New Zealand
Joined: Dec 28, 2014
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Re: Cubic houses - part 3 - re: small kitchen islands
Nice model, I hope you don't mind some comments...
I know kitchen islands are fashionable, but I think small islands are relatively impractical. Charlotte Baden-Powell has written a good book on kitchen design, here's what she has to say on the subject:
The island kitchen, much loved by futuristic designers, often full of gleaming state-of-the-art gadgets, is the least satisfactory arrangement as it entails an excessive amount of walking, needs a large area of circulation space all round and has an insufficient amount of work surface and storage space.
After spending a year or so using Sh3D to discuss potential kitchen designs with our architect, we settled on a conventional U-shape which can be seen in this forum post. Our final design includes some compromises to fit in the space allowed, but it does allow a generous amount of space either side of the main work stations and we only have to pivot or take a couple of steps to move between them. Plus there's enough space for two people to be working together.
I have seen huge kitchens with very large islands, more like continents more than islands. They seem workable, but tend to involve more moving about, especially if they are very long. They certainly make a statement.