I recently noticed a discussion on Instagram when someone was trying to make the choice between a kitchen island or open scullery. Here are a few thoughts on the subject...
In open plan, social kitchen/living spaces, my advice would be to try for the island (or peninsula) if space allows.
Islands are great for keeping the focus central to the room (not towards the walls) where kids, friends and other guests can remain in vision while you're prepping drinks or food. I would advise careful consideration fitting a sink on an island - remember creative cooking means extra washing up and this would be on display! There will also be plumbing required.
Hobs work very well and give you the ability to stir fry or pancake toss while keeping a social frontage, although they will also require electricity feed, but this can usually be done with fairly minimal disruption.
An island will also enable extra storage for cutlery, crockery and pots and pans, freeing up wall space for tall, 'scullery type' food storage. The other downside to an open scullery is that you need to keep it very tidy and organised at all times as it’s on permanent show! See blog post here on more tips for kitchen layouts. Incidently, did you know the word origin for a scullery comes from the 15C French word escuelerie/escuele - dish (or dishwasher!), and Latin scutella - salver or wooden platter. Pantry comes from old French - paneterie, pain, and larder from lardons, middle English/French for bacon or lard.