An outdoor kitchen island gets most of the budget and most of the planning. Stainless steel doors, a grill, a sink, maybe a pizza oven. The seating comes last, and that order causes trouble: stools of the wrong height, a table in the smoke, no room for the cook to step back. Our desk quotes Kettal seating and tables, and your kitchen builder supplies the island itself. This guide covers the part we know.
Three zones around one island
Think of the island as a room with three edges. The work side belongs to the cook and needs three to four feet of clear floor behind it. The perch side has an overhang where guests sit on stools and talk while food happens. Past that, a few steps away, the dining table takes the full meal.
Keep a clear path from the island to the table, wide enough to carry a hot tray. Put the table upwind of the grill if you can, so smoke drifts away from the guests.
three zones around the island
- 01Work side the cook's side, 3 to 4 feet clear behind
- 02Perch side stools at the overhang for guests who chat
- 03Path a clear route from island to table for hot plates
- 04Table the full meal, a few steps from the grill smoke
Get the heights right
Islands come in two common heights. A counter height top sits at about 36 inches and wants stools with a seat at about 24 to 26 inches. A bar height top sits at about 42 inches and wants seats at about 28 to 30 inches. Give each stool about 24 inches of counter so knees and elbows have room. Confirm the height with your builder before you choose seats, because you feel a two inch mismatch at each meal.
heights that work together
-
01
Counter height island
- Top height
- About 36 inches
- Seat height
- About 24 to 26 inches
- Seat width
- About 24 inches per stool
-
02
Bar height island
- Top height
- About 42 inches
- Seat height
- About 28 to 30 inches
- Seat width
- About 24 inches per stool
-
03
Dining table
- Top height
- About 29 to 30 inches
- Seat height
- About 17 to 19 inches
- Seat width
- About 24 to 30 inches per chair
A teak dining zone: Kettal Riva
Jasper Morrison built Kettal Riva the old way, with seats and backs made of teak planks. The wood holds natural oils that help it resist moisture, and if you leave it bare it fades from honey brown to silver gray. The range includes a teak garden chair, a low lounge chair, a fabric armchair, sofas, a rectangular teak table and low tables in teak or marble. See the Riva collection.
Teak suits a kitchen garden. It looks at home next to a stone island and a lawn, and grease or wine marks sand out of it.
An aluminum dining zone: Kettal Park Life
Kettal Park Life, also by Jasper Morrison, puts Porotex fabric on aluminum frames. The dining chairs stack, and Kettal describes the whole family as easy to stack for storage. Tables come with stone, marble or aluminum tops. See the Park Life collection.
Stacking helps next to a kitchen. You can clear the dining zone for a standing party around the island, then set the chairs back out. In a region with snow, the whole set goes into a garage for the winter.
Plan seats before the stone goes in
Plan the seating while the island is still a drawing. Mark the overhang, the stool count and the table position on the plan, and leave the path clear. Moving a stool line a few inches on paper takes a pencil. After the stone goes in, it takes a new island.
Send us the plan of your outdoor kitchen with the island height. We reply with a Riva or Park Life dining zone sized to it, and a price for each piece.
