I don't think I would do a second island.

I prefer having a central main island around which people congregate.

Two islands would feel too choppy to me though they do look nice in pics and are in vogue.

As far as storage space, I'd probably forget about things in cabinets in the second island. Too far away from the action.

Not sure that a second island would be an inducement or a detractor or either to other home buyers. For me, it would not be an inducement.

I'm glad you asked this question. We are planning a second island -- for china storage -- and I'd love to see others' responses.

My gut is that for resale, I'd plan only one. Do you have a separate DR? Not sure if this will give you any help at all, but for kitchens open to a great expanse of space, this is one of my favorites.

Also, the Crown Point website has some gorgeous islands, most of them single, that definitely add to the grand look of the kitchens pictured.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crown Point islands

I think that built-ins, when done well and in keeping with the style of the home, are generally appealing when it comes to resale. If you have the space and budget, I think a second island would be nice.

It doesn't have to be done in the same finish & top of the first island, but can be something that complements it and transitions to the other open areas.

For the way we live, I would like it to serve as a buffet area where drinks/appetizers/coffee/dessert could be set out & served. Having extra storage beneath it for china/linens/dessert plates & odd-sized serving dishes would be great. Now I want a second island!

Yes!

YES! We love having 2 islands. First, we were able to make one primarily work (with the prep sink), etc. and one primarily social (with the ice maker, drink fridge, etc.) The primary reason we went with two islands is that it keeps it from being a "racetrack". Its so much easier to cut in between the islands than around the entire perimeter.

We love having two islands!

Wow, some great feedback already! You have no idea how grateful I am.

We only have one eating area. It's in an open room right off one side of the kitchen (directly to the side of the main island). Then out from the long side of the main island island is the living room. We don't have a separate living room and family room. There is a space in between the kitchen and living room furniture set up to put in mini conversational seating if anyone wanted it. But, it's basically just one big room. It's one big "L" shape with no walls. The dining room is in the short side of the "L"

Plumeriavine, In our remodel we are trying to clean up some of the choppiness so your point is great.

Jsweenc and Amck, I love the idea of using it as a buffet, but I was wondering if I should put it in the dinning room or if having it as the second island between kitchen and living room. Do you think it's still good as a buffet even if it's not on the dinning side of the room? The Crown Point website is great, thanks!

Boxerpups, I think you are great even if you don't know how to add clips :)

Bethandkevin, so great to hear. Do you have seating at the entertaining island? I will have some fridge drawers in it for drinks.

Ok, if I can't figure out how to post pics today, I'll ask for some help

I meant to tell you about posting. You need a photobucket or other photo sharing acct and a scanner (or a digital camera - I have posted my hand-drawn layouts both ways and either will work). There's no means of loading directly from iPhoto; you have to have a web link in html. (It's not as complicated as it sounds... if I can do it, anyone can!) Photobucket is easy to join and to use. It won't be any different for Mac or PC.

Look at the third post on the Read Me thread; it walks you through posting pictures. A layout would be helpful to answer your question if you can get one on here.

If you want seating for people to hang out while the cook is in the kitchen, I wouldn't put it at the second island (if it is laid out as I am picturing) if you put it on the LR side. That would put people too far away for conversation. If used for seating on the DR side, it puts counter seats very close to table seats. Not necessarily a bad thing, just depends on what you want -- as long as you have enough clearance between bar and table seats.

However, it sounds like the main island would be good for seating either way. 10x4 is huge; surely splashing won't be so much of an issue, depending on where the prep sink is located. If it is an issue, I'd sure like to know, because I will have a prep sink in my island 8.5'x2.5' (but no seating at mine).

If you need more help with posting pics, just ask!

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

clkw, to answer your question, yes we have seating at the entertainment island. We actually have 5 stools, but an additional one in the kitchen if we really want to crowd in. We have a 35 foot living /dining room combo across the hall, but people still pile in around the island.
bpt

snowyshasta put in 2 islands sort of like you're describing. The first continent sized island is in the kitchen proper and the second island(with the columns) is more of a divider between the kitchen and the family room. She sets up the second island as sort of a buffet for parties.

I hope she doesn't mind me posting this pic.

I think having 2 islands will be beautiful and useful only if planned well and it is suitable for the space. I was just recently at a neighbor's home with 2 islands and honestly it was a little awkward. but this might be due to the kitchen size and layout. there were a lot of women hanging out in the kitchen (it was Bunco night!) and it seemed a little crowded.

I would love to see your layout before casting my true vote!

Our kitchen will be about 23' x 20' and I was originally strugging how to put a large continent in the center that does all we need, but to also have it look victorian. I recently decided two islands is the perfect answer. Both for function and form. The main island will be the work horse with fridge drawers, prep sink, etc in it and the second will be where the social stuff happens in the kitchen. For us two islands is the only way to go.

Does snowyshasta live in Oregon? Her kitchen looks very familiar so I'm wondering if it was on the Portland area remodeled home tour last fall. If not, I saw a kitchen with pretty much the same set-up of island and long bar between kitchen and FR. Good use of the space, I thought (and lovely kitchen).

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THANKS JSWEENC!!! Here are my pics and proposed layout.. thanks for the uploading lesson!!!! This is a big day!

Let me try to walk you through what you are seeing:

The living room, kitchen and dining room are currently three different levels. They will all be the level of the kitchen when this is done. The big thing surrounding the stove that separates the kitchen and living room won't be there. The wall above the current counters where the current fridge is will be windows. The window will be above the future sink and in between the new fridge and dishes cabinet (not the microwave as it says). The cabinets that separate the kitchen and dining room will be gone. Basically, everything you see will be gone. My main goal is to make everything one level and then to make everything less choppy and flow better. The drawing of the kitchen was just a first draft. Some things will change. The island will probably be 10x4 and perhaps the second island will be 8x3? (if you all still think there should be a second island after seeing the pictures). The laundry and pantry rooms will be flipped. When looking into the living room in pic #5, that back wall with the stripes won't be there. It will be floor to ceiling windows. Ignore all the furniture drawn into the living room sketch. The middle section will most likely be fairly empty and the end section will have seating for tv and conversation. I'm also thinking of making the second island movable incase a future owner would like to have a kitchen table there instead for an 'eat in' kitchen. But maybe you think our dining room is close enough to our kitchen for that not to be a potential issue. I'm definitely thinking of resale in this renovation.

I'm thinking the perimeter cabinets will be white and the islands will be stained. The second island could be soapstone or whatever and the main island and perimeter counters will be calacutta marble. I'm envisioning the Refectory style from Christopher Peacock. It has a clean contemporary look that makes me think it will go with this house but it is also a traditional look that will hopefully warm up our home (just make it a little less funky). I have no idea what the second island will look like yet. The floor will be wood and the same floor throughout living room, kitchen and dining room. There are currently three surfaces.

ANY feedback you have on these thoughts would be very welcome. Once I get a little further along, I'll be reposting my pics and layout in another thread to get my layout critiqued, so I apologize for the duplication in advance. I just didn't want to go further with the two island idea if everyone nixed it.

Jsweenc, I will make sure to have seating at the first island because your point about people being closer while cooking is right on.

Snowyshasta's islands were really something. Laxsupermom, thanks for showing me! The term continent made me laugh.

Mairin, you and Amck's point about the island working if they made sense with the house is great. I like more traditional things and our house is contemporary so I always have to fight my urges. I will definitely post the sketches of the proposed islands once I get that far. It is so useful to get so many sets of eyes on the projects. I love reading everyone's comments on proposed layouts because I learn so much. I'm not good at visualizing outside of the box.

Igloochic, our kitchens are similar sizes. Do you have pics of your proposed islands by chance.

Everything I need to know on Gardenweb I learned from buehl. All credit goes to her for her tech and design savvy. I'm just parroting her so she doesn't have to do alll the work.

You can embed larger photos in your post so that they are all on one page rather than having to click back and forth. Some people may prefer having the thumbnails, but for me it's easier to look at if I can just scroll up to the pics.You may need to resize the pictures first; select a picture and hit "Edit"; it will then give you options to resize proportionally. For pictures, enter around 500 for the larger dimension; the other will fill in automatically. Layouts might be more readable if they are a little larger; I sized mine at 800 for the larger side. Down below, either replace or save a copy, and your resized pic will be the first one in the album. That's the one you want the HTML code for. If you go to "View Album" and put the mouse over a thumbnail, it will give you several options. Take your mouse down to HTML and click, then copy (command C - make sure the code is highlighted, but it should just take a single click), then go to your post and paste (command V).

Sorry for all that and no input on the islands tonight. It's been a long two days, we all have bad colds, my floors are covered with sheetrock dust, and my brain is fried, but I ought to be in better shape to comment tomorrow.

Just one question for now: will the dining area be otherwise open to the kitchen, except if you put the 2nd island there?

We debated long and hard about having one *huge* island vs two smaller ones. The two smaller ones won out, and we have been very pleased with the result.

The smaller island has the 36" range with cabinets on either side. Fridge and main kitchen sink are nearby.

The other island is more 'prep' oriented, and also 'baking' oriented. Pantry, prep sink, wall oven, and built-in microwave oven are nearby.