Hi there - no plugmold on island; we do have outlets there. We don't use the island for prep but my computer is plugged in constantly! (room for DH's too). You can *just* see the outlet hiding underneath the island overhang:

The outlet at the bottom of the sink base (at the other end of the island) is meant to be an extra "just in case" (eg just in case we have many hands helping in the kitchen and the island needs to accommodate an appliance or too). So far we haven't used it! My favourite thing about it is the fact that the woman who painted our cabs camouflaged it.

Eliz

You can do all kinds of decorative things. What I like about plugmold is how slender the recepticle is. There may be other outlets that are that small, but I haven't seen them. You don't have to use the whole strip. Your electrician can cut it down and just wire a couple of outlets. Plus you can paint it to match your wood, and put a similarly shaped molding strip at both ends of your piece of plugmold, so that it just kind of sinks in.

Only saying because outlets often bug me. I have an outlet. It's on the far side of the window where there's a pantry style cabinet and no uppers. You can't see it from most of the kitchen so it doesn't bug me as much as it could. I'm hoping for a cover carved out of cabinet wood. We'll see...

I am trying to decide which end of uour small island (2' x 4') will have the outlet. The "exposed" end or the end with the 12" overhang. What is the most common?

it's my understanding that some codes specify that an outlet cannot be under an overhang that's greater than 6". something to consider in for resale.

We have sillites and love them. Very discreet. www.sillites.com -- We posted pictures a couple months ago -- not sure whether the pics are still available.

We have an outlet on each end of the island. I didn't want them to be seen so they went UNDER the overhang - no problems with code. I don't use electrical appliances at the island very often but when I do, the outlets are not inconvenient for me. If you foresee using electrical appliances at your island daily, you might prefer the plugmold.

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.

One thing someone mentionned on another thread is that so many electronic items have transformers so it makes it difficult to plug in more than one of these at a time into a regular outlet.
It seems with the plugmold there is more space between the recepticles (maybe eliminating that problem?)
I think with technology growing so rapidly, it is probably good to try and plan ahead (if possible!!!)

Who knows what we will need to "plug in" ..... maybe that floor sweeping/kitchen cleaning robot!
Suz

aboc1212, very good point about laptops! I can see the cord draping being an issue.

I could have sworn someone on this forum has shown a picture of plugmold under the lip of their island top. IÂm *so* bad about keeping links to things like this. Does anyone besides me remember this?

I have plugmold under the lip of my island top. It is actually recessed into the cabinet (end panel) so it does not stick out. I do not have quite the 1.5" overhang due to the slab size. We probably only have about an inch (we had to cut the island size down a few inches to accommodate the slab we wanted). The plugmold is black and our cabinets are dark cherry, so it isn't noticeable. I also have a plugmold strip under the overhang of the seating area in case we need a plug for a buffet or laptop. IIRC, the NEC requires one receptacle for the island and the 6" overhang rule only applies if it is the only receptacle. Of course, verify this for yourself and check with your local permitting office.

I love the plugmold on the island and under the perimeter cabinets. I would have installed a traditional outlet on the backsplash if we kept a coffee maker or any other appliances out on a regular basis, but we do not.

We have handy outlets on our island - -two duplexes inside cabinets for electric slicing knives and kitchen aids. Then, on the end where there is an overhang, outlets tucked up high on the backing board. Those get the most use at the island seating area - perfect for laptops to plug into. Grateful for every outlet. Inside the island, there are circuits for the cooktop and the trash compactor.