the same time...doing homework, using a laptop, eating a snack, visiting, etc.

It's those times that it becomes a problem. At mealtime it's not b/c no one is at the peninsula, it's the "off" times that are the problem.