I grabbed a couple of pictures from here on Houzz.

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I can seat 7 at this 15' island...

These are great, thank you!! CRL, that second one you posted is spot on to what her floorplan is like. And where the photo has just a peek of the corner of a table, is where her banquette would go.

Question b/c I have a peninsula not an island so I'm not as educated about islands. I assume the more seating you have, the less storage you can fit in the island? Looks like most islands that are designed for seating have very little storage.

Well not necessarily, my island seats six. I'll post pics later. One side is the working side, faces the range, and has the sink in. The other is the seating area. if we move the seats out there are three 900mm full depth cabinets in there so we lose no storage. I put blenders, large serving plates, cake tins etc in them. Amazing storage. .

Romy, that transformation is incredible!! What a spectacular space you have! It's nice to see the island from both sides, and that it easily accommodates seating and storage. What is the measurement of the wooden top island?

Jeez romy, I thought you'd clipped a houzz photo for those last couple of pics. Wowwwww!

and Rebecca I will take that pic tomorrow! I'm recovering from strep throat that turned into scarlet fever so still knackered!

Rebeccamomof123, here are the pics of the seating side of our island. So we have the full three meters of space both sides of our island. None is lost for seating. And because our island is 1600mm deep, we have full depth back to back units in there and still plenty of overhang for the seated peopled legs to tuck under. That might be a bribe in islands not as deep but you could always have shallower cabs on the seating side, you'd still get plenty of storage.

Each double cabinet is 900mm.

Hope they help you see an island with seating can have lots of storage

The dimensions are important for islands.

For depth: Base cabinets are 24" and you want 15" of space for counter height stools so that 39" minimum deep. Now you could add cabinets that open into the knee well for the stools like somersetlass has done but you'll need another 12" or 24" of depth to do that making the island 51" to 63" deep. That's starting to get pretty big. If you have a 4000 square foot new construction house it can be fit easily, but a budget and time constrained remodel on a much smaller house especially without moving perimeter cabinets is likely going to be more of a challenge.

For length: You want 24" for each stool so for five across seating that's 10 feet. To get 7 you would probably want to wrap around one or both ends. The kids won't be small forever.

Aisles: You want an absolute minimum of 42" aisles and with a large family you'd want 48" to 54" aisles.

So for 5-7 person seating with some storage on the back that's a 10 foot by 5 foot island set in up to a 18 foot by 13 foot space including aisle clearances -- bigger than a master bedroom in many houses! So again the dimensions are important.

My kitchen is open to the family room...island has seating just on the far side by intention. I like talking to guests while I'm cooking, but I don't like them in my way. Off to the left you can see the edge of the breakfast nook. We used a bookcase as a "sofa table" to help divide the space visually. The curve in the soffit matches the curve in the island, matches the curve in the break in the flooring to give visual cues that it's a different room, when in fact, it's all one big space.

Island Depth

When calculating island depths with seats, don't forget the counter overhang in front of the cabinets (non-seat side) - usually 1.5"- and the thickness of an installed decorative door or end panel on the back of the cabinets (the seating side) - usually 1".

If you have cabinets on both sides (so doors open into the seats, then that 1" is for the cabinet doors.

So:

• 1.5" counter overhang in front of the island
• 24" depth for each standard base cabinet -or- whatever depth you're using (some people have 24" for the front cabinets and then only 12" or 15" for the cabinets on the back that open into the seats)
• 1" for door or decorative door/end panel
• 15" overhang (counter height)

With just one set of cabinets, the minimum depth of the island is 41.5"

1.5" + 24" + 1" + 15" = 41.5"

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Island Length

For island length - you need at least 24" per seat.

Edited to add: As FunkyCamper points out in a later post, this is the minimum width per seat. There have been some rumblings about an update of the recommendation to 30" per seat, but as far as I know, that hasn't happened yet. With 5 growing children, I suspect 30" wouldn't be a bad idea - it will help minimize arguing about "s/he's in my space" or "s/he is touching me". In addition, if your children are taller/bigger than average, the extra space would be nice once they hit the teens.

If you have seating on two sides, remember that two seats cannot share the same knee/leg space in the corners!

For an island that seats 5 to 7, I strongly recommend seating on at least 2 sides, 3 would be even better! You don't want to have all 7 (or even 5) seats sitting like ducks in a row. Straight-line seating for more than 2 or 3 seats is not very conducive to conversation and bonding - it's more like dining with strangers in a diner.

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Aisle Widths

On the working side:

• One-person...You need a 42-inch aisle if only one person will ever be working on the aisle (I assume that will not be the case with such a large family - some children will be helping out/learning to help out)
• Two or more people working on the aisle (most likely scenario in this case)...You need a 48-inch aisle

Aisle behind the seats - depends on what else is behind the seats

With a wall or other obstruction behind the seats:

• If no cabinets, counters, appliances, and no traffic at all (i.e., "dead end"), then 44" is sufficient
• If no cabinets counters, appliances, and minimal traffic, then 48" is sufficient
• If no cabinets counters, appliances, and normal to heavy traffic, then 54" is sufficient
• If cabinets counters, appliances, etc., are behind the seats, then 60"

No wall or other obstruction directly behind the seats - the "open" concept your friend is planning:

• If island backs to a sofa or similar - then no less than 48" if there is minimal traffic (i.e., a "dead end") or 54" if there is normal to heavy traffic.
• If island backs to a table - then 60" b/w the island and the table

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I know the NKBA suggests 24" of width per diner but I just want to point out how uncomfortable that can be unless most of the diners are children or very small adults. I'm fairly average in size, not the tallest or shortest in a group, nor the thinnest or heaviest. And 24" of width means I have to keep my elbows locked in very close to my sides while eating to not elbow the person next to me. It's doable but not comfortable. I think to provide comfortable seating for guests that you should shoot for at least 28" in width, preferable closer to 30", per diner. To put it another way, if people are dining using all the good manners one would use in a fine dining situation, 24" might suffice. But if you're hoping for lively discussions where people might gesture with their hands a lot, to play some games requiring movement, and other such activities at the island, you will definitely want more width.

I hate to hijack -- BUT Romy -- do you still wake up every morning and just want to sing when you enter that beautiful space?

The wood island top is 48" x 94."

edit: nightowl. We still love it. Initially, I did not want to redo the FR. I still really liked it. DH had been trying to get me to part with the huge entertainment center & small TV for years. I resist change.

Somersetlass, that is one enviable sized island! And is it lavender or is that just the lighting. I'm jealous of your expansive run of counter!! It's nice to see such ample storage is doable with seating.

Romy, is that walnut countertop on your island? That is my dream space. (Up until my three kids stain, scratch and mess it all up!)