Fifteen square meters. Below this size, the AMK (the Association of the Kitchen Industry) advises against a kitchen island in its kitchen standards, and the kitchen manufacturer next125 arrives at the same figure in its planning magazine. Many floor plans fall exactly on this limit. Then, a few centimeters determine whether the island opens up the room or turns it into a hallway.
How much space does a kitchen island really need?
In its kitchen standards, the AMK calculates at least 120 centimeters of walkway around the island, to all other cabinets. Not at the widest point, but at the narrowest. Those who place the island as a room divider between two kitchen runs should maintain the same distance between the runs. This measurement is sufficient for two people working at the island at the same time.
Do the math before you fall in love with a showroom display. next125 builds its islands between 90 and 120 centimeters deep. With a unit depth of 100 centimeters and two walkways of 120 centimeters each, you are already looking at a room depth of 3.40 meters, and that does not yet include the run against the wall. Therefore, island plans rarely fail due to the floor area and almost always due to the layout. A long, narrow room easily reaches its 15 square meters and yet still cannot support an island.
A couple from Schwetzingen, living in a semi-detached house with a kitchen facing the garden, wanted to open up the wall to the dining room and place an island in the middle of the new space. Towards the window side, this worked. Towards the tall cabinet row, however, they were short a few centimeters because the door to the hallway opens exactly there. The island became a peninsula, which docks onto the run. The walkway was correct again, and the dining table received the space that would have otherwise been taken up by the fourth side of the island.
The dimensions of the island are based on the body, not the catalog
According to AMK ergonomics, the correct working height is 10 to 15 centimeters below your elbow height. Ergonomics is nothing complicated. The kitchen adapts to the body of the person standing in it.
What we hear most often in our showroom is the sentence that the old kitchen was too low. Most of the time, that is true. Tall people have been bending over for years and only realize it when they stand at a countertop at the right height. An island has an advantage here that a purely linear kitchen does not offer. It can have a different working height than the cabinets on the wall, and in a household with two people of very different heights, that is the real benefit.
In terms of width, next125 specifies a range of 100 to 320 centimeters for its islands. Where you end up in this range depends on what you need on the countertop. A hob with preparation space on the left and right needs length; otherwise, you will place the hot pot on the hob next to it. An island that is purely for workspace and storage can get by with significantly less.
Freestanding, peninsula, or with seating
You choose between these three forms based on the number of sides you need to keep clear. A freestanding island requires a walkway on all four sides. The peninsula docks onto the run and only costs three. This layout is also often referred to as a U-shape. If seating is added, the work surface additionally becomes a counter, which requires legroom under the top.
The overhang of a breakfast bar starts at 30 centimeters; 35 to 40 centimeters is recommended. Below 25 centimeters, your knees will bump into the cabinet. Then the stool remains empty.
In a new build in Oftersheim, the room was large enough for everything. The wish was for an island with two stools on the living room side, and the countertop was supposed to remain narrow. In the first draft, the overhang was under 30 centimeters. We made the top deeper. The stools were allowed to stay. Whoever wants to sit at an island will do so, or they never will.
Which material the countertop consists of is a decision in itself. We have compared the common options for worktops elsewhere.
Does an island with a hob need a hood above it?
It needs an extractor, but not necessarily a hood over your head. Where a hood hangs over the island, fixed minimum distances to the cooking surface apply according to the manufacturer's specifications.
- Above an electric hob, an island hood must maintain a minimum distance of 55 centimeters.
- Above a gas hob, it is 65 centimeters, regardless of the hood type.
These centimeters determine the appearance of the entire room. Against the wall, a hood disappears into the kitchen run. Over an island, it hangs freely in the middle between the kitchen and the dining table. For some, the kitchen is a stage, and then the hood belongs exactly there. In the showroom, many people stand under an island hood for the first time and realize that a clear view across the countertop is more important to them.
A downdraft extractor bypasses this question. It is an extractor fan built into the cooking surface itself that draws steam downwards. A height clearance is unnecessary because nothing hangs above the hob anymore.
Siemens lists its high-quality hobs with integrated extraction under the name studioLine. Bora is another manufacturer in this field represented in our kitchen showroom. Both designs require space under the worktop, which then reduces storage space. Which other appliances should be included early in a kitchen plan can be found in our overview of the most important built-in appliances.
What lies in the floor, you will never see again
Water, sewage, and high-voltage power for an island run through the floor, and as soon as the screed is laid over it, no one can reach them without chiseling. This is why this decision is made months before the kitchen. This is the point at which kitchen planning becomes construction planning.
- The sink requires two separate lines, one for fresh water and one for wastewater. Often, a hot water line is also added.
- The hob needs its own high-voltage connection.
In a new build, this is one line on the plan. In existing buildings, it becomes a calculation task. In an old building in the old town of Heppenheim, the sewage connection was on the outer wall, and the floor was made of old floorboards. An island with a sink would have meant opening the floor across half the width of the room and running a pipe with a gradient across it. In the end, the island only got the hob with a downdraft extractor; the sink stayed on the wall. The kitchen triangle, i.e., the path between refrigerator, sink, and hob, actually became shorter because of this.
And then there is the light. The lights over an island belong in the center over the countertop. The center of the room is almost never in the same place. If the electrician installs the ceiling outlet before the island has its position, the lamp will hang to the side later.
Not every floor plan can accommodate an island
Below 15 square meters, the island is the wrong answer, even if it fits on paper. A kitchen where the walkways shrink to a minimum everywhere functions worse than a well-planned linear or L-shaped kitchen. It does not look more spacious in the end, either.
We talk customers out of islands. Not often, but it happens. The most frequent reason is a door that opens into the room and blocks exactly the walkway that the floor plan would otherwise provide. The second most frequent is a room that is also a passageway to the terrace. An island stands in the way there, every day, even when no one is cooking.
There are good alternatives. The peninsula brings an open character without costing the fourth side. A double-row kitchen creates the same work surface on less floor space. Among the six common kitchen forms, there is one for almost every difficult layout that works better than a forced island.
Furthermore, an island is the most complex part of a kitchen plan because the cabinet carcass, worktop, connections, and appliances all come together in a single spot. That is why, for us, it is the first thing in the 3D planning that we place in the room, with doors, windows, and real walkways, before anything goes into the order.
Frequently asked questions about the kitchen island
How large must the kitchen be for a kitchen island?
The AMK names 15 square meters as the lower limit; next125 also advises against an island for smaller kitchens. More important than the floor area alone is the layout, as 120 centimeters of walkway must remain clear all around.
How wide and how deep is a kitchen island?
next125 specifies widths of 100 to 320 centimeters for its islands, with the depth between 90 and 120 centimeters. Within this range, the measurement depends on what is intended for the top and inside of the island.
What distance is necessary between a kitchen island and the kitchen run?
At least 120 centimeters, according to the AMK kitchen standards. This value applies to all cabinets all around, including the tall cabinet row. Remember to also account for doors that open into the room.
How much overhang does a kitchen island with seating need?
For legroom at a bar, 30 centimeters of overhang is considered the minimum; 35 to 40 centimeters is recommended. Under 25 centimeters, it becomes too tight for the knees.
Does a kitchen island need its own power connection?
A hob on the island needs its own high-voltage connection, and a sink needs two separate water lines. Both run in the floor and must be finalized before the screed is laid.
Planning appointment in Mannheim-Käfertal
Bring your floor plan with you, and we will calculate the walkways together. Our kitchen showroom in Mannheim-Käfertal is located in the annex at Turbinenstraße 30-32, with more than 60 model kitchens and five kitchen consultants. Many things that remain abstract on paper become clear in the room, from the working height to the question of whether a hood over the island bothers you. You can arrange a planning appointment via our house in Mannheim, open from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.