I have 39 1/2" between my island and perimeter cabinets. It's plenty of room for me.

The kitchen/bath association standard is 48". It can vary depending on layout but more generally is better than less. The important thing is to be sure swing out and swing down doors (dishwasher & oven especially) can open comfortably and if you have people passing in the aisle they don't bump into the fixtures.

This is one of those topics about which people tend to have very strongly held opinions, and the industry "standard" is often invoked as the absolute minimum. You can get caught up in these absolutes, but what seems to matter most is how the aisle space will be used--what is on each side and what will be happening between those items.

If it's a main traffic aisle, and you plan to have seating sticking out into it, then the minimum of 48" is probably a good guideline. We have 47" with backless stools, and it works just fine. If we had larger stools, especially with backs, then more would be nice.

If the space will be constantly used by more than one person at a time, then the sizes of those people and how much bending over (which translates to butt bumping) will be occurring should be taken into consideration. If you have an appliance door opening into the space, that should also be considered--and the size of the door and the direction of the door swing both matter.

If the space is between a prep area and a cooking area, less space can work well. I have 43" between the island where I do almost all my prep and the stove where most of the prepped items end up, and I wish it were about 39". I'd love to be able to just pivot back and forth, but the space requires more of a step than that. Not a huge deal at 43", but it does bother me a bit and provides excellent evidence that I'd be miserable with the recommended 48".

Too much space can be just as big of a problem as too little, especially in a heavy work type of kitchen. Small spaces can be uncomfortable and inconvenient or they can be comfortable and efficient.

Holligator is a little unusual in preferring 39", but what she says is very accurate. In general, most people find widths between about 42"-54" optimal for the distance between perimeter and island, and a 48"-60" for a galley with walls on both sides. It doesn't have to be multiples of three. :)

42" is a bit minimal, but some of our members have as little as 36" and are happy.

Question: Does the 42" include the handles/knobs/pulls? If not, and if it's already feeling cramped to you without the counter, it might be worth stopping the installation and considering having the island modified. There is absolutely no point in having a beautiful new kitchen that makes you miserable.

I have 48" from cabinet to cabinet, about 45" from counter edge to counter edge. I wouldn't want less. I think I would be ok with it being a little tighter, but not 42" cabinet to cabinet. That would be too tight for me.

What does your kitchen design show? Did they install it in the wrong spot?

I have 37'' on each long side of my island, but closer to 52'' between one end of the island and the range. All of the work areas (sink, prep, cooking, refridge) are within this open area at the end of the island. The narrow isles are a non-issue for me and DW. If I had more width to the kitchen, I would have made a wider island before adding isle width.

Jon

We have 42"-43" counter to counter, and find it good since we like to take one step to turn pivot and cross the aisle. The overhang we have is larger than average; I guess we just figured we need more knee room than average. That makes it about 45" cabinet to cabinet. To turn pivot and cross the aisle with one step, one can also span a larger distance, so I suppose one could say that my criterion applies just as well to wider aisles too.

We deliberately disregarded all advice to have more aisle space. At that time it felt to me like it was universal that a proper aisle was more than 42". Things are more nuanced now.

I think aisles narrower than ours are also good. The narrower the space, the more the kitchen elves have to accept outright that they are working together in the same space. The wider the space, the more they can act like they are not in the same place at the same time.

hth

I have 38" between the side edge of the peninsula and the wall of pantry cabinets. Its all the room I could spare in the layout but it works for us and it is the main walkway into the heart of the kitchen.