depends what you plan to store in the base cabinets and what you expect to leave standing on the counter ...my kitchen includes the 700mm cabinets along the wall with wo, fridge & freezer lining up nicely and cooktop, wide drawers and 700deep by 1050 wide corner cabinet with the sink across the window and dw in the island...with a similar amount of space i chose a U shape, with smaller island and small walk in pantry and the extra width of the 700mm cabinets is taken off the island but, the doorways on your dining and family room walls will have a greater impact on the space available and it's always best to add scale sized furniture to your plans including a dining suite with chairs pulled out and space allowed for walking all around to make sure that the rooms suit your needs...this is my kitchen

Inner dimensions are about 44cm deep x 151cm long. It’s about 170cm long in total. It is a mid quality acrylic one from the local Tradelink. It was a bit of a hassle to get the salesman to pull out every brochure specification so I could check the depth, he tried to tell me that they were all similar. The interior is quite square-ish so it holds a lot of water. Too long ago to remember brand sorry. But it’s lasted well for about 10 years with heavy use and it has the shower over it. I had the cavity insulated to help keep the water warm for long baths. Didn’t cost any extra, we just used left over insulation.

For most people of standard height and reach this should be no problem. If you want to be sure then check your reach distance when standing at a dining table. How far can you reach across comfortably to pick up a full kettle? Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

I would go with 30cm depth as it allows more flexibility. I understand what you are saying about paperbacks and wasted space to the front not being a great look, but in my mind it is better to have that space at the front than to have larger books projecting beyond the front of the shelves which is what you would have with 20cm deep shelves. If it is a working library then the number and size of books may change over time and the 30cm depth allows for maximum flexibility. On a side note the 78cm long shelves need to be strong enough to support all of the weight of those books. The string shelving you are looking at is usually presented fairly sparsely (as in your photos). Nothing worse than sagging shelves.... Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls