Kitchen Island Cabinets: Sizes, Combinations and Real Costs

Kitchen island cabinets are ordinary 24-inch-deep base cabinets, set in a freestanding row and finished on every side that shows. A 4-foot island is two boxes, a 6-foot island is two or three, and an 8-foot island is three or four, plus two end panels, a finished back and a toe kick. In the standard Fabuwood Galaxy finishes that bill of parts runs about $2,000 for a plain 4-footer, $2,700 for a 6-foot seating island and $2,950 for an 8-foot island with a sink, before the countertop.

We sell cabinets for a living, and islands are the part of a quote that goes wrong most often. Not because the cabinets are hard, but because an island is the only place in a kitchen where every face is on show, where plumbing and wiring come up through the floor, and where a slab of stone hangs out over nobody's knees. This guide covers the build side: which boxes add up to which lengths, how to deal with depth, what finishes the ends and back, what holds up the overhang, and what a sink, range or outlet changes. Aisle widths and seating clearances already have their own page, the kitchen island clearance guide, so we don't repeat them here.

Key Takeaways

• Sizes follow the 3-inch grid: island runs are built from base widths of 9 to 48 inches, so 48, 72 and 96 inches are easy lengths. Add 1-1/2 inches for two 3/4-inch end panels and another inch or two of countertop overhang at each end.
• Depth is a choice of three: one 24-inch row with a seating overhang, a 24-inch row backed by 12-inch-deep bases, or two 24-inch rows back to back. Each gives a different countertop depth and a different amount of knee room.
• The back of an island is not a cabinet side. It needs a sheet panel, beadboard or planks sized to the island, and an 8-foot run with two end panels is 97-1/2 inches long, a hair more than a 96-inch sheet.
• Overhangs need support past the stone maker's limit. MSI, for example, allows up to 16 inches unsupported on 3 cm quartz over 24-inch cabinets and wants brackets beyond that; thinner or natural stone allows less.
• Codes changed: the 2023 National Electrical Code no longer requires an island receptacle but does require provision for one, and it no longer accepts outlets on the side of the island. Island sinks need a venting method your plumbing code accepts.
• Anchor it: screw 2×4 cleats to the floor inside the cabinet footprint and fasten the boxes to them. An island with a big overhang can tip.

Table of Contents

• Island Sizes, and the Cabinet Run Inside Each One
• Base Cabinet Combinations for 4, 6 and 8 Feet
• Depth: One Row, 24 + 12, or Back to Back
• Drawers, Doors and the Working Side
• Finishing the Ends and the Back
• Holding Up the Seating Overhang
• A Sink or Dishwasher in the Island
• A Range or Cooktop in the Island
• Island Outlets and the Electrical Code
• Anchoring the Island to the Floor
• Two-Tier or Flush
• What Kitchen Island Cabinets Cost: Five Priced Builds
• Island Mistakes We See on Quotes
• Frequently Asked Questions

Island Sizes, and the Cabinet Run Inside Each One

When people say "a 6-foot island" they usually mean the countertop. The cabinets underneath are shorter, and the difference is predictable. Start with the cabinet run, the total width of the boxes. Add the end panels, which on most framed lines are 3/4 inch thick, so 1-1/2 inches for two. Then add the countertop's overhang past each end panel, typically 1 to 1-1/2 inches. A 72-inch cabinet run becomes a countertop of roughly 75-1/2 to 76-1/2 inches.

So work backward from the room, not forward from a round number. Your aisle widths decide the largest top that fits (that math is in the clearance guide), and the cabinet run is whatever is left after panels and overhangs. If the room allows a 78-inch top, a 72-inch run is right. If it allows 74 inches, drop to a 69- or 66-inch run rather than squeezing an aisle.

Two numbers in that table deserve a second look. Past roughly 10 feet of countertop, most fabricators either seam the top or quote a jumbo slab, so the jump from a 9-foot to an 11-foot island costs more in stone than in cabinets. Ask your fabricator what slab length they stock before you fix the run. And 24 inches per stool is the tight figure; the clearance guide explains why we prefer to draw 28 to 30 inches per seat when the length allows it.

The minimum kitchen island size that still makes sense as cabinetry is about a 48-inch run on one row of 24-inch boxes. Smaller than that and a rolling cart does the same job without the plumbing, wiring or anchoring. At the other end, the useful depth tops out around 48 to 52 inches because nobody can reach the middle of anything deeper, which is why big islands get longer rather than deeper.

Base Cabinet Combinations for 4, 6 and 8 Feet

Standard base cabinets come in 3-inch steps from 9 to 36 inches wide, plus a 42 and 48 on many lines, so almost any island length is reachable. Our guide to the 3-inch sizing system explains why. What matters on an island is not whether the widths add up but whether the boxes make sense where you'll stand. A few rules we use on every island layout:

• Put drawers where the cook stands. A three-drawer base holds pots, lids and utensils better than a door base with a shelf you have to kneel to reach.
• Keep the widest box in the middle. It looks deliberate from across the room, and it's where a sink or cooktop usually lands.
• Match the ends. A symmetrical island (18 / 36 / 18, or 24 / 24 / 24) reads as furniture. An off-center one reads as leftovers.
• Avoid 9- and 12-inch boxes at the ends unless they hold a tray divider or a spice pull-out. A narrow box at the end of an island is mostly face frame.

A dishwasher counts as a 24-inch "box" in the run even though you don't buy a cabinet for it. Leave the opening at exactly 24 inches, and make sure it has a cabinet or a panel on each side to fasten to. More on that in the sink and dishwasher section. If you want to understand the difference between a three-drawer base, a door base and a full-height door base before choosing, our overview of base cabinet types and dimensions covers each one.

Depth: One Row, 24 + 12, or Back to Back

Length is easy. Depth is where island plans split into three different builds, and each one decides how deep the countertop is and whether anyone can sit at the long side.

Those countertop depths include the doors (about 3/4 inch each on a framed cabinet), the back panel and a 1-inch front overhang, so treat them as planning figures rather than exact cuts. The clearance guide covers how much knee depth each seat height needs.

One row with an overhang

The cheapest and most common build. One line of 24-inch boxes faces the kitchen, a finished panel covers the backs, and the countertop runs 12 to 15 inches past that panel for stools. You lose storage on the seating side, which is fine, because that side is where knees go.

24 inches backed by 12-inch-deep bases

This is the build most people are describing when they search for "back-to-back island cabinets," and it's the one we suggest most for 48-inch-plus tops. Fabuwood's Galaxy finishes include full-height door bases in a 12-inch-deep version (the -12D suffix) at every width from 9 to 36 inches: GD B36FD-12D is $477.75 and GD B24FD-12D is $396.50 in the standard finishes. Two of them behind a 72-inch working row give the seating side shallow storage for platters, cookbooks and the things you use twice a year, and the countertop still overhangs them enough for knees. Illume, Fabuwood's frameless line, has no 12-inch-deep bases, so on that line the choice is a single row or full back to back.

Two full rows back to back

Double the storage, double the cabinet cost, and nowhere to sit on the long sides. It suits big kitchens where the island is a work surface and the seating lives at a table. The two rows are screwed together through their backs, and the only finished surfaces are the two ends, which now span 48 inches and need a wide panel rather than a stock end panel. A 24-inch-deep row facing a 24-inch row also means both faces get doors and a toe kick, which is easy to forget when ordering trim.

Drawers, Doors and the Working Side

The working side of an island is the face toward the perimeter counters, the one the cook stands at. It should be mostly drawers. On the Galaxy grid, a 24-inch three-drawer base (GD DB24) is $705.25 against $471.25 for the 24-inch door base with a top drawer (GD B24). That $234 buys you storage you can see from above, and on an island, where the cook stands in one place and turns, it's the best money in the order. Our guide to drawer base sizes and configurations compares the two-, three- and four-drawer versions.

Door bases still earn a spot. A wide door base under a sink is standard, since the plumbing takes the middle of the box. A full-height door base (FD in the SKU, no top drawer) takes a pull-out trash can or roll-out trays. And under a cooktop, a two-drawer base is the usual pick: Galaxy's GD DB30-2 at $835.25 sits under a 30-inch cooktop and GD DB36-2 at $1,017.25 under a 36-inch one. Check the cooktop's installation sheet for the depth it needs below the counter before you order, because a deep burner box can collide with the top drawer.

A few parts get forgotten on islands because they don't exist on a wall run:

• Knee drawer. If the island has a seated section with no cabinet under it, such as a desk-height end, a shallow knee drawer (GD KD30, $172.25) fills the apron.
• Trash pull-out. A prep island without a bin means walking to the sink run with every peel. Our Fabuwood accessories guide lists the trash and roll-out units and the box widths they fit.
• Finished interiors. An open shelf unit at the end of an island shows its inside, so check whether the line finishes interiors to match or leaves them natural.

If the island is a different color from the perimeter, which is the most common reason people add one, every part with a face (drawer fronts, end panels, back panel, toe kick) comes from the island finish, while the boxes, roll-outs and trash units behind the doors can come from either. Our guide to two-tone kitchen color pairings covers which island colors work against which perimeter finishes.

Finishing the Ends and the Back

A cabinet box is built to be hidden. The sides are finished only enough to sit against another box, and the back is thin: 1/4-inch MDF on Illume, for instance, with hanging rails behind it. On an island, both ends and the entire back are on show, so they get covered. Which covering you use changes the look and the price more than most buyers expect.

The ends

You have two choices at each end. A skin is a 1/4-inch finished sheet glued to the cabinet side; Galaxy's GD SK BASE is $62.40. A base end panel is a 3/4-inch panel that stands proud of the box; GD BEP is $149.50, 34-1/2 inches tall and edge-banded on its long edges. On an island we nearly always quote the thicker panel, because the ends of an island are seen square-on from a stool at arm's length, and because a 3/4-inch panel gives the countertop something solid to sit on at the corner. Our article on skin panels and gables goes through the difference in detail, and the end panels and fillers guide covers how they're scribed and fastened.

There's a third option worth knowing about when the island has a seating overhang. A stock end panel only covers the 24-inch cabinet side, leaving the overhang floating above an open space. If you'd rather the end read as a solid slab of cabinetry running out to the countertop edge, cut a wider end panel from a finished sheet. On Galaxy, a GD PLY-3/4 sheet is $516.75, drawn at 48 by 96 inches in the Allure spec book, and one sheet yields two 36-inch-wide, 34-1/2-inch-tall ends. A full-depth end also counts as a support for the overhang, which matters in the next section.

The back

There's no catalog part cut to fit the back of an island, because an island's back is a row of cabinet backs, not a cabinet side. It's covered with something sized to the island. The common options on Galaxy:

Here's the trap we catch most often. An 8-foot island built from 96 inches of cabinets with two 3/4-inch end panels measures 97-1/2 inches overall. If the back panel is meant to run past the end panels to the outside corners, a standard 96-inch sheet is short by an inch and a half. Either set the back sheet between the end panels (and accept a tight fit), seam two pieces at a cabinet joint, or order the 120-inch sheet. On Illume, the textured-finish panel is a 4-by-9-foot sheet, which covers 8-foot islands without the problem.

Whatever covers the back, it goes on over a flat surface. A row of cabinet backs is rarely one flat plane (boxes differ by a sixteenth here and there, and thin backs flex), so installers usually fasten horizontal strips across the backs first, shim them flat, then glue and pin the panel to the strips. And if the back will carry an outlet, plan the cutout before the panel goes on; more on that in the outlets section.

Holding Up the Seating Overhang

A countertop that hangs 12 or 15 inches past the cabinets for stools is a lever. Someone leans on the edge, sits on it, or boosts a toddler onto it, and the load goes into the stone's weakest spot. How far it can hang without help depends on the material and its thickness, and manufacturers set the limits, not cabinet dealers.

As one example, MSI's quartz installation guide (written for standard 24-inch-deep cabinets) allows up to 8 inches unsupported on 2 cm quartz and up to 16 inches on 3 cm quartz. Beyond that it calls for brackets at 24-inch intervals, and past 16 inches on 2 cm or 24 inches on 3 cm it wants legs, columns or panels. Other quartz brands, granite and marble have their own numbers, and many fabricators work to a more conservative rule of thumb for natural stone. Get the figure in writing from whoever fabricates your top before the cabinets are ordered, because the supports attach to the cabinets.

Supports also decide where stools go. A corbel every 24 inches is fine for stools spaced at 24, but awkward at 28 or 30. If you want wide seat spacing, full-depth ends and hidden brackets keep the knee zone clear.

A Sink or Dishwasher in the Island

Putting the sink in the island is a plumbing decision first and a cabinet decision second. The supply lines, the drain and the vent all have to come up through the floor inside the sink base's footprint, which is easy over a basement or crawlspace and expensive on a concrete slab, where the floor gets cut and trenched. Get a plumber to look at the floor before you commit the layout; that visit decides more than the cabinet order does.

Venting an island sink

A wall sink vents through a pipe that runs up inside the wall. An island has no wall, so the vent needs another route. Model codes allow a few, and which one your inspector accepts depends on the code your state or town has adopted:

• Island fixture venting. The International Plumbing Code allows a specific island vent arrangement, limited to sinks and lavatories. The vent rises above the drain outlet under the sink before looping down and running under the floor to connect with a vent that reaches outdoors. The ICC's own overview of venting methods in the 2021 IPC describes the requirements, including cleanouts for rodding the vent.
• Air admittance valve. A one-way valve under the sink that lets air in and keeps sewer gas out. The IPC permits them with conditions, including that the valve stays accessible. Some jurisdictions, particularly those on the Uniform Plumbing Code, restrict or refuse them, so ask before you plan on one.
• A vent run to a nearby wall through the floor system, where the framing allows it.

For the cabinets, this means two things. The sink base floor will be drilled for pipes, so don't put a drawer base where the plumbing comes up. And if an air admittance valve is used, it has to stay reachable, which a sink base with doors provides and a fixed back panel over an access hole does not. For sink base sizes by sink type, including apron-front bases, see our sink base cabinet guide. On Galaxy, the 36-inch GD SB36 is $490.75, cheaper than most drawer bases because it has false fronts instead of drawers.

The dishwasher

A dishwasher belongs right beside the sink base, on whichever side the person loading it stands. It fills a 24-inch opening with no cabinet of its own, and it has to be fastened to something: the underside of the countertop or, with stone tops, the sides of the cabinets next to it. So a dishwasher shouldn't sit at the very end of an island with nothing on its outer side. If it has to, the outer side needs a finished panel that runs to the floor and is fixed to the floor and countertop. Galaxy has dishwasher return panels for exactly this (GD DWR3 at $130.00, GD DWR6 at $201.50, the number being the filler width built in). Remember too that an open dishwasher door on an island blocks the aisle behind the cook; the door-swing math is in the clearance guide.

A Range or Cooktop in the Island

A cooktop or slide-in range in an island faces the room, which is why people want it there, and it brings three problems a wall range doesn't have.

Power or gas from below. A 240-volt circuit or a gas line has to come up through the floor, and both belong to licensed trades under local code. Tell the electrician or gas fitter which cabinet the appliance sits over, and keep the connection inside a door base or an open bay where it can be reached, not buried behind a drawer bank.

Ventilation without a wall. An island hood hangs from the ceiling, has air moving around it on all sides and usually needs more airflow than a wall hood over the same cooktop. Our article on range hood CFM explains how to size it. A downdraft vent is the alternative, and it lives inside the cabinet under the cooktop, often taking most of the back of a drawer base, so check the downdraft's cutout drawing against the cabinet before ordering drawers.

Space behind and beside the burners. On an island with seating on the far side, pans and splatter face the stools. Planning guidelines call for counter space on both sides of a cooktop and some depth behind it; the clearance guide has the numbers. For the cabinets, it usually means a longer island than the same plan with a sink: 18 / 36 / 18 around a 36-inch cooktop is a minimum, not a comfortable fit.

Island Outlets and the Electrical Code

This is the part of island planning that changed most recently, and it's worth getting right before the cabinets arrive, because an outlet cut into the wrong place ruins a panel.

Older editions of the National Electrical Code (2020 and before) required at least one receptacle on an island countertop of a certain size and allowed it to be mounted on the side of the cabinets just below the countertop edge, which is why so many islands have an outlet on the end panel. The 2023 NEC changed both points. It no longer requires a receptacle on an island or peninsula, but if one isn't installed, the island must have a provision for adding one later, such as a junction box or a raceway run in. And receptacles serving the island must now be on or above the work surface, typically a pop-up or other receptacle assembly listed for countertop use. As the National Association of Home Builders explains, outlets on the side of the island no longer satisfy the requirement in places that adopted the 2023 edition unamended.

That last word matters. States and towns adopt NEC editions on their own schedules and often amend them, so your jurisdiction may still be on 2020, may have amended 2023, or may have moved on. Your electrician and your permit office are the authority. What we can tell you is what each choice does to the cabinets:

• Pop-up countertop outlet. Its housing drops several inches below the counter. Put it over a door base or an open bay, never over a drawer stack, or the top drawer won't close.
• Future provision. The box or raceway needs a spot inside a cabinet that stays reachable, typically at the back of a door base.
• Side or back outlet (where your code still allows it). Mark it on the drawing so the end or back panel is cut once, in the right place, rather than drilled after it's hung.

Kitchen countertop receptacles also need GFCI protection, and the wiring enters through the floor just like plumbing. Both are jobs for a licensed electrician.

Anchoring the Island to the Floor

A wall cabinet run is held by the wall. An island is held by nothing unless you fasten it down, and one with a 12-to-15-inch stone overhang can tip when someone leans on the edge. The standard method is simple and uses cheap lumber. We build and remodel kitchens ourselves, and this is the method we use:

1. Set the perimeter first so you know the finished countertop height the island has to match.
2. Dry-fit the island boxes, clamp them together, level them, and screw them to each other through the face frames (predrilled). On a back-to-back build, screw the two rows together through their backs.
3. Trace the footprint on the floor, then lift the island away.
4. Screw 2×4 cleats to the floor just inside the traced line, set back by the thickness of the toe kick and cabinet sides so the boxes drop over them. On a wood subfloor, screw into the subfloor; on concrete, use a pressure-treated cleat with concrete fasteners and construction adhesive.
5. Lower the island over the cleats, recheck level (shim where needed), and screw through the cabinet toe kicks or bottoms into the cleats.

Cabinets on adjustable legs, such as Fabuwood's frameless Illume line, can't drop over a cleat the same way. Fine Homebuilding's answer on this exact problem recommends a 2×4 run the length of the island, built up with boards to about 1/4 inch below the cabinet bottoms and fastened to the floor, then fastening the cabinets down to it. The same article notes that screwing through plastic feet into the floor works only for islands without big overhangs.

Two cautions. Find out whether the floor has radiant heating tubes or cables before a single screw goes in. And don't skip the leveling: an island that's 1/8 inch out shows as a gap under a 10-foot stone top. Our step-by-step on leveling and shimming base cabinets covers the technique, and the full sequence for a kitchen is in our guide to installing kitchen cabinets yourself. For the record, we sell and ship cabinets nationwide but don't install the cabinets you buy from us, so this is advice for you or your installer.

Two-Tier or Flush

A flush island has one countertop at about 36 inches, working surface and seating together. A two-tier island raises the seating side to bar height, about 42 inches, on a narrow ledge behind the working counter. Both are built from the same base cabinets; the difference is what happens behind them.

We draw flush islands far more often. They're cheaper, more useful and don't date. The two-tier version earns its cost when a cooktop sits in the island and the seating side faces the room, because the raised ledge keeps splatter off guests and hides the dirty pans. Bar-height seating also needs taller stools and a different knee depth; the clearance guide has those numbers.

What Kitchen Island Cabinets Cost: Five Priced Builds

Here are five islands priced part by part from two Fabuwood lines. The first three use Allure Galaxy, the framed shaker line, at the prices displayed in the standard Galaxy finishes (Frost, Dove, Linen, Nickel and the rest of the twelve that price identically) as of September 2026, with our 35% Fabuwood discount already applied. Desert Oak and Natural Oak run about 20% higher. The last two use Illume, the frameless line, priced from the wood-texture column of Fabuwood's February 2026 Illume price book less the same 35%; the live quote is the price of record. Every total is cabinets and cabinet parts only. The countertop, plumbing, electrical, appliances, delivery and installation are extra.

1. Galaxy 4-foot prep island (no seating)

Notice that the finishing parts are about 40% of the bill. A small island is mostly skin: two ends and a back cost almost as much as a box. That's why a 4-foot island costs more per foot than a 6-foot one.

2. Galaxy 6-foot island with seating on one side

A 72-inch run, a top of about 76 by 40 inches, and three stools on the back side. Swap the flat back for beaded planks and add $312.00 (six GD BPP-12 at $760.50 instead of the sheet). Add the overhang supports your fabricator specifies.

3. Galaxy 6-foot island, 24 + 12 back to back

About $600 more than build 2 for storage on both faces and a deeper top, roughly 50 inches. There's no back panel to buy because the shallow bases are the back, but the ends are now 36 inches deep, so they come out of a sheet rather than a stock end panel.

4. Galaxy 8-foot island with sink and dishwasher

The run is 18 / 36 / 24 / 18, exactly 96 inches, and the long sheet is there because the island measures 97-1/2 inches with its end panels. The dishwasher sits between the sink base and a drawer base, so it has a cabinet to fasten to on both sides. The sink base comes out cheaper than you might expect; the plumbing and venting under it will not.

5. Illume versions of the 6- and 8-foot islands

The 6-foot seating island (DB24-3 / B24 / DB24-3, two end panels, the 4-by-9 back panel and one toe kick) comes to $3,347.50, about $660 more than the same island in Galaxy. The 8-foot sink island (DB18-3 / SB36 / dishwasher / DB18-3, same panels and kick) comes to $3,217.50, about $270 more than Galaxy. The 8-foot gap is smaller because Illume's 9-foot panel covers the back in one piece while Galaxy needs its longer sheet. Illume boxes are furniture board on adjustable legs with Blum metal drawers, where Galaxy is a plywood box with dovetailed wood drawers; our Illume review and framed vs frameless comparison cover what that difference means in use.

For whole-kitchen budgeting, an island usually adds 6 to 10 feet of cabinetry to the perimeter. Our cost per linear foot guide puts those feet in context, and the Fabuwood price list has the rest of the catalog. The cabinet cost estimator gives a quick range for a full kitchen.

Island Mistakes We See on Quotes

• Ordering the island like a wall run. Four boxes and a toe kick, no end panels, no back. The cabinets arrive, the backs are unfinished MDF, and the job waits two weeks for panels.
• Using skins on the seating ends. A 1/4-inch skin is fine on an end you pass. On an island end seen from a stool, it reads as a flat sheet next to shaker doors, and it gives the stone nothing to rest on.
• Forgetting the 1-1/2 inches. Two end panels make a 96-inch run 97-1/2 inches, which breaks a 96-inch back sheet and sometimes a tight aisle.
• Drawers over the plumbing. Drain, supply and power come up through the floor. Whatever box sits over them has to be a door base or sink base.
• An outlet planned on the end panel in a town that enforces the 2023 NEC. Check first, then mark the outlet on the drawing.
• No anchoring plan. An island on a finished tile floor with no cleats is an island that moves when the stone is set.
• Measuring the island before the aisles. Pick the aisle widths first, then size the top, then the cabinets. Our guide on how to measure a kitchen for cabinets shows the order to take measurements in.

If you'd rather not work any of this out on graph paper, our design service draws the island with the perimeter, shows the panels and supports, and sends an itemized quote with renderings within 24–48 hours. For the rest of the room's standard sizes, see our kitchen dimensions guide and our guide to kitchen layouts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size cabinets are used for a kitchen island?

Standard base cabinets: 34-1/2 inches tall, 24 inches deep, in widths from 9 to 48 inches in 3-inch steps. The seating side can use 12-inch-deep bases where the line offers them. There's no special island cabinet; what makes it an island is the end panels, the finished back and the anchoring.

Can you use regular base cabinets for an island?

Yes, that's how nearly every island is built. Order them with 3/4-inch end panels for both ends, a finished sheet or planks for the back, a toe kick for each exposed face, and whatever overhang supports your countertop fabricator requires.

How deep is a kitchen island with seating?

With one row of 24-inch cabinets and a 12-to-15-inch overhang, the top is about 38 to 42 inches deep. With 24-inch cabinets backed by 12-inch-deep bases, it's about 48 to 52 inches. Two full 24-inch rows back to back give a top of about 50 to 52 inches with seating only at the ends.

What do you put on the back of a kitchen island?

A finished panel sized to the island: a flat sheet in the cabinet finish, beaded planks, or a reeded or slatted panel. There's no stock back part, because the back of an island is a row of cabinet backs rather than a cabinet side. Order it from the same line and finish as the cabinets so the color matches.

Does a kitchen island need an electrical outlet?

Under the 2023 NEC, no, but if you don't install one you must provide for adding one later, and any receptacle serving the island has to be on or above the countertop. Under 2020 and earlier editions, islands of a certain size needed at least one. Which edition applies depends on your jurisdiction; ask your electrician.

How do you vent a sink in a kitchen island?

With an island fixture vent (a loop under the sink that ties into a vent through the floor), an air admittance valve where your code permits one, or a vent run through the floor to a wall. Your plumber and local code decide which. Keep an air admittance valve accessible inside the sink base.

Do island cabinets need to be anchored to the floor?

Yes. Screw 2×4 cleats to the floor inside the cabinet footprint and fasten the boxes to them; on concrete, use pressure-treated cleats with concrete fasteners and adhesive. An island with a stone overhang can tip if it isn't fastened down.

How much does it cost to build an island from stock cabinets?

In Fabuwood Galaxy's standard finishes, our priced examples run about $1,980 for a 4-foot prep island, $2,685 for a 6-foot seating island, $2,945 for an 8-foot island with a sink, and $3,290 for a 6-foot island with storage on both faces. In Illume, the 6- and 8-foot versions run about $3,350 and $3,220. Countertop, trades and installation are extra.

Send Us Your Island Measurements

Tell us the room size, where the sink or cooktop goes, and how many people you want to seat, and we'll lay out the island with the perimeter, list every panel and support, and price it in the lines that fit your budget. Start on our contact page or call 609-900-3358. If you're choosing between finishes, Fabuwood door samples let you see the island color next to your perimeter and countertop, and the Fabuwood brand page covers every line we carry from them.