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Cay Gibson
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Okay, who owns an island?
In the kitchen, I mean. 
My dh had a guy come over yesterday to measure and figure and price what it would take to upscale this old country kitchen. It's big and roomy...but it's old.
The guy asked me all kinds of questions: what size did I want the island. Where did I want the island? Did I want a split level island? How wide did I want the tops? Yada, yada, yada.
So...anyone who owns an island...
How big is it?
Is it split level?
How wide are your counters, especially if it's split level?
Do you have your stovetop on the island? Sink?
Do you have an overhang rack?
Is your island freestanding (on wheels)or not?
Do you have cabinets under it? How many?
Drawers? How many?
Do you have open shelving under it?
What about lighting above it?
What about an L-shaped bar in the kitchen. Which is preferable?
Any other suggestions are appreciated.
I love this look:Cape Cod Island
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Maddie
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I don't have an answer to all your questions as my house came with the island with no thought at all on my part, but I had an electrical outlet installed for my mixer and griddle. It's so worth having! My island also has storage underneath, a narrow cupboard and drawer. I can't imagine my kitchen without my island, but it does get in the way sometimes with all these little bodies running about.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Aug 08 2006 at 3:59pm | IP Logged
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threesilosfarm wrote:
| I had an electrical outlet installed for my mixer and griddle. It's so worth having! |
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That's what I'm talkin' bout! 
Thank you, Maddie.
Electrical outlet. I didn't think of that and that is certainly a "must have." 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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marihalojen
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 Cay, I got all excited when I saw this topic, thinking palm trees and planning voyages and all...
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Jen L.
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When my parents had an island installed, they put in an extra sink and outlets. There was also a place to have a couple of stools for eating at the island.
It was really nice to have storage underneath it.
threesilosfarm wrote:
| I can't imagine my kitchen without my island, but it does get in the way sometimes with all these little bodies running about. |
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I agree, though, that it did kind of fill up the kitchen. I'd be tempted to have a free standing one but then no sink, no electric.
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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Jen L.
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I just found the article (or at least part of it) that I had happened to skim yesterday in this month's Consumer Reports magazine. It's all about kitchen remodeling, so you might want to stop and take a look at the library...
5 worst kitchen design goofs The FIRST one is "Oversizing the island"
Kitchen Remodeling at Conumer Reports
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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Jen L.
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Here is an interesting discussion about
Peninsula or Island?
at my favorite "Home" site.
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Cay Gibson
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marihalojen wrote:
| Cay, I got all excited when I saw this topic, thinking palm trees and planning voyages and all... |
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Sorry to disappoint you, Jennifer.
For those who mentioned the island taking up room...right now I have our kitchen table in the middle of the kitchen. All arts and crafts are done at this table so it has taken a beating and is 2-toned.
The island will be smaller than my table but I do like the idea of having it on wheels to move around. But I'd regret no electrical outlet and I'm wondering if the rolling around could become a nusance. 
What I would love to do is knock out the wall leading to my youngest son's bedroom (the wall is the back of his closet) and construct an arched doorway leading into it, thus turning it into my dining room.
I've mentioned him moving in with his older brother but so far his father supports him keeping his own bedroom.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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kingvozzo
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For those of you with islands on wheels, do you find that they damage your floors at all? We have a drop-leaf table in our kitchen functioning as an island, but it's about 4 inches below counter height  . I'd love to put it on big casters, but dh strenuously objects. We have wood floors, and he's convinced that the casters will destroy the floor. It seems to me that wouldn't be the case, because many, many islands come with casters.
Any first hand experience I can use to try to convince my dh?
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Noreen
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Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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lapazfarm
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Perhaps instead of casters you could build some sort of 4 inch platform for the table? Perhaps with some carpeting or thick felt beneath to protect the flooring?
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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chicken lady
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I have an island on wheels, it has a marble top, therefore it is quite heavy, and we also have wood floors ans we have had no damage to the floors. I like the idea of an outlet, but the versatilty of castors far outweight the outlet. My is not huge, I have a small kitchen, Cay your kitchen sounds like a dream to me. I'm trying to convince dh to take out a wall as well, so far no luck. The other plus for me is that since mine is marbled top it was costly and we have moved it to 3 different homes. Have fun Cay, remodeling can be so exciting!!!!!
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chicken lady
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One more thing I do have a lovely cast iron pot rack, and I think EVERY kitch needs one!!!!!
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Dawn
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Cay that island is beautiful!
We put an island in our kitchen a few years ago when we opened up to the living room on one side and a 3-season sunroom (which has since become a dining room) on the other. It's an L shape. Silestone counter, cherry below. Two fairly deep sets of cabinets and two drawers. Electric outlet (not yet hooked up). Measures 79 x 36 on the long side, 63 x 36 on the short side. There are narrow open shelves on either end.
We use it for everything! Eating snacks, coffee with guests, homeschooling, arts/crafts, experiments, baking, gift wrapping, etc. You name it. The short side even serves as my unofficial desk!  There are some pictures at my blog in this post.
What fun designing an island! I'll be so eager to hear all about it! 
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Cay Gibson
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Jen, thanks for those links. They gave me a lot to think about in re-doing my kitchen.
Frankly, the cost of this project is making me ill.  But, the fact of the matter is, we can remodel it nicely for a little expense or build a new house and be in debt for the rest of our lives. It's almost a no-brainer.
Saying that, it still isn't easy swallowing the cost of everything. And the idea of ripping up my kitchen where we not only eat but also play, talk, do school, do arts and crafts, socialize, etc. is almost unthinkable. It'll be a ghastly couple of months. Again
Just so you can all see how proud, selfish and egocentric I am , I told my dh I wanted at least two things from the project.
(1) an island
(2) a double-sided fireplace
Perhaps I need to post the fireplace in a different thread. I have lots of questions concerning that too. 
The major reason I can't tell the guy where I want the island put is because we will be doing like Dawn mentioned they did...tearing down the wall that stands between the kitchen and living area and putting up a double-sided fireplace as a divider. Until that wall comes down, I'm clueless about how far out to put the island.
I do know that I don't like turning from my refrigerator and stove and bumping into anything. I like the open space, so I told the man I'd probably want to go out an extra foot further than normal. But I still have to wait until the wall is down and fireplace is put in. Sooo....the island will probably be the last thing put in.
First thing asked...last thing gotten.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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stefoodie
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Drool drool drool.... I've been wanting a double-sided fireplace forever 
However, I did have an island in the previous house -- an 8-foot long one built by hubby and dd-15 from Ikea components for Mother's Day in 2004. Since it wasn't bolted down to the floor it is now in my new kitchen, but it's on the other side of the peninsula so it's VERY inconvenient -- but we don't have the dollars yet to remodel so I'm trying to wait very patiently.
Having had both peninsula and island now, I have to say I definitely prefer the island. The peninsula feels like I'm cut off from people, even though I'm in full view. However, I've also liked other people's peninsulas so maybe it depends on how you work.
To answer your questions:
How big is it? 8 feet long, 30 inches high (standard, but since I'm small I'd love for it to be lower) -- 25 inches counter depth.
Is it split level? No.
How wide are your counters, especially if it's split level? ^
Do you have your stovetop on the island? Sink? No. I've considered these things in previous designs and decided not to do either, b/c of two things 1) money -- stovetop on island means more expensive venting, ditto with plumbing if putting a sink in, though considerably less -- I'm talking about new construction though for which I did the research, don't know how that would translate to existing structures -- if there's no island there you'll have to consider wiring for electric stovetops, a gas line for gas ranges, HVAC for the venting, more electric outlets for all apps. -- that would add at least $2K versus using existing wiring, etc. 2) traffic and workspace-wise, 8 feet of counterspace just made more sense for the way I work.
Do you have an overhang rack? No, but only because the ceiling has never been right for one. Would *definitely* recommend one above an island if you can get it done. Frees up so much cabinet space!
Is your island freestanding (on wheels)or not? Freestanding, but not on wheels.
Do you have cabinets under it? How many? 2 cabs and 4-drawers -- for a total of 16 drawers. One of the cabs had pull-out baskets for onions, garlic, potatoes. Wanted holes so the veggies could breathe but have you ever tried drilling holes in Ikea cabs?!!! UGH! The second cab holds coffee, tea, cereal. Our cups and glasses were mostly up in cabs above the dishwasher, but we put the littles' cups in the island for easy access. I also had labels on ALL sixteen drawers so people who try to help out in the kitchen don't inadvertently end up annoying me .
Drawers? How many? see above
Do you have open shelving under it? No. If you're going to have a stovetop though you might want to consider open shelving underneath it for pots, etc.
What about lighting above it? Yes, you need good lighting especially if you plan to do a lot of your prep work on the island. My first preference is fluorescent lighting or halogen, with the option to switch to mood lighting if needed. Pendant lights are nice in some kitchens, but personally I dislike them, because I think they're more pretty than practical.
Other things to think about:
How much overhang do you want? I would have preferred at least a 6-inch overhang (if you've got the space for it) so the island doubles as eat-in counter -- which we did all the time! My ultimate overhang? One that folds down when not needed:D
Other things to consider:
Do you have a mixer you plan to use on it? Consider a mixer-lift, which hides it from view when you don't need it. If you're going to have an additional sink put in and can afford a Tapmaster, get one.
Here's how I've planned/designed for every kitchen I've been in (I'm in my 9th): Make a list of every single thing you use regularly in the kitchen -- plan where you want to put them so you don't need to take extra steps, get a ladder, etc.). Make drawings of how you work, where you store things, etc. Forget about that traditional work triangle. Two kitchen books that have really helped me: Kitchens by Chris Casson Madden and Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind by Donald Silvers.
I know I said I didn't design for the sink, but a dedicated sink at the island is very smart if you can work it in -- especially when you have parties, or mabe just for pots, or just for washing produce, or potting tasks....
my old kitchen
One thing I loved-loved-loved about this island is that we put the flatware drawers right across the dishwasher -- so convenient!
and my "new" one -- it has a trash compactor under that peninsula, which is nice, but takes up space which I feel could be better utilized for something else.
Sounds exciting, Cay! Can't wait to hear more about your adventure, and seeing pics!
stef, kitchen designer-wanna be
ps -- Jen, you're a THS fan too? You won't believe how many hours I spent there moving from house to house in the last 6 years!!! So many great ideas there. The hard part is the weeding.
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KellyJ
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How wonderful that you have a kitchen that is large enough for an island (even the existing table)!
I don't have the space for an island, but wondered about electricity and a moveable island. The following assumes a moveable island. Would it be possible to put electric outlets in the floor below the proposed standard location for the island? Maybe you could thread up an extension cord so you could plug in appliances there as needed.
I do like the idea of electricity being available right at the island. I hope you can get it to work with whatever type of island you go with, be it fixed or moveable. Enjoy your upcoming renovations!
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Mare
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Cay,
We don't have an island or a table in our kitchen. However, I have seen this type of table in someone else's kitchen and thought it was neat.
I just thought maybe someone else reading this would benefit from it as well.
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Victoria in AZ
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[QUOTE=Cay Gibson]
How big is it?
Is it split level?
How wide are your counters, especially if it's split level?
Do you have your stovetop on the island? Sink?
Do you have an overhang rack?
Is your island freestanding (on wheels)or not?
Do you have cabinets under it? How many?
Drawers? How many?
Do you have open shelving under it?
What about lighting above it?
[QUOTE=Cay Gibson]
I've had four stationary islands (four different houses). The first two had the kitchen sink in them. I'd want split level here to hide dirty dishes for sure.
The third was split level without any appliances and a slight L shape. It was my favorite for baking cookies, rolling out on the lower level and cooling trays of cookies on the top level. Perfect at Christmas time.
My newest one I haven't moved in to the house yet, but it is a large single level. I'm hoping the single level will avoid the "hot spot" problems I've had with other islands.
Yes, we've always put a big pot rack over our islands and it's quite functional. Always had cabinets under and I don't think you can have too much light!
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Victoria in AZ
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Elizabeth
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I have a smallish island. There are pictures here.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Cay Gibson
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Victoria in AZ wrote:
The third was split level without any appliances and a slight L shape. It was my favorite for baking cookies, rolling out on the lower level and cooling trays of cookies on the top level. Perfect at Christmas time.
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Now THIS appeals to me. Good reasoning, Victoria.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Who Owns an Island?
