OK, after I posted this I tried the better search tactic of going through Google, and it did turn up a post on this topic, so I apologize if this is redundant. But if anyone has any further thoughts I'd be very happy to hear them.

Personally, I'd rather not have the Main/Cleanup Sink OR the cooktop in the island. Prep Sink, no problem...assuming a prep sink is needed or you have plenty of room for that + workspace.

However, IF I had to have one or the other in the island, I'd choose the Main/Cleanup Sink hands down!

Cooktops in the island are not the safest, especially if you plan to have people sitting behind one. If you do go with the cooktop, though, be sure you have at least 24" all around it...including behind it. Grease splatters at least 18"...so you want plenty of room behind to ensure you don't splatter someone sitting behind the cooktop. You also don't want to inundate them with billowing clouds of steam or smoke, so adequate venting is a must! (You also want to minimize the spread of grease, smoke, odors, steam, etc. into other rooms...much more likely with an island or peninsula cooktop b/c of the greater air movement swirling in and around an open surface like an island or peninsula.)

Additionally...

• A cooktop in the island (or peninsula) is more expensive when you starting looking at the cost of venting a hood from the middle of the room plus the cost of island hoods. Island hoods are generally more expensive than wall hoods b/c...

  • You need a bigger hood to compensate for the greater air movement over/across an island...at least 6" wider than the cooktop and 27" deep

  • You also need a more powerful hood to compensate for the greater air movement over an island

  • You need a hood that's crafted for and finished on all 4 sides instead of 3

Note: Downdrafts, even telescoping downdrafts, are generally useless.
Then there's the aesthetics of a hood hanging down in the middle of your kitchen...if you want a view into another room or to the outside it will be in the way and it will be a commanding presence in your kitchen AND any room that's open to it. If you're even average height, it will most likely be below your line-of-sight b/c generally hoods are recommended to be no higher than 30" off the cooking surface, putting them at approx 66" off the floor (5'6"). If you mount them higher, then you'll need a hood that's even wider/deeper and more powerful than mentioned above.
Finally, there's the functional aspect (2 parts)

• Unless your island is quite large, a cooktop (or Main/Cleanup sink) in your island will drastically reduce your islands effectiveness as a great expanse of workspace. One of the great things about islands and peninsulas is the wonderful expanse of workspace they offer. Plenty of room to spread out during those large projects (baking, crafts, homework, science fair, wrapping gifts, etc.), for staging food for appetizers or a buffet, or to just allow several people to work at one time, whether together on one task or on several, and to visit while doing those tasks.

• Then there's the amount of time you spend doing the various tasks in the kitchen. The vast majority of work done in the kitchen is broken up...

BTW...you probably are not getting responses to your thread emailed to you even though you checked the box that says "Check here if you would like copies of follow-ups to your message emailed to you." This is b/c you do not have the email option turned on in your profile.

See the "Read Me" thread for more information (linked in post above). Scroll down to the post w/the subject "Getting Emails Sent To You...3-step Process"

I have a cooktop on an long two-tier island with a pop-up downdraft. It works for me. I don't deep fry or grill and the few times I sear, I do it on a back burner so the downdraft has been more than adequate for my use. The two chairs I have for island seating are not behind the cooktop, but at the end, near the prep area, instead.

I wouldn't use flammable material adjacent to a cooktop or range, though, whether on an island or perimeter.

I think it depends on how YOU cook. If you will have a high powered gas cooktop and do a lot of frying and grilling, then I agree a downdraft is probably not going to the trick and having the cooktop in an island where there will be seating is a safety concern. BUT, if you will have electric/induction and do not do a lot of heavy duty cooking, and you have enough space between the cooktop and the seating area, you will probably be fine.

I am planning an island cooktop, because it came down to a choice between my main/cleanup sink or the cooktop. No way did I want guests sitting at the island looking into my sink to see dirty pots, etc. Plus, the sink would have made it difficult to use the island for serving, but my induction cooktop will still give me a totally flat surface for a buffet. I also spoke with a few people I know who have island cooktops and they all love them. But none of us do a lot of high powered cooking.

The only time a telescoping downdraft will work is if the pot/pan is right next to it and several inches shorter than the downdraft and the downdraft fan is powerful enough to overcome the natural movement of steam, smoke, grease, odors, heat, etc. to rise...otherwise it's useless...simple science.

It does depend on what type of cook you are and if you have any other alternatives. I like numbersjunkie will have an induction cooktop, but mine will be on a peninsula. I also do not do a lot of frying, etc.

We will have a ss hood over it and hope that it will be the centerpiece as we will have no backsplash mural or the likes to make a statement in our kitchen.

Of course we do not have plans to have seating behind our cooktop...wish we could, but we will only have around 15" behind it. But we are making this decision so that we could have room for a double oven.

Now off to pull down more drywall....we are in demo mode today! Unfortunately not yet for the kitchen...putting in a main floor laundry before the kitchen.

Most GW folks seem to hate island cooktops and advise strongly against them. BuehlÂs comments are very informative and wise (as usual); island cooktops do have a number of potential disadvantages that shouldnÂt be overlooked. Having said that, IÂve had an island cooktop for nearly 20 years and find that thereÂs also much to love about them. For example, I prefer facing the rest of the room rather than a wall as I cook. Having an island cooktop allows me to watch TV, interact with other people, and/or simply gaze into my back yard as I cook. After much deliberation, IÂve decided to keep the island cooktop in my current kitchen renovation.

Of course, whether an island cooktop is a good idea for you will depend on your other layout options, your cooking patterns, and your planned use of the island. In my case, much of my kitchen layout cannot be changed. Moving my cooktop to the perimeter of the room would steal upper cabinet space and perimeter counter space that I donÂt want to give up, would mess up my work triangle, and would actually cost me more since IÂd have to reroute my ductwork. Moreover, I donÂt use the oven very much. I donÂt bake much any more and I do most of my cooking on the cooktopÂand most of my prep work on the island. (Indeed, IÂd be more interested in finding a way to add a prep sink to my island than I would in moving the cooktop off the island.) But since I use my island so much for actual cooking, I donÂt use it as much as you might for seating. Others sometimes perch there while I cook, but more often they sit at the nearby kitchen table. If you want to use the island heavily for seating, you might not like an island cooktopÂespecially if you have a gas cooktop. I have an electric cooktop now and plan to replace it with induction. (I havenÂt had any trouble with people getting splashed by grease or hot steam during cooking, but someone did once light a bag of groceries on fire when they unknowingly set it down on my hot cooktop. Induction should eliminate that safety hazard.)

The only nagging downside for me is the venting issue. I wish I could eliminate the range hood over the island as it disrupts the view. IÂm not impressed with what IÂve seen of downdraft vents, however, so IÂll have to live with one of the relatively low profile contemporary range hoods IÂve seen. If your tastes run more traditional and/or youÂre thinking of a large gas cooktop with a grill, youÂd need a much larger range hood and that might be a deal breaker right there.

Good luck deciding whatÂs best for you.

Buehl, have you ever USED a downdraft? No offense, but I think your claim that they are useless is a little extreme. They work just fine for many cooks, although an overhead vent is clearly better, a downdraft is not USELESS.

I have an old JenAir downdraft now, and its not even telescoping. I also have a grill that I use to cook steaks, etc. and it has always been able to suck the smoke away just fine. My ONLY problem with it is when I boil a large pot of water, it does not capture the steam. But I expect a 15" telescoping downdraft would do a better job at that. Just sayin.

Numbersjunkie, according to Buehl (whom I am sure is very informed), you and I are going down to road to kitchen perdition together. I purchased a 23 year-old used kitchen from Green Demolitions and my contractor started working on installing it last week. It had a Thermador cooktop and downdraft on the island, and I will attest that the downdraft was quite messy and greasy when I threw it out. We got an induction cooktop at half price at a scratch and dent store (its box was open, no damage to it). Our cooktop is a Kitchenaid. I toyed with having the island cabinets become a peninsula, but it was not the best use of my space. In the end, we decided to keep the island as is and get rid of our kitchen table. In a couple of weeks, I will let you know how we like it.

Numbers, what are you using for your island top? We chose a polished porcelain tile because this is my "doing it on the cheap" kitchen. How big is your island? Mine is 93" x 45" with the corners cut off to make an octagon and to save hip bruising. We will have six stools. The island is replacing our kitchen table.

Our downdraft we also did on the cheap, but not because we got a good deal. We got the least expensive one that seemed like it could work, the GE JVB67ABB. DH learned online that you can relocate the motor for it to the basement, making it an in-line blower. He got the duct piece that fits in the cabinet where the blower goes from GE, the rest of the ducting will be generic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooktop

Sorry, but yes, I have used a downdraft....not at my house, but at others' and it was loud and didn't work at all. It was a Jenn-Air.

There was a time b/f then that I thought I wanted a Jenn-Air in an island...until I used one. Yes, they look cool, but I found the downdraft useless and the location a big turnoff. I do have some friends w/island cooktops with seating (some with as little as 12" b/w the back of the cooktop & seating overhang edge) and I truly dislike it...I never sit at those islands, at least not while the cooktop is in use.

When I comment on something that I don't have personal experience with, I say so...usually saying "many here have said" or similar...if I don't say that, then I have had experience one way or another.

Boy, everyone, so much to think about! Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. I hadn't thought about having my back to people while cooking, which I don't like. But I also hadn't thought about how low a vent hood seems to need to be to do the job, which might also be a visual barrier. We currently have a popup vent with our gas cooktop, which works for the back burners but not for the front. I hope we can keep our cooktop, which is virtually new (before we decided to go whole-hog and redo the whole kitchen), but my GC was doing an ominous rumble about that, so we'll see. I guess what I really need to do is think about how I cook, and what trade-offs are acceptable. I don't know the actual dimensions of the island yet--depends on which configuration we ultimately go with--but it will probably be pretty good-sized. If we could fit both a sink and cooktop into one side of it, would you recommend that? Thanks again.

I've used several friends' kitchens with island or peninsula cooktops and downdraft venting.

In all cases, the venting was

lousy. To be more specific - if I was simmering, boiling, sweating, gently sauteeing something on medium heat, then the venting was okay. But for all of the following, which involved high heat and lots of hot oil, the venting did almost nothing:
- Frying crab cakes
- Stir frying chicken and nuts
- Wok frying fish fillets
- Searing sea scallops
- Pan frying dumplings

Basically, if you don't need much venting, then downdraft venting gives you what you need. Many people don't do a lot of high-heat frying, so that's fine. For me, if I had an island cooktop, I'd need a real hood.

Our house came with the sink in the island. I would love to have the sink by a window but not an option for me. Our island is large and faces out into the family room. I have additional counter space for serving food or to place dirty dishes if I have to. If they are really bad I throw them in the oven til after they leave anyway. The best company is the ones that you feel comfortable enough letting them help with the dishes anyway. IMO. So.. sink in island can be alright too.

Funny how we can have such different experiences and opinions (and strong ones.) ;~) I happen to *love* having my cooktop on the island (which is about 44" x 70") and my pop-up downdraft vent really sucks....in a good way! Admittedly we don't do a lot of deep frying so I don't have to worry about splashing grease all around on a daily basis, but we do saute and stir fry and when grease does pop or the spaghetti sauce explodes, the pop-up hood itself provides a "splash barrier" for messy cooking (it's really easy to clean, though.) Thermador gas range with the big burners, Thermador pop-up downdraft vent (the one with the bigger fan.) Works well even for stir fry and smelly things, works even for tall soup pots, works well even for the front burners....and I'm picky about cooking smells and heat so it would fuss me if it didn't work really well! I love the arrangement of cooktop in island the the aesthetics and function of the pop-up venting. Your mileage may vary. LOL

I have noticed that this is one of those topics that folks seem to have very strong opinions about. I am another one who *loves* having the cooktop on the island. I have a large kitchen with a whole perimeter of counterspace, but I still prefer to prep and cook on the island. I have a cooktop on one side and a prep sink on the other and I prep in between the two. I love it. I can talk to my guests sitting across from me on the island counter stools or watch TV while cooking. The main cleanup sink faces a corner window and is directly opposite the cooktop, which is on a diagonal.

As for the downdraft, I find it sufficient. For the first 4 years we lived here, I never used it. Until, I once seared bacon to make Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon and there was a layer of bacon grease over. our. entire. house. (very open concept). The next time I did that, I used the downdraft vent and nada. So, it certainly depends on what type of cooking you do, but it is not necessarily useless.

An island cooktop will never give you 1st rate ventillation unless you spend a fortune on the overhead hood. A primary island sink will only be practical if the island includes the dishwasher and undercounter dish storage, or you will spend your time draging things back a forth to the sink and dishwaster and china storage. A secondary prep sink on an island is great to have.

What carol08 said - I had a slide in range that faced out into the room and I loved it.

However, I would encourage you to look at island hoods. I have used a couple of downdrafts (older nutone and jenn-air) and thought they didn't work very well at all. The 14" tall thermador is supposed to work fairly well, but I've never seen it in person.

I also agree that it depends a bit on how you cook and what you cook and how often. If you fry or sear on the cooktop frequently, I really encourage you to read around on both sides of the topic on the wider internet.

I agree that there are many strong opinions on this topic. I'm in the anti-cooktop-in-island camp. Ventilation, as mentioned, is an issue. Also, I don't get why people want to face into the room. You should be looking down at your cooking most of the time!

Before I read this thread, I made a comment on this topic in the enjoyable thread begun by JohnLiu, which I'll link (my post is about the 12th one down). Also page down for John's apt response.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread Entitled The Maginot Line...