Why not add a nice buffet/ server to hold food/ drinks, don’t install permanent cupboards. Or buy an old low, long dresser, upcycle it with paint and have a piece of countertop installed on the top. Put open shelving or a large piece of art above it. Do something personal suited to your personality instead of generic cupboards?!

Nice kitchen. Don’t make the walkway too tight. What’s the measurement between the wall and island countertop? I agree with a furniture piece but it would take lots of searching to get the right size. If you do cabinets, 12” deep on the bottom and shallower shelves on top.

The passageway would be way too tight.

cutting back the wall at one end or the other, might allow some "wrapping " so what you are proposing can actually start on kitchen side....wrap around ..and finish on great room side. Not to be interfering with seating clearances in other words. Maybe a tad more work but could be a much more interesting improvement: greater ease of use and opportunity for detail to enhance the connection between great room and kitchen . I don't think your proposal is the best.

Lovely kitchen, but IMHO you really do not have room for anything on that wall. It will look like an afterthought, and really crowd the entire space. If it is serving space you need, could you invest in some nice, tiered serving pieces? I have four I bring out at holidays, so I can serve several dishes on one footprint.

the distance between the wall and edge of the counter is 65 inches, to the back of the chair is 52 inches

Consider a sideboard. I have one that isn't very wide, you can probably find something to fit.

If you will have counters (or a sideboard or anything else) there, then you need at least 51" between the counters. So, with 65" to work with, that leaves you with 14" for the cabs/counters.

You could put in 12"D cabinets, which would give you 13.5"D counters for staging food.

What's behind the wall? What's inside the wall?

Could you open up the wall to create a pass-through approx 34.5" above the floor? If so, you could stick with 12"D cabinets and then put a counter over both the cabinets and the wall. If the wall is 4.5" thick (standard interior wall thickness), that would mean you would not only have a counter at least 19"D (1.5" counter overhang + 12"D cabs + 4.5"D wall + 1" counter overhang = 19"), and you would also have access to the food from two sides, which would cut down on traffic b/w the island and new counters.

As to the aesthetics, I'll leave that to others.

It would work unless you have special huge serving pieces.

the steps to basement are behind that wall

door to basement

If you know someone who can design and build custom pieces, you could have shallow cabinetry, maybe 6" - 8", with a middle section which could fold down when needed for serving. Bottom and top would be bonus shallow storage. It could be built a couple of different ways--the two bottom doors would open to support the long, fold-down, middle section (with fake doors), or the doors on the middle section would open to support another attached countertop piece when it was folded down. Shot-bolts could be used to lock the doors/supports in place. There are YouTube videos on building fold-down units.

moved an existing piece to show size. this piece is 18 in deep

I would not want someone sitting there if I planned to have food or similar on something that deep. That aisle looks much too narrow!!

Try having people sit at the island in a natural way (i.e., not squeezing themselves to sit at close to the counter as possible -- they should be a few inches out from the counter).

Then, try having several people at that "counter" as if they were browsing/grazing the food.

"...middle section which could fold down when needed for serving"

The problem with that is that when it's open and blocking the aisle is when there will be the most traffic, etc. If you open it for food (appetizers, cake, buffet, etc.), then you need the wider aisle, not the narrower aisle.

Maybe you could remove the stools when you use the counter during a party?

You said you need this for more counter space when you are having parties. So imagine your party, with people sitting at the island. You need to leave enough room so that they can pull out the chairs to get up and sit down. Then imagine other people, at the same time, standing in front of the 18" piece and serving themselves. The space is too tight.

But, depending on how you entertain, it would work if you remove the island chairs. The island and the 18" piece would both be for serving only, with nobody sitting at the island.

You might consider putting furniture there that can be easily moved, which would let you tailor your serving style to the type and size of gathering. A pair of rolling carts? A sofa table/console table? You could add casters if you want it moveable. Could double as a bar in another room. Add a stone or tile top if the surface is not suitable for serving dishes.

table

or this one with drawers

we have had parties and had 2ft wide tables in this spot for food and used the stools. I like the idea of movable or fold down depending on number of guests, use if space, etc

thank you everyone for all the commentary and suggestions!

How often do you have parties?

I am doing the same now. I go with 18 inches deep for base cabinets and standard 12 inches for upper ones. Here is my sketch, width is 66 inches and to the ceiling.

I host many dinners, birthday parties for my family. usually about 12 to 20 of us. we typically all fit in dining area and 2 or 3 people sitting at the island and the kids sitting in their playroom off the kitchen. the island fits 5 stools as is (there are 5 of us in my family). so let's say I host a get together twice a month

or with glass door on the top only.

I’d do it with a 12” deep piece if I were you.

I wouldn't put more cabinets there. It will add no interest and just look like a cabinet showroom. I'd look for a narrow furniture piece (14 inches deep at most) to add some interest to the space. It's amazing how much you can get into a piece that size.

Room and Board has several options if you’d like furniture there instead of cabinets, this one has customizable finishes and is 12” by 60” wide