The island most kitchens
cannot actually fit.
An island is the most requested thing in a new kitchen and the most often abandoned once the room is measured. Here is what one really needs — and why an island that arrives as built units stays square once the stone goes on.
The number that decides it
An island needs 1,000mm clear on every side, and 1,200mm on any side people walk past while someone is working. That is not a style preference, it is the width of an open dishwasher door plus a person. Add the island depth and you need roughly 3.6 metres of room width before an island is even possible. Measure that first. If the room does not have it, a peninsula gives you most of the bench and none of the squeeze — see the layouts guide for how the four shapes compare.
Seating costs more bench than people expect
An overhang for stools needs 300mm to sit comfortably, which comes off the working side of the island, not out of thin air. Two stools want 1.2m of run, three want 1.8m. If you want seating and a sink and a prep zone in the same island, you are usually looking at 2.4m minimum before it stops feeling cramped.
Services are the hidden cost
A bench is cheap. Power, water and waste in the middle of a slab are not. If the island carries a sink or a cooktop, that decision has to be made before the slab is poured or the floor is opened — retrofitting it later is the single most expensive change people make. If your build has not started, tell us now and it costs almost nothing.
Waterfall ends, and when to skip them
A mitred waterfall end is the detail that makes an island look built rather than assembled, and on a figured stone it is worth the money. On a plain laminate it is not — the join shows and the effect is lost. We will tell you which of those you are looking at before you pay for it.
- 1.8m to 3.0m islands, drawn to your room
- Clearances checked before anything is quoted
- Stone, porcelain or laminate benchtop
- Mitred waterfall ends where the stone earns it
- Power, water and waste coordinated with your trades
- Delivered assembled and installed by our own team
Frequently asked
Kitchen islands — questions
If your question is not here, call the studio. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Ask us directly →How much does a kitchen island cost?
From about $2,850 added to a kitchen for cabinetry and a laminate top. Stone lifts it, and a sink or cooktop in the island adds plumbing and electrical on top of the cabinetry. Draw it in the estimator on our costs page for a figure against your own run.
How much space do I need for a kitchen island?
About 3.6 metres of room width as a working minimum: 1,000mm clearance each side plus the island itself. Below that an island makes the kitchen worse, not better, and a peninsula is the honest answer.
Can I put a sink or cooktop in the island?
Yes, and it is worth deciding early. Both need services run to the middle of the floor, which is straightforward before a slab is poured and expensive afterwards. A cooktop also needs extraction, which usually means a ceiling unit or a downdraft.
Is a peninsula worse than an island?
No — it is different. A peninsula attaches at one end, so it needs clearance on three sides instead of four and fits rooms an island cannot. You lose the ability to walk all the way around, which matters less than most people expect.
In their words
The people who already
cook in one.
“For what we paid compared to what similar kitchens were costing elsewhere, we’re extremely happy with it.”
Rockhampton
“Could not be happier with our kitchen. The funny thing is, pretty much everyone who’s come over since we installed it has asked who did our kitchen and assumed we spent a lot more than we actually did.”
Gladstone
“Once we saw it in person, it was a pretty easy decision. It looked even better than we expected.”
Caboolture
Delivered assembled
The assembly is done
before it arrives.
Carcasses built square on a bench, Blum hardware fitted, doors hung and adjusted to even gaps. On site you are fixing finished cabinets to a wall, not building them on the floor. Our own team fits it in Central Queensland; your installer fits it anywhere else in Australia. Prefer to build it yourself? The same kitchen ships flat pack.
Drawer fronts aligned on the bench, not on site
Island with seating overhang
Long island, one delivery
Kitchen islands
Send us the dimensions.
We will send back a number.
A fixed, itemised quote with nothing hidden in it. If the number does not work for you, you owe us nothing and you keep the drawings.