Our aisle between our island and rangetop area is 36" or maybe even a little less and I find it quite comfortable, even with kids occasionally going past. I don't have oven or dw doors opening into the space, but I still think you could do just fine with the 38" for your work aisle. I, like the info in the thread you read, worry more about aisles getting too wide, and others like wide aisles, so I'm betting you'll get opinions from both sides.

Can you post a layout? That would make it easier to see if there are any particular problems you may encounter with your aisle widths.

Is this a one-person kitchen...both now in the future (i.e., next 10 years or so)?

You will actually have much less than you think...you need a minimum of 9" counter space behind the back of the cooktop...which means your island will need to be at least: 30" deep (assuming 2" or 3" in front of the cooktop + 19" deep cooktop + 9" behind). PLUS, each wall run, if there's a counter, will actually be 25-1/2" deep b/c of the counter overhang. So...

25-1/2" + 30" + 25-1/2" = 81"
144" - 81" = 63"
63" / 2 = 31-1/2" aisles.

That 9", btw, is not a very good safety margin for such tight aisles...you really need more like 18" b/w the back of the cooktop & the edge of the counter with no seating....24" with seating.

Does the cooktop have to be on the island? Can't it be on one of the walls? Safety is the first concern. The next is venting. Downdrafts are not much better than no venting & over-island vents are usually quite intrusive and much more expensive than a wall-mount vent.

Could we see a layout? Perhaps we can help you find a better layout... You seem open to it since you have expressed a valid concern about your proposed aisle widths.

i have a 12' wide kitchen with an island. my aisles are 39" and are plenty enough. we do not feel the least bit cramped. i have seating on one side of the island, and my dishwasher and sink on the other side. the dishwasher door has plenty of room when opened even to pass around. on one end of the island, is my stove and refrigerator. i have about 4' maybe a few more inches. there are many times when my DH is in there with me doing something too.

My prep island to stove is 34" counter edge to counter edge. Works great for that short cooks-only section of my kitchen. I recommend it. Although, you don't need to be able to open full-extension drawers and doors fully from both sides at once (how often do you actually need to do that compared to how often you schlep items from one counter to another), the ability to fully open the dishwasher and oven and still pass by to work from/on the other side is another matter altogether.

I imagine your layout could work very well depending in its relationship to the rest of the house and its residents' needs. Such as the significant safety issue Buehl discusses. That narrower aisle would work especially fine if it were storage only on the far side and if it were only a secondary traffic conduit through a room used mostly by cooks and/or adults.

I agree with buehl, the cooktop makes it more of an issue. If you can post the floor plan please do, there could be an option you can't think about but someone else will

Thanks so much for the help. I am working on posting a floor plan. You have me seriously thinking about moving the cook top off the island and against a wall. I would just use the island for prep.

My kitchen if slightly more than 12'. My aisles are 36" and comfortable. Our cooktop is located on the perimeter. We use our island for prep and casual seating. This arrangement works well.

I have an aisle in my kitchen that is 36" wide (distance from counter edge to counter edge - the cabinet boxes are 39" apart) for a distance of 4'. I find that works fine. It is next to my baking center - the counter with the mixer and most of my baking supplies is on one side of the aisle and the other side is the island surface where I knead, roll dough and fill baking sheets. The baking sheet cabinet is on that side. The small width is convenient there because I'm often working between both sides and both sides are in arms reach from the same spot.

Part of the dishwasher is on narrow part of the aisle also. With the door open to empty it, I can just squeeze past the door.

However, the main aisle with the fridge and ovens is wider. 36" would not leave room to stand at the end of an open oven door (for the usual top opening oven door) and it wouldn't work for a single door fridge.

And I agree with the others about the cooktop making the aisle width more of an issue particularly if the aisle is a walkway to another room. The cook might be expected to be careful of the stove, but someone else passing through might not be aware. I would prefer to have a foot of counter between the back of a cooktop and a walkway.

I have an island cooktop and an overhead hood. We don't find it visually intrusive and that cooktop position gives the most workable layout to our L plus island kitchen. However, I agree that the island version of a hood often costs more. Hood prices were quite an eye-opener. Ours cost about $1000 more than the equivalent wall model and even on lower cost hoods the island version often costs $500 more. It is more expensive because it needs to have structure to support itself from the ceiling rather than being bolted to the wall and it needs to be finished on 4 sides.

Ditto everything that riverhouse_designs said, except our kitchen is 14.5 feet wide. Our aisles are 36" wide measured from the edges of the countertops. DH and I occasionally bump into each other but we don't mind that.

My kitchen is 12' wide. I have a 32" wide island, regular cab depth on the sink side, pantry wall on the other side is 17" deep. Cooktop in the island. I have 9" on the back side of the cooktop.

I know many will shudder at this, but I manage with 35 1/2" on the sink/cook side, and 32" on the pantry side. I chose to have the extra space on my work side so skimped on the far side.
I do not in the least find it cramped. I find it very efficient. It is a one cook kitchen in a 2 person household. I've had 4 other people in the kitchen while I've finished off getting a meal ready and it has worked out just fine.

Once in a while I may have to wait a moment while DH gets something from the fridge before I pass through, but it is a small inconvenience offset by the glorious functionality I have the rest of the time.

I thought long and hard about all issues surrounding less than the minimum recommended aisle width plus putting my cooktop in the island. In the end I went ahead anyway and created this kitchen to work for me and I do not regret any of my decisions at all.

My kitchen is 11 feet wide and I have a 3 x 5.5 foot island with seating on three sides. I have cabinets on only one side in the area where the island is though. The other side is a walkway to our porch and deck. My aisle on the walkway side is 36" and the other side by the cooktop is 34". My island is clear - cooktop is on the perimeter. We've had no problems and no regrets about the narrower aisles. We love having the island and it all works perfect for us. Here are a couple pics.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

If your island does not contain a cooktop and is for prep only, why don't you put it on lockable wheels and see where it feels most comfortable.You can probably hide the wheels behind fake feet or plinths/baseboard. I was thinking of doing this in my narrow kitchen before I decided to enlarge the kitchen.

This forum is amazing. Thanks so much for all the responses. I am so grateful. I have been studying all your comments and searching for photos to match with your kitchens.

Katienic - you did exactly what I was thinking about - well, almost exactly. Like you I was going to make the back wall of cabinets narrower than normal and skimp on the clearances to fit the island/cooktop in. I am glad you are happy with your layout. I found a photo of your kitchen and it looks comfortable and well proportioned. I can see how it would be so functional, too.

I have been thinking hard about this issue and because I have 4 kids, it is just probably too risky to put a cook top on the island. If it was just me and dh, that would be a different story. There would be lots of traffic behind the island.

It is great to hear how happy everyone here is with the functionality of the narrow clearances though. I am going to move forward and ask my KD to make the island a prep space and move the cook top.

Thanks!!

Jama

I don't have a problem with slightly narrower-than-recommended aisles. There are many things you can do to make them liveable --
And I don't have a problem with island cooktops. There are many things you can do to make them functional and safe.

But both together? That I DO have a problem with, unless there is virtually NO foot traffic on either side of the cooktop.

Jama, if I had 4 kids I'd also be rethinking the cooktop in the island especially when you'd have to skimp on the clearance. I'd be having visions of one chasing another through there with no comprehension to what might be cooking. Definitely, in your situation is could be a hazard.

Yes, I feel less than ideal works for me because I'm pretty much the only one in the kitchen, but I am very aware that when our little grand daughter is here to visit I'll be arranging my meals & cooking methods with her safety in mind.

Good for you for thinking it all through so well in your planning stage. :)

My neighbor has a cooktop on her narrow island and she often has to think about whether she wants to cook something or not depending on the day/etc.
Meaning, she wouldn't fry or something (splattering onto the floor on both isles) if she don't have time to clean the floor that day...

I'm pro moving the range to the wall and prep on island...
good luck.