Kitchen islands in New Jersey — waterfall tops, fluted panels, seating for six

Size first, then style

An island needs 42 inches of aisle on the working sides (48 if two people cook), 24 inches of counter per seat and a 12-inch overhang for knees — which means a 10×10 kitchen rarely has room for one, and a 12×15 can take a six-foot island with three seats. Our island size and seating guide has the numbers; the designer draws the room with the island and the clearances in 3D so you see whether the dishwasher door and the refrigerator door still open.

The island details we build most

• Waterfall ends. The countertop turns down one or both ends — the Livingston quartzite island, the marble waterfall in the Hale Navy kitchen, the Calacatta waterfall, the Chatham slab island.
• Fluted and reeded faces. Vertical ribs on the seating side: the fluted Desert Oak island, the fluted Pitch Black island, the reeded Evergreen Fog island in Shiloh's Reeded Malibu door.
• A second colour or wood. Oak, walnut, Timber, navy, black — the two-tone page lists the pairings.
• Seating for six. The Sable island seats six on two sides; ten-foot islands in the rift oak kitchen and the Union kitchen seat four.
• Storage and function. Trash pull-outs, a microwave drawer, a beverage centre, drawers on the working side, panels and furniture feet on the seating side, outlets in the end panel.

Sink or cooktop in the island?

A sink in the island makes the island the prep centre and keeps the range wall clean; it needs a plumbing run and a dishwasher beside it. A cooktop in the island needs a hood above it or a downdraft, and 24 inches of landing space each side. We draw both and price the trades with the cabinets, so the choice is made with the whole number in front of you.

Islands in every line

Every line we carry builds an island from standard base cabinets, panels and a furniture toe kick, so an island is possible at the stocked level — the Cranford Petit Oak island with a waterfall top is Forevermark. Fluted and reeded panels, custom colours and furniture details come from the semi-custom and custom lines.