CAM 14-23.3:Cambria
5/27/10
12:38 PM
Page 18
CAMBRIAN BLACK WITH KENSINGTON ISLAND
SIZING THE ISLAND Designer Lyn Peterson, author of Real Life Kitchens, has this advice for minimum clearances around an island
ALLOW AT LEAST:
30-34 inches between the island and cabinetry with no appliances. If you don’t have enough space, you might consider installing shallower cabinets along one wall to create more room. 37 inches minimum between the island and a sink; 39 to 42 inches is ideal.
18
CAMBRIA STYLE
In main traffic ways or walls with appliances, allow more space—42 to 48 inches between island and wall. Be sure to allow space to open a refrigerator or dishwasher door and still have room for people to pass by. The NKBA recommends that no traffic patterns cross through the basic work triangle. If you have seating at the island, you’ll
also need to allow space to pull out stools: Jennifer Howard recommends at least 48 inches clearance on the seating side. “The island does not have to be centered in the kitchen,” points out Peterson. It can gravitate closer to the cooking area, creating a narrower aisle, to discourage guests and children from taking that route through the space. “Islands and peninsulas should buffer the cooking zone and segregate it from the noncooks, keeping the hoi polloi on the far side of the island,” she says.