Do I have enough room to add a kitchen island with seating?
Adding seating to a kitchen island can really help enhance its usability, but only if the seating is functional. If space is adequate, adding kitchen island seating is a “no brainer”, but if you don’t have sufficient space, you may benefit more from additional storage space or walking area, instead of seating that gets in the way.
You need to allow 24″ of width for each seating spot at your island. The NKBA recommends 15″ of clear knee space. Granite and quartz counters should normally be extended not more than 1/3 of the total slab width or 12″, which ever is less – without some extra means of support for the granite. Because of this, we often find clients are content with about 12″ of knee space. However, we don’t recommend skimping on the 24″ width standard.
Walking space around your seating is something else to consider. If you want to add a kitchen island with seating, you should allow at least 36″ of clearance from the counter edge to any wall or other obstruction for someone to edge past the seated diner. We recommend 44″ of clearance for someone to walk comfortably past a seated diner.
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