thank you - this is extremely helpful! though disheartening b/c it seems we will be short on space no matter what we do. yes, we're putting in three stools on the overhang side.

we've only got about 4.5" of capacity to shift the island b/c of plumbing. so if we move it 4", with a 15" overhang we'll end up with a 37" aisle. certainly not ideal. and on the flip side it will shrink our aisle between the island and the perimeter to 42" when accounting for the bit of countertop there too. ugh.

Yeah, unfortunately, I think it will be tight. Do you need that narrow piece of furniture on the wall behind the stools? It looks like it's about 12" deep. That 12" matters! Moving that elsewhere will free up some much needed space for traffic and help you keep a wider aisle between island and perimeter cabinets.

I researched this for our counter height island in the past. I forget who, but someone's husband was really tall. They made one side a 15" overhang just for him and the other side 12". Well, he ended up always sitting at the 12" side and was perfectly comfortable. She regretted losing that 3" she could have had in the isle.

Maybe try putting a piece of wood or something to mimic the overhang with husband seated at the island. Ask what he prefers and go from there.

I would hate to lose that nice 47" wide isle in your cleanup and cooking zones. Mine is 53". I cannot tell you how much I love having a big isle between my sink and island. I'm never feel like I'm "cheek to cheek" with the person at the sink if I'm prepping at the island. :-)

I am assuming that is a hutch and its about 12" deep. I think you could keep the 47" isle in the kitchen you have adequate space to walk by still, if you move the hutch. Is there somewhere else it could be moved because that might solve your problem.

Adding the 12" to 48" would be 60" from island cabinet to wall. Minus 24" for the stool pulled out when someone's seated leaves 36". That is without moving the island and keeping the 47". Is my math right?

yes, it's exactly 11" and unfortunately we can't lose it. of course, i am also not anticipating the island will be in use all that often - certainly not as a dedicated dining spot. and i pretty much never have two cooks in my kitchen unless my mom is here for a holiday.

here i am, trying to justify why it's going to be ok...b/c it has to be. i can't create more room than i've got. :(

Ok I just saw your other thread on colors and see from those picture where this hutch will be. Looks like it'll be lighted up and very beautiful!

It your case, I think gaining the 4" for the main walkway would be best and if husband is comfortable maybe do just a 12" overhang.

yeah, i have to keep playing with it...before Monday... i think 12" is too short. going with something in the middle is going to be my best bet

thank you, guys

so i've been obsessively going over this. i've 47" in the work aisle from cabinet door to cabinet door. i've read that the standard 1.5"ish overhang is from the cabinet base, not from the door. the doors already cover an inch of that. so when adding the countertop, i'll lose a total of an inch or inch and a half. so down to 46" (or 45" at the most)

i could then steal three inches (down to 43" or 42") to give to the other side and keep the overhang to 14"

that would leave me with an aisle of 37" - certainly not ideal or spacious, but it could be worse. and i think i can still work well as a 90% of the time one-person cook in a 42"/43" work space

so...i think this is going to probably the best we can do

The overhang - will that be for actually eating meals or just hanging out. If it's just for hanging out you could shorten up the overhang.

When you're using that aisle as a walkway, how often will people be also sitting at the island?

Is it more important for you, as the cook, to be more comfortable in your work space or those who are walking down the aisleway.

Really sit down and visualize how often and by who and actually when, that aisleway is going to be used as a walkway. And also think about how often and when people will be, at that same time, be sitting at the island.

Blfenton has good advice to really analyze everything. I was rethinking myself, and I think I would be ticked if I lost that space on the kitchen side. Even if you are the only cook all the time, trust me, you will love having that extra space!

Think about what is more important.

1) You, the main cook, appreciating that space for maybe up to a couple hours each and everyday day? Or.....

2) You or someone else appreciating the walking space, when and if someone is seated at the island, and when and if you need to go passed that space, once or twice a week for two seconds?

The cook takes priority in my book. :-)

We sit in our kitchen and read, newspapers and everything else. So for us, having a comfortable overhang is paramount, esp if dh is so tall.

I was popping in here to say basically what rebunky said. Of course, ask the questions blfenton suggested and more to ensure the best decision for you. I think your kitchen is going to be lovely and you're in the final stretch! Best wishes.

My family is tall and 15" is barely acceptable for us. In fact, only my DD (6') and I (5'10") think 15" is enough. My DH (6'5") and DS (6'7") find the overhang too shallow and rarely use it for that reason. A friend of ours has 12" and they NEVER use it b/c it's just too uncomfortable. If they wanted to sit there, they'd have to sit sideways and twist to visit someone in the kitchen, which is not comfortable for more than a 2 or 3 minutes.

At our 15" overhang, they have to "straddle" the cabinets and lean forward to be able to use the counter - again, that's not comfortable for very long. I wish now we had done 18".

Your DH is about the same height as my DH, so I would recommend no less than 15" of clear knee/leg space - which means an island 42" deep:

1.5" overhang + 24" deep cabinets + 1" decorative door/panel + 15" overhang = 41.5"

Regarding your plan. If you are already accounting for the doors & drawer fronts, then you've already accounted for approximately 1" of that overhang. So, you need to factor in another 1/2" to 1" - not the entire 1.5" to 2". Most overhangs are closer to the 1.5" mark. This means you only need to reduce the aisle widths by about an inch on each side - so 2" off the aisle b/w the sink and island - that brings your aisle down to 45", a decent width.

Regarding the amount of space behind the island - you have workspace behind the island, the aisle should be a bit wider to accommodate space for someone to sit at the island as well as someone working at the counter behind or getting things out of the cabinets behind - the recommendation is 54" for that use.

Do you need that cabinet/counter behind the island? It looks lonesome there...

I see other issues - e.g., the DW appears to be b/w the range and sink and in the Prep Zone aisle - so maybe 45" or 47" isn't wide enough...that's assuming that cabinet #9 is the DW and not cabinet #7. Is the range cabinet #1 and the hood #18? Or, is it on the far right? Somewhere else?

I can't tell from the diagram, it there a sink or appliance in the island?

How about 42" aisle on the top (between back wall and island)? We have only 42" and it is fine.

there's a prep sink and a dishwasher drawer in the island. the main dishwasher is to the left of the main sink. in between the main sink and stove top is a trash pull out and a oil pull out.

discussed a lot with DH. he feels strongly that we should be prioritizing the walkway b/c he thinks we'll want to have as clear a path as possible. and i think he's probably right.

so if we have 47" from door front to door front, so we only have to account for another inch of overhang, that brings it to 46". if we cut 4" from that side and bring the work aisle down to 42", that will allow a 14" overhang (we will not be eating meals, but will be hanging) and 38" walkway

still not a great walkway/pass-through but that's really the best we can do.

If possible, take something solid, a table or some chairs and turn them with their backs 38" away from a counter or another table. That will give you an idea of the width you have to deal with. As long as you have thought this through and have done your prioritizing that's all you can do. :You just want to avoid surprises when you're finished.

For those of you with 15" overhang on 36" countertops, how do you find the 15" overhang? Do your knees hit the cabinet or is there 1 to 2 inches of clearance?