Guide
How much space and planning does a kitchen island need?
A kitchen island needs clear walkways on every side, commonly around a metre, plus room for appliance doors and drawers to open. If it will have a sink, hob or sockets, services must be run under the floor, which is simple on a timber floor but needs cutting and ducting in concrete. A mid-range island without services typically costs £2,000–£5,000 fitted.
How much space does an island need?
An island needs room to walk all the way round it, with space for doors and drawers to open on both sides. Walkways are commonly planned at around a metre, and more where two people cook at once or where a dishwasher or oven door opens into the gap. In a narrow room, an island squeezed in can make the kitchen harder to use, not easier, and leaves no room to pass when someone is loading the dishwasher.
Mark the island out on the floor with tape before deciding, then open the existing oven and dishwasher doors and walk the routes. If the room cannot take a full island, a peninsula gives similar worktop and seating while using one wall for support and services.
Should an island have a sink, a hob or neither?
A plain island with storage and seating is the simplest and cheapest, because it needs no services beyond perhaps a few sockets. A sink on the island keeps the washing-up facing the room but brings water and waste across the floor. A hob on the island means extraction overhead or a downdraft extractor, plus a dedicated circuit or a gas supply.
Think about mess and safety too. A hob on an island with seating on the same side puts children and guests close to hot pans. Many people keep the hob on a wall run and use the island for preparation, serving and eating.
How do you get power to an island?
Power usually comes up through the floor from a nearby circuit or a new one. On a suspended timber floor, cables run between the joists; on a concrete floor, a channel is cut and the cable laid in a duct or protective conduit before the floor is reinstated. Power to an island on a suspended floor is typically £250–£600 including VAT.
Sockets on an island are often fitted on the side panel or as pop-up units in the worktop. In Wales, extending an existing kitchen circuit is notifiable; in England, new circuits are notifiable. Every nation expects the work to meet BS 7671 and be certified.
How are water and waste run to an island?
An island sink needs hot and cold supplies and a waste with a steady fall to the stack or drain. Under a timber floor, pipes can usually run between the joists if the joists go the right way. Across concrete, the floor has to be chased out and reinstated. In some layouts a pumped waste is the only practical route.
Plan the island position around the drainage, not the other way round. Hot, cold and waste to an island sink on a suspended floor is typically £300–£800 including VAT, and chasing services into a concrete floor adds £400–£1,500, depending on the distance.
What about extraction over an island hob?
An island hob needs a ceiling-mounted or island cooker hood, ducted through the ceiling void to an outside wall, or a downdraft extractor that rises from the worktop and ducts through the plinth. An island or ceiling hood is typically £300–£630 to install, as it needs two people and fixings into the ceiling structure.
Check the ceiling before committing: the duct route depends on which way the joists run and what is above. In England and Wales, a cooker hood extracting outside needs to remove about 30 litres per second. A recirculating island hood avoids ducting but does not remove moisture, so another extract fan is usually needed.
What does a kitchen island cost?
Costs depend on the size, the finish, the worktop and whether services are involved. These are national guide ranges including VAT, varying by region and confirmed after a survey visit once the floor construction and service routes have been checked. Services under a concrete floor are the item most likely to move the price.
- Island fitted, no services, mid-range: £2,000–£5,000
- Power to an island on a suspended floor: £250–£600
- Hot, cold and waste to an island sink: £300–£800
- Extra for chasing services into a concrete floor: £400–£1,500
- Large bespoke island with cabinets on both faces, stone worktop and appliances: £6,000–£12,000
How long does an island take to fit?
The island itself usually takes one to three days on site, as part of a wider kitchen fit or on its own. Services add time, especially under a solid floor, where the floor has to be cut, the pipes and cables laid in ducts and the floor reinstated and left to cure before units and flooring go over it.
Stone worktops for an island follow the same pattern as the rest of the kitchen: templated once the island carcasses are fixed and level, then fitted about one to two weeks later. Large single slabs are heavy, so access through the house is checked at the survey.
Seating, overhangs and worktop details
If the island has stools, allow a worktop overhang deep enough for knees, and check the height: worktop-height islands suit stools of one size and raised breakfast bars another. Stone overhangs beyond a certain depth need support brackets or legs, which the stone fabricator will specify when templating.
End panels finish the visible sides, and the back of the island needs proper panels or cabinets rather than bare carcass. Pendant lights over the island are typically £100–£250 each to fit, and their positions should be planned with the electrics at first fix.
Questions
Can an island be added to an existing kitchen?
Often, yes, if there is enough floor space and the flooring runs under where the island will sit, or can be patched neatly. A plain island needs no services and can go in within a day or two. Adding power, water or extraction later means lifting or cutting the floor, so it is easier to plan them in from the start.
Does a kitchen island need sockets?
There is no rule that it must, but most people find sockets on an island useful for small appliances and charging. They are usually fitted to the end or side panels, or as pop-up units set into the worktop. The cable run must be planned at first fix, as adding it after the floor is finished is far more disruptive.
Is a peninsula better than an island in a small kitchen?
Often, yes. A peninsula is joined to a wall or run of units at one end, so it needs walkway space on fewer sides and services can come through the adjoining units. It gives similar worktop and seating to an island in less floor space, which suits many narrower kitchens and kitchen-diners.
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This guide is general information about kitchen fitting in the UK, not legal, tax, electrical or structural advice for your property. Rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; check with your local authority or a qualified adviser before relying on it.