Kitchen islands

Why people want one

What an island changes in a kitchen

Layout and size

Is there room for an island in your kitchen?

The island itself is rarely the problem; the space around it is. Doors on the dishwasher, the oven and the fridge have to open fully, and two people have to pass each other without turning sideways.

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) publishes planning guidelines that most designers work from. They suggest a work aisle of at least 42 inches where one person cooks and 48 inches where two cook at once, and at least 36 inches for a walkway that people only pass through. These are planning guidelines, not building code, and a kitchen that misses them by a little can still work well.

We start with a tape measure, not a catalog. On the first visit we mark where the island would stand, open every appliance door against it, and check the paths to the sink, the stove and the back door. If the numbers work, we size the island to the room. If they do not, we say so, and show you what a narrower island, a rolling cart or a peninsula would give you instead.

Shape follows the room: a long rectangle along a galley, a near-square in a wide open kitchen, sometimes two smaller pieces with a path between them. The height can be one level throughout, or a raised bar along the seating side that hides the work surface from the living room.

What we build

What goes into a kitchen island

Each island is planned on the first visit. These are the parts we work through with you.

• Base cabinets and storage

  Drawers, doors, pull-outs and open shelves on any side, matched to your other cabinets or set apart in a different color or wood.

• The island top

  Stone or another surface you choose, the same as your counters or a contrast. A large top is often one piece, or the seams are planned where they will not show.

• A sink or cooktop, if you want one

  Water, drain and vent for a prep or main sink; gas or a dedicated circuit and ventilation for a cooktop.

• Seating

  An overhang deep enough for knees, wide enough for each stool, supported so it does not tip or sag.

• Power

  Outlets placed where the electrical code allows and where you will reach them, plus circuits for anything built in.

Plumbing and gas

Moving a sink or cooktop into the island

Facing the room while you wash or cook is the main reason people ask for this. It is also the part that turns an island from furniture into construction.

A sink in an island still needs everything a wall sink has: hot and cold water, a drain with the right slope, and a vent so the drain flows and does not gurgle. Against a wall, the vent goes up inside it. In the middle of the room there is no wall, so the venting is planned with the permit for that layout. On a concrete slab, common in many houses, the slab is cut to run the drain to the island and patched after. Over a crawl space, the lines usually run underneath with less opened up.

A cooktop in an island needs gas or its own electric circuit, and the cooking air has to go somewhere: a hood hung from the ceiling above the island, or a downdraft that pulls the air down and out through the floor or the cabinet. The choice changes the look of the room and what has to be run through the ceiling or the floor, so we settle it during design.

Whatever moves, the old spot has to be closed off properly: capped lines, a patched wall and floor, and a counter that now runs where the sink used to be. We handle the permits and the plans for all of it.

How it goes

From measuring to the finished island

1. Measure

   We visit, mark out the island on the floor and check every path and appliance door against it.

2. Design

   Size, shape, storage, the top, seating, and whether water, gas or power go into it. Design is included.

3. Plans and permits

   When plumbing, gas or electrical work reaches the island, we prepare the plans and pull the permits.

4. Build

   Lines run through the floor first, then the cabinets are set and leveled, then the top goes on and the floor is finished around the base.

The floor underneath

What happens to the floor under a new island?

A new island stands on the floor you have, so the floor's condition matters. Tile and stone are cut and patched where lines come up; a wood floor can be opened and woven back in. When an old island comes out, the floor below it is usually bare or a different color, because the flooring was laid around it, so that patch is planned before the work starts.

If the kitchen flooded, the island is not set until the readings say the structure below is dry. A real example: on the Fremont kitchen we rebuilt in 2026, the sink sits in a peninsula, now under a new stone counter, and the floor and cabinets went back only after the drying was done.

Cost and planning

What sets the price of a kitchen island?

The first consultation and quote are free. Our work comes with a written warranty, its terms set in your contract, and financing is available through our lending partner.

Pages that go with a kitchen island

• Kitchen remodelingWhen the island is one part of a whole new kitchen.
• The Fremont jobA real kitchen, dried and rebuilt with new stone counters.
• Construction & remodelingEverything else we build, room by room.
• PortfolioThe video of every job we can show.

Questions

What people ask about kitchen islands

Clearance and seating sizes: National Kitchen & Bath Association, Kitchen Planning Guidelines. Planning guidance, not a building code; your city's code and permit decide what is required.