We have an 8' island with a small prep sink at one end. We had an outlet installed near the prep sink but I tend to use it rarely. All my large appliances go on our other countertops (which I have plenty of) so that the island is for cutting etc. I do use the hand mixer or stand mixer on the island if needed but that is rare for me. What we wish we had done and may actually do at some point is put some outlets on the other side because like someone else said we use our laptops here at the island all the time. In fact right now mine is beeping at me that the battery is low and I am not thrilled about draping the cord across the top of the island just to be plugged in. in terms of looks we didn't do anything to hide the outlet we have, but it's on a side of the island that guests wouldn't see so it's not that 'visible'. The cover is colored similar to our cabinet stain so I never notice it. If we had outlets on the other side, since we have stools there I'm sure it would never be noticed at all.

Chicagoans, thanks. The magnetic plates are an option offered by Columbia Gorge Stoneworks. The magnets are very strong so they hold the plates firmly in place - no screw heads showing and no worry about over-tightening a screw. All our outlets and switches had magnetic steel bodies that they attached to, though in the case of the Lutron outlets we had to break off a plastic tab that covered the steel. Columbia Gorge can also supply some magnets to glue on if the switch or outlet body isn't a magnetic material. Our granite is Azul Do Mar (really it's quartzite - a type of metamorphic rock that is almost entirely made of quartz). It's similar to Azul Macaubas. The latter is primarily white and greenish blue or aqua. Like most stones with a lot of blue, it is kind of pricey due to rarity but not quite as expensive as Azul Macaubas. Cost was the only downside - it cleans up like a dream. It is low porosity so we haven't had to re-seal it. (I don't think it needed the initial sealing based on my tests on the sample but our installer insisted.) It is extremely strong and hard so it doesn't scratch. The cabinets are natural cherry made by DeWils (semi-custum). They are frameless because we wanted maximum storage space. We were very pleased with how sturdy the cabinets were and they filled our order perfectly.

We did one on the panel in front of the island prep sink. That one gets used mostly for the food processors (regular and mini) which we keep in the cabinet under the sink and occasionally for the immersion blender. Sometimes the waffle maker gets plugged in there - depending on what else is going on - sometimes it gets plugged into one of the other outlets. Our island is 8' long and 3' deep plus a 15" seating overhang. We put one at each edge under the seating overhang. Those get used for laptops and other chargers if someone wants to sit there with a device that needs power. They also sometimes get used for the hand mixer, an electric skillet or the food processor (when someone else is using the main prep location by the outlet on the front of the sink. We didn't want an outlet in the middle of the side of the island where it would be more conspicuous. The outlets under the overhang are mounted on pull out cabinets that open to the side of the island. We used shallow boxes to minimize the intrusion of the outlet into the cabinet. Our electrician was concerned about whether the outlets under the overhang would count for the code required outlets. We reasoned that the problem with outlets under an overhang is that they require too long a cord if they are in the middle where the cord has to go to the edge of the overhang and back but since these are near the side of the overhang, they don't require any significant extra cord length. He checked with our local code department and they agreed that the outlets could count. We used Lutron matte black outlets and natural cherry outlet covers to match our island. You can see the shallow box and the conduit to it in the top left of this cabinet. The thickness of the panel also helps keep it from intruding into the cabinet. Outlets on the back of the island:

What are Rose Borers? There are actually several wasps and bees that nest in the center pith of cut rose bush canes. The cane boring insects bore a hole down into the center pith of the rose canes in order to create nests for their young. The two most common cane borers are actually small wasps. They are very active at seeking out the cut ends of rose canes to bore down into from early spring all the way through early fall. The most common cane borers are predators of aphids and use them to feed their young, thus they are a mix of good guy and bad guy in our rose beds. Rose borer damage can be easily spotted by the hole they leave in the center pith of the cut rose canes. Girdling may also be seen along the stem. The depth of the boring itself may only be a few inches deep, while the most damaging and life threatening to the rose bush can go all the way to the main crown of the plant.-