Island Kitchens in London
Cabinetry for an island kitchen from £8,900, fitted, including VAT; worktops and appliances are quoted separately. Book a free design visit for a fixed quote made to your measurements, finishes and colours →
How an island worksSee the layout ↓
St John's Wood Shaker Island KitchenView this design →
Blackheath Slab Island KitchenView this design →
Belgravia Black Island KitchenView this design →
Kensington Island KitchenView this design →
Maida Vale Handleless KitchenView this design →
Shoreditch Oak Handleless KitchenView this design →
Clapham Shaker KitchenView this design →
Hampstead Shaker KitchenView this design →
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Island Kitchens in London
A run of cabinetry on the wall and a freestanding island in front of it, with prep space on the kitchen side and seating on the room side. The layout for an open-plan room with the floor to walk round it.
The island kitchen, in plan
The wall run carries the services: sink under the window, dishwasher beside it, hob with worktop either side, and the fridge and the oven tower together at one end. The island stands in front of it, 2.4 metres long and a metre deep with the seating overhang, and the space around it is what sets the room. A metre of clear floor on every walked side is the least; 1.2 metres between the run and the island where dishwasher and oven doors open into the gap. That makes a room 3.6 metres wide the absolute minimum and 4.2 metres comfortable.
Room width 3.6m minimum, 4.2m comfortable · Clear all round 1.0m minimum, 1.2m where doors open into the gap · Island 1.8 to 3.0m long, 900 to 1000mm deep, 300mm overhang · Wall run sink, hob, tall units together
Getting an island kitchen right
Six things a designer checks before an island kitchen is drawn.
The room, not the island
An island is sized by the floor around it. A metre on every walked side, 1.2 metres where the dishwasher and the oven open into the gap. Below that, a peninsula gives most of the benefit.
Island size
Nine hundred to a thousand deep, 1.8 to 3.0 metres long. Longer than 3.0 metres and the walk round it undoes the point; deeper than a metre and the far side cannot be reached.
What it carries
Prep worktop, pan drawers and seating as standard. A hob needs a downdraught or a ceiling hood; a sink needs a drain under the floor; both are decided before the floor goes down.
Services under the floor
Power for sockets in the island end is the least it needs; a hob needs a supply, a sink needs a drain. In a ground-floor extension these go in the slab, so the island is drawn before the builder pours it.
Tall units together
Fridge and oven tower at one end of the wall run, so the worktop between them and the sink is unbroken and the island faces a run of worktop rather than a wall of doors.
Lit from above
Pendants or downlights over the island on their own dimmer, LED under the wall units for the run. The island is the one part of a kitchen lit from the ceiling.
Room sizes for an island kitchen
What each size of room holds, and the clear floor it leaves. Your designer measures the room and adapts the layout to it.
| Room | What fits | Clear space |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum · 3.6m wide | A wall run with sink and hob, and a 1.8m island with two stools | 1.0m all round, 1.2m at the run |
| Comfortable · 4.2m × 4.2m Most rooms | A 4.8m wall run with tall units together, a 2.4m island with three stools and pan drawers on the kitchen side | 1.2m at the run, 1.0m elsewhere |
| Generous · 5.0m × 5.0m or more | An L or a U of wall runs, a 3.0m island with a hob and downdraught or a second sink, four stools, and a dining table beyond | 1.2m all round |
The wall run and the island
The wall run and the island share one worktop height, 910mm, so the two read as one kitchen. On the kitchen side the island is drawers, deep ones for pans and shallow ones for tools, with a bin pull-out near the sink end. On the room side the worktop overhangs 300mm for three stools and the panel below is finished as furniture. Where the hob goes on the island, a downdraught extractor keeps the ceiling clear; where it stays on the wall, the island is pure prep and the pendants over it are for the people.
Worktop 910mm on the run and the island · Island, kitchen side pan drawers, bin pull-out, or the hob with a downdraught · Island, room side 300mm overhang, three stools at 650mm · Tall units together at one end of the wall run
Planning an island kitchen
Five decisions, in the order your designer makes them.
The island, built
The Kensington is a pale sage handleless island kitchen: a wall run under roof lights, and a quartz-topped island with a breakfast bar, a lit plinth and pan drawers on the kitchen side. The Belgravia is the same layout in matt black, with a range cooker and a lit marble splashback on the wall and a large island with seating for three in front of it.
Both are single wall runs with an island, which is the island layout in its simplest form. Where the wall run turns a corner it becomes an L with an island; where a third wall is used it is a U with an island in the middle. And where the width is not there, the island joins the wall at one end and becomes a peninsula.
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Questions about the island layout.
At least a metre of clear floor on every side you walk around, and 1.2 metres between the island and the wall run where a dishwasher or an oven door opens into the gap. For a modest island that means a room about 3.6 metres wide as an absolute minimum and closer to 4.2 metres to be comfortable. Below that, a peninsula gives most of the benefit without the pinch points.
Between 1.8 and 3.0 metres long and 900 to 1000mm deep, including a 300mm overhang for seating. Shorter than 1.8 metres it is a table; longer than 3.0 metres the walk around it undoes the reason for having it; deeper than a metre the middle of the top cannot be reached from either side. A 2.4-metre island seats three and gives a metre and a half of prep space.
On the wall, unless the cook wants to face the room while cooking. A hob on the island needs a downdraught extractor in the worktop or a ceiling hood over it, and a gas or electric supply under the floor; it also puts heat and splashes where people sit. A hob on the wall with a hood keeps the island as prep space and seating, which is what most families use it for.
Yes, if a drain can be run under the floor with enough fall to reach the soil pipe, which in a ground-floor extension means deciding before the slab is poured. A sink on the island puts the cook facing the room while they wash and prepare, which is why it is popular; the cost is a wall run without a sink, and a dishwasher that has to go on the island too.
Power at the very least: sockets in the end panel or a pop-up in the top. A hob needs its supply, a sink needs water and a drain, and both run under the floor to the wall. In a new extension we give the builder the island position and its services before the floor goes down; in an existing room the floor is lifted along one route, which is why island services are decided at the design visit.
Three at a 2.4-metre island, four at 3.0 metres, allowing 600mm per person. The overhang on the room side needs to be 300mm at worktop height for knees, with the stools at 650mm for a 910mm top. Seating goes on the room side only; the kitchen side is drawers and prep space, and the two are separated by the worktop itself.
The island adds a freestanding piece of cabinetry finished on all four sides, its worktop, and services under the floor, so an island layout costs more than the same wall run alone. Our island kitchens start from £8,900 for the cabinetry, delivered and fitted, with most between £8,900 and £12,600. Prices include VAT, delivery and installation by our own fitters; worktops, appliances, sink and tap are quoted separately. A design visit gives you a fixed written price for your room.
A room to cook in. One design visit.
Our senior designer draws the island and its walkways first, then the wall run around it, free, at your home, with the door samples.