Firstly no, I don’t mean planning that perfect fantasy getaway island that we all dream of one day retiring too. What I do mean is the careful consideration that should take place when planning your own kitchen island. As designers we are always faced with different obstacles and tricky layouts, but our job is to overcome them and give our clients the best use of their space as well as being aesthetically pleasing.
Now the most common thing that customers bring to us is “I would love an island but I just don’t think we can fit one in”, this is where creativity and a bit of clever use of kitchen space can mean you can fit an island in just about anywhere, and if you really can’t then how about a peninsula!
There really are no rules about size but if you have a large open space then use it, try to make the island comparative to the size of the kitchen. What you don’t want is a lovely big kitchen and a tiny island in the middle with a 2 metre perimeter, try to keep between 100cm and 120cm distance around the island but again don’t worry if you don’t have this much, I have been in plenty of kitchens with a little less than a metre and it still works.
The general rule of thumb for an overhang is around 30cm, giving you enough space to tuck stools under and doesn’t compromise the weight of the worktop but again there is wiggle room here for play and adding a support leg can help.
Next to think about is what you want on the island, some people choose it as a place for their sink, others the hob and some just like to keep a clear run of space for entertaining and food preparation. As I said before there really is no right or wrong way but when it comes to design, we like to bear a few things in mind, the triangle as we call it relates to the relationship between the sink, the hob and the fridge. This means that you try to keep the three in as close a triangle as possible to make for an easier working environment, granted this isn’t always possible but when designing your kitchen island think long and hard about the way in which you use your kitchen first.
Of course, Islands can be aesthetically fun as well, try a contrasting colour (dark usually works best), a funky floating extractor fan above the hob or even a quirky built in bookcase along one side. The possibilities really are endless…………
Joal Interiors is a shop based in Dorridge
