36" is too narrow and probably that measure will be shorter once the top overhand is accounted for at the wall. To tight an area for an island.

Interesting comment @millworkman, I just had a friend who had a 36" space between her main counter and island reduced to 33" because she thought 36" was too much. From my testing, 36" is perfect. For the range/oven zone we have 48".

Can you elaborate on why you think 36" is not enough?

Also what do you mean by "top overhand"?

If you really want to find out in live time if it will work for you or not. Get yourself some big boxes and make an island the size you are thinking of. Put a sheet or two of cardboard on top the correct size for the countertop. Then live with it for a couple weeks. Don't really use it for heavy stuff. But it will let you know if that works or not to move around.

@beesneeds Yes, this is a great thing to do.... We have been using all sorts of props to simulate the design :)

We have a similar set up and went from having 33" to having 36" aisles. In our 100 year old home, that was all the space we could get. I get that there are ideals of certain aisle widths if you are starting from scratch, but we have 36" on two sides of our island and 42" on the 3rd side. We find it works perfectly for us. When we were renovating, we lived in a condo with a U shaped kitchen and no island and I hated having to take 3 steps to get to a landing zone. I'm a pivot and drop cook.

Because of the location of the prep sink on the island, I am assuming you would like the countertop to it’s left to be where you (or secondary helper) stand to prep. The other prep area being crammed in that corner between the sink and stove. Will it annoy you if someone wants something from the fridge and you have to stop what you are doing to move out of the way? With the isle at 36”, there is no way for you to open the french doors if someone is standing there.

Here is an illustration of the space required behind seating to a wall or other fixed object.

36” will mean turning sideways and sliding past for most average sized people.

Building on rebunky's point about prep sink/fridge conflict--what if you put a small prep sink to the left of your range instead, under that second window? Your toaster could hang out in the corner with the espresso machine.

"top overhand" - I think that's just a typo and person meant top overhang - i.e. that countertop usually overhangs the cabinet by an inch or so.

Thanks for your story @daisychain Zn3b !! Sounds like we're on the same page. I am moving from a condo with a U-shaped kitchen too, no joke!

You could just shrink the width of the island a little bit and pick up a couple inches to keep things at 36" or maybe a little more, or maybe on one side at least, as long as the MW fits.

There are tons of houses and apartments here with galley kitchens with less than 36" aisles, and people make it work, because the kitchens can't get any bigger. Personally I think 36" is tight on the fridge side...you really need a true counterdepth fridge in this case.

This kitchen dimension is on the borderline really, almost too small to have an island, but too big Not to have one. But maybe narrow the island a bit.

And I am assuming people will not be sitting on the end of the island while you are actively prepping, at least not 3 people.

@rebunky Thanks for your thoughts! Usually there is one prepper and one cooker, not two people prepping. I'm thinking if we moved the island prep sink across from the fridge, the person prepping could stand to the right of that and not be in the way of the fridge. What do you think?

I've seen that illustration before... why is the person working at the counter at the 36" space sticking his butt out? :D

@mcarroll16 Interesting you mention this as we had the prep sink there initially... we could still do this, but we thought it would be nice to have the island area that could be used for prepping so the person doesn't facie a wall/window. Having the side countertop clear would make it good for countertop appliances or the inevitable junk that piles up over the week.

Can a kitchen island be just 2 1/2 feet wide? I guess that would limit its use for sitting on bar stools... unless the far end had a significant overhang?

The house I grew up in had an island that was 27" wide and it was perfectly functional but had no seating.

I am thinking that the seats on the end of that one are not the only seating you are going to have? The person at the bottom is going to have their elbow in the sink.

I think we have been indoctrinated by the 50 square foot islands everyone is trying to do now, but you can have a fairly small one that's functional.

I don’t think 3 seats can actually fit at your proposed island; they all share the same knee space. Also I think the proposed layout is less functional and very expensive. How about something like this:

@palimpsest Thanks for the comments! I think we will move the prep sink to the left corner, but in any case you have a point, there doesn't need to be seating at the island if it doesn't work. The dining room is right opposite the kitchen.

@emilyam819 I think we can forgo the seating but curious about the functionality... In the original layout, the space between things is a bit awkwardly big. I feel like @daisychain Zn3b's pivot and drop move makes sense. The social benefit of an island is huge too. There's trade offs with everything but I want to try to create a social kitchen that is also functional. A galley kitchen would be pure function but terrible for social.

I would make space for a great seat for one, and okay seating for two on a narrower island. It might be nice to be able to sit and prep sometimes. Personally I will not eat at counterheight seating if there is a table right there. I will sit an a counter and do things, but eating more than something quick is not one of them.

It’s a lot of pivoting and dropping - from fridge to island and then from island to stove. But more importantly, there there’s not much counter space within the work triangle:

I hear you about the social aspect. This?

What do you think about this with a T shaped peninsula?

I realize the dining table is right behind there, so might be overkill on the seats. It could just be a regular 15” overhang on the full length of peninsula instead.

@rebunky I like this! It's the most similar to what we have in our condo now. U shaped kitchens are very functional but also have the social part. I'll be sleeping on this one!

I like rebunky’s idea. However, I’d keep main sink under window so as to keep the peninsula for social.

You stated you usually have one person cooking, one person prepping. In which case, do you actually need two sinks? I wouldn't think so, unless you also frequently have one person washing while another person is prepping. If simultaneous prepping and washing is frequent in your kitchen, would you have room to do a really large sink with two faucets?

I think emilyam819's second proposal is the best, if you want island seating.

I moved the main sink back under the window and the dw down closer to the sink. I actually think I like that better for the ease of unloading the dw straight into the dish drawers right next to it. Plus saving money not moving the plumbing is always a good thing.

I don’t love the dw crowding the cook and in the prep zone. I would like to prep on the peninsula rather then the corner where there isn’t as much room.

Here it is with the normal peninsula overhang for seating.

In this case I feel like the peninsulas tend to "dead-end" the kitchen. They are probably more efficient for one cook, but make it less flexible for two or more.

I really like emilyam's second version. We have this set up at our lake house. I would keep the prep sink across from the fridge in this version as the fridge becomes further from the main sink. I also find this version aesthetically pleasing. However, I still like the original, too. I wouldn't shrink the island. We have our dining table right behind, too, but I wouldn't give up my island seating.

I like that plan above by emilyam as well. The only thing I wasn’t too sure about was the traffic lane going through the kitchen. Not a big deal since people could just stay closer to the peninsula side when walking behind someone prepping or cooking. It is just that I always hear the experts on this site recommending not crossing through the work triangle if at all possible.

But actually you do have to go in front of the fridge with the U shaped plan too, just the sink, prepping counters, and cooking is more protected.

Thanks all. I do see the slight efficiency improvement that the peninsula design would offer, but it would be much less interesting visually and I don't see a big enough efficiency hit to scrap the island alltogether.

Perhaps folks can recommend, in the island design, where is the best placement of the 2nd sink? Where is the best place for the garbage and recycling? (We use a countertop compost bin). How about microwave?

My current thinking is to put the 2nd sink on the island; then the countertop at the left window can be used for toaster oven, espresso machine and temporary use countertop appliances like a blender.

I'm thinking the garbage/recycling can be a pullout at the left end of the island so it can be easily accessed by both the L area and the island area.

And lastly I think the microwave could go under the left counter

My latest iteration also includes a full height pantry/storage area opposite of the door to the powder room.

Throwing in a 3d render for fun.

The full height pantry / storage seems like a good idea.

@mjib Yeah I think it will be great! Here's what it would look like. Also serves as a nice room divider.

How about moving the prep sink under that window. That long counter is underutilized, and the island is already squishing in too much.

@emilyam819 I definitely thought about it... in reality I'll have my espresso machine/grinder and toaster oven on that counter. It's also often useful to have counter space to put "stuff" temporarily (better than using the island for that!). I also thought it would be nice to be able to use the island for prep. There is already a sink on the side counter under the other window. That's my thinking anyway...please feel free to point out any issues you see with this!

Microwave question.... Better under counter at the left window, or built into the pantry/storage ? The first option puts it more 'in' the kitchen, but the second would be way more ergonomic.