Nice Minimum Clearance Around Kitchen Island

Size and Placement Kitchen islands suck space.

Minimum clearance around kitchen island. This is the smallest possible distance to allow for safe unobstructed passage. 48 is great but few people have room for that. You can stretch the surrounding space to 48.

Counter surface to upper cabinets. At minimum an island should be 4 feet long and a little more than 2 feet deep but it must also have room for people to move and work around it. Islands can vary in size and shape but the minimum recommended size of a fixed kitchen island is 1000mm x 1000mm as pictured above.

No Walkway Behind the Kitchen Island or Peninsula If there is no walkway behind the island or peninsula the National Kitchen and Bath Association NKBA recommends a minimum of 32 of clearance space between the edge of the countertop or table to any wall or other obstruction behind the seating area. The salesman helping me insisted that the clearance be no less than 42. You may have a nice-sized kitchen now but if your island is too large your kitchen will feel cramped.

This is the smallest possible distance for a compact kitchen island to allow for a safe and unobstructed passage. Kitchen Islands Can Vary Widely in Size and Shape. If you need to accommodate a family member or roommate who is in a wheelchair you should leave at least 60 inches of space around the kitchen island.

If I had a cooktop on there i might be leary of the 42 depending on how close the cooktop is to the island. If traffic passes behind the seated diner allow at least 36 inches to slide past or at least 44 inches to walk past. 42 inches minimum in a single-cook kitchen 48 inches minimum in a kitchen where more than one cook may be working.

It is recommended that the minimum clearance distance between kitchen. 42 is my personal requirement. Most small kitchens with U- or L-shape layouts can accomodate an island writes Better Homes Gardens.