I need to see a to scale floor plan and from what you describe my answer would be it depends on how close to each other . I would never have seating at an island that is along a work space but again I need to see the space .

They need about 4-5 feet between then. Then you work with your back to everyone on the island. Prep needs water adjacent. No ranges in front of windows. Unsafe and unclean. No downdrafts. Ineffective and pull flames.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting: "I would never have seating at an island that is along a work space"

Never been to Benihana, huh?

@User: They need about 4-5 feet between the[m].

Four to five feet? Why? If that were the requirement, some small kitchens wouldn't be long enough to have both a sink and a cooktop or range.

I once had a cooktop with popup down draft exhaust and would never do it again. I don’t like kitchen islands and especially don’t like one’s with prep sinks in them because they make it harder to rip out the island. Every Italian kitchen I have ever cooked in and all but one that I visited had the cooktop next to the sink or with only a cutting board length between them. I, along with several tens of million other Italian cooks, prepare food at the eat-in kitchen table, with lots of people sitting around the table, talking. We clean away the prep and set the table while the food cooks. Food and conversation in Italy generally gets high marks.

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First thing is find out if local building codes even allow a cooktop/stove in front of a window, due to risk of fire to window treatments like curtains. (you might not put curtains, but the next owner might, and codesdepts like to prevent these disasters)

Water splashing onto the cooktop from the sink next to it would be another concern of mine. I wouldn't even buy a home that had this setup. .. and I love water views! Sometimes over-customization can hurt resale-ability. Keep the sink but relocate the cooktop, IMO.

We have a Thermador downdraft in our island it all I can say is that it is better than nothing. An upward-vented style was not possible with our 2-story floor plan. I like having the cooktop located in our island. Ours is induction and doubles as work/prep space before I start using the hobs to cook. And I can watch TV while working at the island.

IMO, 'no' on the veggie sink in the island. Biggest waste/loss of work space on our old island, and we had it taken out when we did a massive remodel.

"I don’t like kitchen islands and especially don’t like one’s with prep sinks in them because they make it harder to rip out the island."

Our contractor had no difficulty capping off the water supply and drain when we ripped out the island that had a veg. sink. It was just not a big deal for them.

Choosing an induction cooktop will help with ventilation requirements. You won't need as much. And no open flame. Bosch or Frigidaire are two to look at. Best makes a downdraft that is somewhat effective.

“Never been to Benihana, huh?”

@wdccruise - exactly - you’ve pointed out one reason why island cooktops are awful ( there are a number of other reasons). I’d HATE to feel that when I am cooking I am like a chef at Benihana. My guests or family staring at me while I make dinner, getting smoked and splattered, rather than sitting at a cooktop-free island and chatting or helping prep or just relaxing. Of course my island cooktop would not be the same as Benihana’s which is HUGE and PRECISELY DESIGNED for people to sit around it. While not your intent @wdccruise, you highlighted why island cooktops are a bad idea - who wants to feel like they’re a Benihana chef when making dinner every night.

I have a large prep sink about 3 feet from my range and I think having a sink close (not 6 feet!) to a range is ideal.

Everything else must fit in of course.

There are ways to put a window behind a cooktop. None will keep that window clean. :)

A nearby metal sink could help with an unplanned flambé. (For containment, not for putting water on a grease fire.)

From the point of view of do or die, one could use a hood ventilation system such as @opaone has built, nestled up against the wall at 4 ft above the cooktop, with the window filling just that four foot height, the cooktop spaced from the wall by at least a foot, and adequate CFM (including MUA). This should deal with condensation grease on the window. For splatter, add the tallest pop-up available but don't bother with running vent air through it. Cover the air intake surface with an easily cleanable material. The cook, if over 4.5 feet in eye height, could still see over the pop-up when it is in use.

For splatter, why not a windscreen like you see on campstoves? Just put it away when you have to impress folks.Or get a cute one.

My range is 6" from the wall and the backsplash rarely needs cleaning. One reason of course is that it's not clear glass with a view behind it. Another is that the back burners are used less than the front. The main reason is that 6" behind the range is a stretch to clean. I'd sure hate to have to reach 12" behind the range!

No flame with induction cooktop so I am not worried about that. I need the window to open so I can clean it. We will get a down draft but I am not hearing great things about them. My current kitchen has a cooktop and then the sink on the counter which is at a 90 degree angle. So if they were side by side not sure it would be horrible. I have taken advice and removed the small vegetable sink. My husband hates vegetables anyway. The island is large 6 by 10. any suggestions are welcome

As long as you keep 4' between the clean-up sink and cooktop, I think a perimeter sink, with prep sink on the island, is ideal. NKBA recommends at least 36" prep space beside a sink, but to me at least 48" is better if that space is shared with the cooktop landing space.

Not everyone loves a prep sink, or a sink on an island. Having been on GW/Houzz for a long time, IMO more folks like an island prep sink, than not.

NKBA guidelines

New to Kitchens? Read me first.

so many great pics thank you!

This picture is from 2005 when my kitchen was fairly new. Dated now in design, but the work flow has been excellent over the years, so I just wanted to encourage you to stick with your ideas.

The cooktop is centered in a 16 ft long kitchen. The large window on the left has a matching window (out of view) on the right. Because the cooktop is between windows & in shadow, I had a small fixed window installed to cast natural light on the cooktop. A fixed window met code requirements in my area.

The KD I worked with pulled the cooktop & base cabinet forward about 3 inches, thinking that would help with splatter problems, and we added an overhead vent to supplement the Jenn Air downdraft because downdrafts have a reputation for being ineffective.

I just replaced the Jenn Air cooktop last month with a Wolf induction. No more downdraft, & I'm surprised what a difference that makes. The downdraft was more effective than I thought it would be: I rarely needed the overhead before except for tall stockpots at a furious boil, & used it more for illuminating the cooking area at night. Now, the overhead vent isn't quite enough, & I'll need to replace it (maybe -- induction cooking is cleaner & doesn't spew out the heat & mess as much). Perhaps because the downdraft was directly vented outside -- very short distance, no elbows -- made it more effective than its reputation?

As for the window, I'm so glad I added that for lighting purposes. It's nice having sunlight to cook by, & we often have nice flowers in the deck planters just outside to look at. It rarely gets splattered! I don't fry on the back burners, for one thing, and there's just enough distance from the cooktop to make a difference. I think a large window behind a cooktop would be heavenly, especially if there's a magnificent view.

I've enjoyed having a corner sink. It's like its own work station in the kitchen -- near enough to be useful for a cook, far away enough that it doesn't butt into my work area. Roomy, space to sprawl.

Hope this encourages you about the feasibility of your design plans.

Well, we currently have Plague. Fire and Flood would be covered here. That just leaves Famine.