You going to employ a lot of chefs?

If you entertain A LOT, a double island can be useful, because the outer island is your "bar" seating area. But for most families, this is not very functional. I have done it, and the clients wanted it, and they say it is perfect for them, so I think it is a very personal choice. But from a cost point of view and functional point of view, one island is best. Integrating a table that is normal table height is much more useful as well and quite on trend too.

That should read "room for families" not family room :)

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback and I tend to agree with you as well. My main concern was the flow of traffic from family room, stairway, flex room (play room off kitchen) etc...

I appreciate all of your comments, especially from the PROs :)

Hire a Pro. A KD. NOW. Have a realistic budget. And don’t take it into your head to start fixing your car’s transmission or welding aircraft frames in the mean time.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2018/

Our neighbor just did this in her new build, everyone thought she was crazy. Now that I have seen it in action it works very well for her she has a lot of kids and grand kids and entertains with large parties a lot. It works really well for her. For me personally it wouldn't work well for how I use things and how I entertain.

Double islands will help with your Fitbit steps. I think the two islands will seem great, at first, and then you will tire of them but be stuck.

Make sure you include the proper exhaust for a 48" range. The hood should ideally be 54" wide. The ductwork from the exhaust to outside must be 10" diameter. And then for that amount of exhaust, you will need make-up air. Make-up air will cost as much or more than your 48" range. People forget to plan for all this when they install their dream range that is 48" wide. You might consider as an alternative double wall ovens and a 36" rangetop so that your exhaust doesn't have to be as enormous.

Your fridge in your plan looks puny by comparison to the large elements everywhere else (I can't read the fridge size on the blueprint). Plan on a 48" fridge to go with the theme of the rest of the kitchen. Two dishwashers too.

Double islands make double the steps to do anything, I agree get KD and don’t waste time playing around.I have a 55” x 108” island with back to back sinks because my husband does the prep and I do the cooking , you need to have a kitchen design that works for how you live and that is best carried out with a good KD from the start( not your architect)

Another vote for getting a KD. Below is a picture I found where in my average opinion think they pulled off the double island idea. Also seen a picture (but can't find it) where seating is only in the middle. It had all bookcases on the living room side of cabinets. The post supports going to ceiling closes the space off a little. But think that makes it more cozy since your spaces are so large.

Very nice. But I'm not sure the above is a double island.

As for putting one in a home, as opposed to a large restaurant, I really don't get it. Even reaching over and wiping down such massive islands is impossible--unless you're an NBA centre.

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The double island looks like something a big restaurant chooses. For people need to work on those islands.

For a private kitchen I'd choose a table a 100% of the time.

I am in the process of a full gut kitchen remodel, removing walls, moving water, gas lines, appliances, etc. My design also has double islands, one will have sink & seating while the other will only have storage and prep space. the exterior will house little used items while the interior will have sink, dishwasher trash/recycle bins on one and the other drawers where I will store my everyday dishes, cutlery and small pantry. I will only have a single wall for range top, ovens, built in French door frig. Both islands are 8x5. So there will be no running around the two islands I will only have to turn around. Sorry fitbit.

Thank you for your comments! I hadn't considered the larger refrigerator @freidajune. Your worry about me tiring of them is my concern, too. I do think it works for how we operate, but I'm not sure its the best solution. That's why I put it out to you. We are truly torn between the table and one island or the two islands. Also, two dishwashers sounds dreamy. We do have make-up air considered and the hood is definitely larger than the range. 60" i think it was. We did meet with a KD to do single island design, but this kept coming up in the back of our minds if we may have wrote it off too soon. My husband isn't fond of the look of a double oven unit. We had something similar in our last home, hence the reason for the 48" range. @gpeach that's the only way i've seen it done in person too and it worked very well! I think I would have a hard time finding a good place to break the two areas in our floor plan though. @sophie wow...ha!

People need to design for how they really live, not their fantasy lives. Time and motion studies of kitchen work have been done for decades. People think they spend all of this time being Emeril. And they don’t. A well designed kitchen minimizes steps, not adds them.

Grand overblown badly designed cathedral kitchens are the same as a 28’ dining room that gets used once a year.

Design for how you really live 360 days a year. And not for the Joneses, who don’t cook, but want it to look like they might, and have an 50K appliance showroom in their house. And who actually need dual microwaves, not dual DW’s.

And skip a 42’ great room. People converse in 10’x10’ spaces. I attended church in a smaller room than that. Of course, we were all in pews facing forward to the lectern and were not expected to try to carry on a conversation about how the dog puked on the rug and how Junior is failing home ec.

Not that Tiny Homes are a better idea than 8 conversation groupings in one room, but, someone could learn a great deal about multi use rooms from some of their ideas behind the hipster posturing of a tarted up travel trailer.

Just to add another idea to the pot....

What do you think of a "T" shaped island, where instead of a double set up, you take that second one and attach it, centered and perpendicular, to the first island?

I'd make it table-height, though, with seating all around. You could either do the same materials as the island, or mix it up (or just put a really large table there instead of a permanent island).

I would *adore* this arrangement. :-D

One of the few time you should have more than one island:

@sophie, thank you for your advice. Agree a 42' family room would be crazy. Just to clarify, the entire space kitchen and family is 42x22. Our sofas are opposite each other with 8' in between and a coffee table and two chairs facing away from the kitchen in between the sofas. Tiny houses are nice but not for families with four kids and family over every week. I don't care about the Joneses in the least.

We have actually built this home before. We tweaked a few measurements and are changing the kitchen. We have a morning room off of the kitchen with a full size table for large party dining and the second round table between the family room furniture and island would be for some more seating for informal dining or overflow. I haven't thought of the T shape, but I'm such a plain jane in that regard @OneDevotedDame that I think i may prefer to do the table. Good idea though- that would def give more prep space but not as tricky.

@flo I appreciate your advice. Hard to find someone that doesn't also sell cabinets around here. I totally agree with you and wish the same. I did do a consult with a designer but she didn't specialize in kitchens before we built again, so we just dealt with the immediate space. So, we can certainly pinch the couches closer together, but i never noticed any issue before. We floated them into the room to get the 8' last time. I'll keep your 6' recommendation in mind when we bring furniture in. A designer before told me 8' and that is why I stuck to that number so firmly. We widened the family room to allow for french doors onto the screened in porch but certainly plan to have the furniture still closely grouped together. I like it to feel cozy but once a month when 30 family members come over, we have the ability to add seating and plenty of space for kids to run around. We'll move when the kids are grown, I know that for sure. They're all under 6 right now. I grew up in a kitchen with a 48" wolf range and matching hood and it's a little nostalgic for me. Yes, we planned venting for it.

I'm not claiming to be a designer, nor do i want every room to be picture perfect design. I just wanting it to be family friendly and make sense on a budget (which is why I put it on here to bounce ideas off of people). We loved this seating arrangement and for 2 months split my sectional in half and lived with it like this before we bought furniture. (washable slip covers bc of the kids) and it was awesome for movie night- laying on the couches and kicked back in the chairs. Thanks for the feedback!

One more tip on furniture. Sofas should be within 18" of a coffee table or ottoman so a person(s) can reach it. With the space you have, you could do two coffee tables one for each sofa. But not sure about your budget. People don't realize when building large homes, how much more furniture and overall costs are involved. So, while you may have large family groups, everyone usually congregates in the kitchen area. As children get older, they will disappear to their rooms with cousins and friends or to outside spaces, so plan mainly for adults. Not sure where you are, but if there is building going on in your area, you might see if there is a builder's designer who could help. They usually have a better grasp of construction issues you may encounter and can help plan around them.

I'm glad to hear you say two coffee tables/trunks. I really wanted to do that but didn't know if that looked strange. The kids will use them like stepping stones in a forest stream, but thought maybe the crack up the middle it would create could seem strange...ha! Thanks for the tip

No time right now to read all the replies. We had a double island for 8 years. We cook a lot. It was totally functional and not the misery that some here have described.

We could do 2 cooks well - both prepping. In our new (rental) kitchen, we never work together because it is too hard. One island.

Not saying that it is always the right choice at all and we are doing 1 island next time (smaller house).

If you do a lot of entertaining involving caterers, then two islands will be wonderful for the caterer. I cannot imagine having 2 in my own house for day-to-day cooking. For that matter, I detest huge islands under any circumstances. But then I prefer a closed in kitchen - plenty of room for multiple cooks - with a small island cart in the middle as a landing zone.

firefly, I would post your questions and drawings at the Kitchen forum.

At first glance here, I'd sooner take my chances with two islands rather than one crazy long barrier island. But I'm sure the smart cookies at the Kitchen forum will be able to help you.

We have two islands and absolutely love it. The second island is wonderful for entertaining, for kids sitting around doing homework, as a serving island...a wonderful place to gather around. And, so much storage! The main island is where the sink, 2 dishwashers are and the real workhorse of the kitchen. I would hate to have all the people crowding my workspace but yet plenty of room for the cooks. We did make the second island with a black walnut top and the main island and perimeters have Taj Mahal quartzite...gives it a nice distinction and the second island is almost a furniture type piece. (our islands are 5'x10')

@jaimeeap I totally think it looks amazing. You did a fantastic job. What are your floors? Also, hoe much space between the islands do you have if you don’t mind me asking? Wow. Looks stunning. Thanks for posting

We have a two island kitchen and love it! And working out of my house and having all my client meetings here, after folks see it we've duplicated it in various forms.

One thing about your islands firefly, it looks like you've drawn the same island twice. With two islands, make each different from the other. For mine, ones a "working" island and the other is an eating or serving island (photo of one of our party's) where we have a beverage fridge and a bar sink. and we made it stand out from the other island with a different surface, in my case, a live edge wood one, and it's the "star" of the house. Everybody loves it!

Take your measurements to the Kitchen Forum. There are a number of designers who can get you going in the right direction that are active on that forum.

The way that I found a real KD was to call a couple of custom cabinetry shops and ask who they have dealt with in the past in this capacity. This way you can find an independent designer to work only for you. My KD had a real job in a design firm that allowed her to moonlight for extra money.

Thank you, Naomi! There is 4 feet between both islands and that space is perfect for us.

Then floors are Royal Oak Maison in Cognac. They are a 7.5" wide engineered plank.

We also have a two island kitchen and love it. We entertain frequently and all family get together's have been moved to our house since we built. It's nice to have an island that is dedicated to food prep and cooking, while the other island is dedicated to platters brought by guests, setting up a drink station, leaning on to talk to someone, walking around, etc. The kitchen is the heart of our home and we find that even when I'm not cooking, it's where people gravitate to. Even when we're not entertaining, I cook almost every meal from scratch, so we designed the kitchen with that in mind.

The one comment I have on "tiring" of something is that I found after designing and building our home (which I thoroughly enjoyed and wanted to do again immediately after finishing) is that there are always "what ifs" or "we could have done it this way, or that way" or "next time"... It's not that I don't like our current design choices, it's just that my mind is always wondering. If I had to the opportunity, I may do it differently, I may not.. it would depend on how our life was structured at the time and the foreseeable future. I actually agree with Sophie (is the sky falling?!?) - design for how you really live. And if you like 2 islands, build 2 islands.

I just designed a double island kitchen, but it’s a remodel of a very unique space. I don’t have the back wall, that would be open to the hallway and walk in pantry/mudroom. I chose a 4 bar seating at the other end because it’s basically the traffic from the living room through to the dining room. I chose not to put a table in the kitchen because I already have a dining room right there and another table on the deck there. 3 tables within 10 ft of each other is just weird. So, design the kitchen that works for you and your space. I hired a kitchen designer to help me pull it off.