Guides
Planning a kitchen island
An island is the one piece of a kitchen that has no wall behind it, which is exactly why it needs planning before anything else is ordered.
Most people decide on an island from a photograph, and the photograph never shows the walkway. An island only works if people can pass each other around it with drawers and the dishwasher open, and if the cook can turn from hob to sink without walking round the end. When the room is not wide enough for that, the island becomes an obstacle that gets walked around all day.
Element pages explain one part of a larger renovation in detail: what is being chosen, what the installation involves, and where the cost and time usually sit.
The second question is what the island will carry. A plain worktop needs nothing but a floor that is level. A sink, a hob or even a couple of sockets mean services have to cross the floor to reach it, and in most Dubai villas and apartments that means opening the screed or running services through the ceiling below. Deciding this early is what keeps the floor from being dug up twice.
What matters most on this page
Clearance comes before size
Measure the walkways first and let the island take whatever space is left. Shrinking walkways to fit a bigger island is the usual mistake.
Every service crosses the floor
Sockets, a sink or a hob in the island all need routes through the floor build-up, which must be planned before screeding or tiling.
Seating changes the depth
Stools need a worktop overhang and knee space. That is extra depth the island takes out of the room.
What an island has to accommodate
A sink in the island
Needs a waste route with enough fall to reach the drainage. On a solid slab the route is often the deciding factor, not the cabinetry.
A hob in the island
Needs extraction overhead or downdraft, and a clear zone around it so seated guests are not next to hot pans.
Power on the island
Sockets on the end panel or a pop-up unit are common. Either way the cable has to come up through the floor in a protected route.
Before you commit to an island
Tape the island out on the floor
Mark its footprint and walk the kitchen for a day. It is the cheapest test of whether the room can take it.
Decide what it will carry
Worktop only, sink, hob or sockets. Each one adds a service route that has to be designed now.
Check what is under the floor
Whether the slab is solid and where the nearest drainage runs decides how far a sink can move.
Questions we are often asked
Can an island go in an apartment kitchen?
Sometimes, but the floor build-up is often thin and drainage cannot be moved freely. A worktop-only island or a peninsula is usually easier.
Is a peninsula a good alternative?
Often. It joins a wall, so services can reach it without crossing the floor, and it needs walkway space on fewer sides.
Should the island match the rest of the kitchen?
It does not have to. A contrasting island is common, but the worktop thickness and height usually match so the kitchen reads as one design.
Related guides
- Kitchen layout planningThe next component to decide in the same room.
- Open plan kitchen conversionThe next component to decide in the same room.
- Quartz vs granite worktopsA choice that shapes how this element is built.
- Kitchen renovation costHow this element sits in the overall budget.
Start from kitchen renovation, browse the guides, or see all renovation and fit-out services. We work on homes and commercial premises across Dubai.
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Tell us which room, which element and what is being replaced. We will confirm the measurements and the sequence that follows.
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Next step
Check whether your kitchen can take an island
Send the kitchen dimensions and a photograph of the floor area. We will say what the walkways allow and what the services would involve.