Kitchen is an integral part of our house where all the cooking and cleaning materials take place. That is why planning out the structure of a kitchen is important if you want to maintain a great kitchen.
Today, we are going to discuss and find out how much space should be between a kitchen island and counters.
How much space should be between a kitchen island and counters?
There should be a minimum space of forty two inches between a kitchen island and kitchen counters. This space between a kitchen island and kitchen counters can increase if the number of cooks increases. Forty eight inches is the suggested space in a two cook kitchen.
The kitchen island can become an effective part of your kitchen if you can place it accurately in your kitchen.
The important thing to remember here is that the amount of space between a kitchen island and counters can be the deciding factor when it comes to the effectiveness of your kitchen.
That is why it is important to abide by some general rules while selecting the distance between a kitchen island and counters. The distance between a kitchen island and kitchen counters is deemed to be at least forty two inches by experts.
This suggested distance can change depending on the number of cooks you have in your kitchen. If there are two cooks working in your kitchen, the distance jumps up to forty eight inches which is about four feet.
The space you have between kitchen island and kitchen counters is crucial for the functional part of your kitchen.
Is 36 inches enough space between counter and island?
36 inches is not considered as having enough space between counter and island. The minimum space between kitchen island and counters is suggested to be at least three and a half feet which means forty two inches.
Thirty three inches or three feet of space between kitchen island and counters is described as too little by kitchen experts.
The space criteria also varies according to the number of cooks constantly present in the kitchen. If there are more than two cooks working in the kitchen, the minimum space of a kitchen island and counters should be forty eight inches which equals to four feet.
Otherwise, the kitchen will be too crowded and the cooking procedure will be continuously interrupted.
If you have thirty inches of space between counter and island, your kitchen will always be messy and feel like a congested area because of too little space. That is why it is important to add a little more space between counter and island to increase the effectiveness of your kitchen.
How much room should you have around a kitchen island?
You need to have more than enough room around a kitchen island. The kitchen island is an important part of a kitchen as it can come in handy if you manage to place it wisely.
But the general rule is to not have a kitchen island if you do not have a large enough kitchen with a width of thirteen feet at least.
The distance between a kitchen island and other parts of the kitchen such as sink, fridge should be spacious enough to give you freedom to maneuver through the kitchen. Forty two inches is an effective amount of room between your kitchen island and other parts of the kitchen.
If you manage to design your kitchen in a way that it leaves a certain amount of room between the kitchen island and the other areas, it will help you in the long run.
3 reasons why kitchen island needs to be at a certain distance from counters
There are several reasons that compel you to have your kitchen island at a certain distance from counters. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.
Effectiveness:
The most important reason behind having a kitchen island is to increase the effectiveness of your kitchen. Because the kitchen island has the capability to be a secondary workstation. You can even turn it into a storage facility. It can also serve the purpose of a sitting space.
But all the effectiveness of the kitchen island can diminish if you do not place it far enough from counters.
You will struggle to move between island and counter if you have too little space to begin with. It will decrease the effectiveness of your kitchen by slowing you down. In this way, your kitchen can become a burden instead of a life saver.
Barrier:
The kitchen island should not work as a barrier between the counters. You can have multiple counters in your kitchen containing stove, sinks, microwave, and other important kitchen utilities.
If you do not place your kitchen island far away from your counters, it will become a barrier between the counters stopping the flow of work in your kitchen.
Approved by experts:
The kitchen experts suggest that your kitchen island needs to be placed at least forty two inches away from your counters if there is only one cook in the kitchen. In the case of two cooks, the kitchen island needs to be forty eight inches away from the counters.
The experts have considered the practicality of a kitchen island and have selected the distance based on the results.
Where should a kitchen island be placed?
A kitchen island can become one of the most significant parts of your kitchen if you can place it properly. Let’s discuss in detail about where a kitchen island should be placed.
At the center:
It is believed that a kitchen island placed at the center of the kitchen can serve its purpose more freely. If you have three counters connected to the three walls of your kitchen, you can attempt to place your kitchen island at the center.
Placing the kitchen at the kitchen’s center will make it accessible from all the counters.
Maintaining the distance:
The distance between a kitchen island and the counters of the kitchen is said to be at least forty two inches. You will need to maintain this distance while placing your kitchen island.
You have to be careful about measuring the distance between kitchen counters and kitchen island properly as it can make or break the look and effectiveness of your kitchen.
Seating function:
You would want to place your kitchen island at the part of the kitchen where you can install a seating function for people to sit around the kitchen island. The kitchen island needs to have a measurement of four feet by two feet.
If you have this kind of measurement, you can install seats on one side of the counter that do not come in the way of the island and the counters.
Enough lighting:
You will need to place your kitchen island at a point where there is always enough light. It can be natural light or you can hang light bulbs on top of the kitchen island as it is an important feature of your kitchen.
How do you layout a kitchen island along with counters?
Designing a layout of a kitchen island along with counters might seem like a difficult job. But it can be done easily if you manage to follow some tips and suggestions. Let’s discuss them in detail.
Create a triangle:
The triangle design is the one of the most famous kitchen layout designs containing both island and counters. You can place the sink, fridge, and stove counters connected to each other.
In that case, the kitchen island will need to be forty two inches away from each of the counters to give you moving space.
Have adequate space:
Your kitchen has to be at least thirteen feet wide if you want to accomplish the goal of installing both an island and counters in your kitchen. You will have to start by measuring the distance between your island and each counter.
If there is not enough distance between them, you will have to opt for a kitchen table instead of a kitchen island. The walking area of your kitchen needs to be at least three feet wide which equals to thirty six inches.
Make it accessible:
You will need to make all the areas of your kitchen easily accessible. You will have to lay out your kitchen island along with counters in such a way that you can work efficiently in your kitchen by switching between your kitchen island and counters.
You will have to be careful about not making unnecessary obstructions in your kitchen.
Final Thoughts
The space between a kitchen island and kitchen counters needs to be three and a half feet at least. This distance is important as it gives people room to switch places. The kitchen island needs to be placed at the center of the kitchen far enough from the counters.