Overall I like the fridge placement, it is in a good location for getting out items and putting them on the island for cooking/prep and for refilling drinks, etc. from the eating area. We do not have a cabinet in between the fridge and dw so it is possible to bang our fridge door into the dw when it is cracked open, looks like you probably have enough space so that this will not be a concern. The biggest annoyance in our kitchen is when the kids come in to eat and want to use the kitchen sink to wash up, we just do not have enough room to be getting stuff ready around the island and pulling stuff out of the fridge when the kids are walking through. We have two other sinks close by so it is really more of an issue of getting the kids to use them without having to be reminded.

We had one over our table before our reno and I liked it a lot. When doing our kitchen I saw the same fixture in a magazine over a table---it looked good there too. We moved the fixture to our peninsula during the reno but I liked it better over the table. I plan to move it back there when we find something else to replace it with.

I saw a few online, but wanted to see if people who bought them actually like it. I do not have many...any sit down dinners, and we have a more than adequate breakfast nook overlooking the backyard to seat 6 people if needed, but we usually set food out and gathers are very casual. Previous house had a dining room which we furnished as a sitting room, but was not used much. was wondering if I can get more use of the space we currently have, I suspect if we put a dining table, the space will be under utilized... I have two young boys and was thinking a pool table, with a possible ping pong table that you can set on top will be more useful and if I combine that with a dining table...but wanted to see if anyone has pulled it off.. this is the one I was looking at: http://www.ozonebilliards.com/albany-7-foot-dining-pool-table-antique-brown-ozpt11ab7.html

Sure, we did this in a house (that we have since sold). I designed it and I loved it. We didn't have room to have the big kitchen we wanted PLUS a standalone table, but did have room to make the island bigger with seating. We also had a separate dining table. We really enjoyed this set up (and didn't use the dining table unless we had extra people visiting). We had no problem with the counter height, though my elderly father did not like it. Also, it was admittedly a huge pain for the period my son was in a high chair because there are no chairs that tall. We still had plenty of room for island storage and didn't need any more kitchen cabinets. In fact, if we wanted to fit a table in the room, we would needed to cut out some cabinets. This allowed us to maximize cabinets. We're currently designing another kitchen for our other condo, and also struggling to fit all of the cabinets I want plus a table. The island seating is the perfect solution. I also really liked sitting at that island while my husband cooked and vice versa. Much more casual and intimate than sitting at a kitchen table. Here's a picture from the mls listing (ignore the wide angle lens :)