Fairly light would be my choice. No need to "match" older oak dark trim..... staying light will work with all the "white" surfaces and give a nice ambience with the white shades on the fixture above it. A light maple top is a classic surface. I'd probably think twice about wood knobs.....probably go white ceramic....just a personal preference

It's so beautiful I can't imagine it in any other state! I'd keep it as close as possible to its unfinished state. It's a piece of art.

I'm with eam44., if

Is that an overhang that you can raise? I don't want to threadjack but, if so, I'd love to see the mechanisms they used for that. TIA

Looks like natural it is! That will let me do it in a food safe way as well and use it more as a butcher block - won't have to worry about keeping it so pristine that way.

I"m p;retty set on the wood knobs. I love the way wood knobs look on inset drawers in classic English kitchens and have been wanting to do them for awhile.

eam44, thanks so much. I love it too. My contractor took one look at it, shook his head and said, "you know Daisy, most people just take two lower cabs, put them together and slap a counter top on them." He doesn't know TKO or gardenweb.

funky, there is a pullout frame underneath. I'll try to take a pic as I'm heading over there with another load now (moving next week, yay!) They usually only do 12" overhang and use a snap up support thing, but I wanted 18" so they came up this this. It seems solid.

I think you'll love having a food safe surface that you can actually use! I would like to do an overhang like that on the back of my peninsula. Probably 15-18" so a photo and any other info would be extremely helpful. Thanks again.

I'm so thrilled for you that you're finally able to move back home! What a great, belated Christmas present for your entire family.

So glad to hear you are leaving it natural and going with a usable food safe finish! I've had my maple counter top section for 29 years, and I use it for 90% of my daily prep. Enjoy! ...and don't be afraid to cut on it, that's what it is for :)

cookncarpenter - what do you use on your top?

Mineral oil for the most part, but I have used on occasion Howard Butcher Block Conditioner, which is a blend of mineral oil, beeswax, and carnauba wax.

Honestly, with the daily use my counter gets, the oils from foods and prepping using olive, peanut, and grape seed oils seem to keep it pretty well seasoned. Only when it looks "thirsty" do I feel the need to intentionally re-oil.

I might add that my other countertops are soapstone, and my cabinets are somewhat distressed knotty pine, so I'm one who embraces "patina" ;)

Thanks! I also like patina - but if I did stain and varnish it, I would worry about it.

I've got some nice end grain cutting boards and find that the beeswax and mineral oil works great - and keeps my hands looking pretty good too.

funkycamper, here are some pics

Thanks for the photos. Does that piece underneath slide back like a drawer, and partially disappear into the cabinet? Or is this a stable overhang and not a drop-down?

Looks like it'll slide back in funkycamper, also you can see the hinge where'd the maple top meets the units underneath. And that hinge looks like it's placed away from the cabinet enough to give space for the support to slide back and not be bumped by the maple overhang when it is lowered down. Really ingenious!

Yes, somersetlass has it exactly right. It's an easy slide in and out and it's hinged using piano hinges. ignore the mess underneath there. I painted it myself and still have to do the laquer finish so the green tape is still on the edges. I was worried about it holding the weight, but amazing carpenter man says it's good.

Oh, now I see the piano hinge. I thought it was shadow. D'oh! That is very cool. Thanks so much. Bookmarked it to show DH.

That's a tried and true support system for a drop leaf. Your carpenter must be old school ;)

You're absolutely right cookncarpenter. After we'd come up with the design for the island and they told me that the supports they used wouldn't work for a hinged overhand that big, I told them I'd go look at antique stores and see how they did it for old style drop leaf tables. They were able to adjust the mechanism a bit for ease of use on a heavier top.

Hi Daisychain01! First, let me compliment you on your beautiful island! You have inspired me! I'm building my own island and now, having seen yours, I think I may go with maple for the top! And how very clever of you to think of looking in antique stores to figure out a way to get your drop leaf! I may do that too, although I'll have to hire an expert for that; my DIY skills aren't up to that. I applaud your decision to leave it natural. Gorgeous and functional!

Oops! Forgot to ask: where did you get that light fixture? It's beautiful! You are lucky to have such a great carpenter; could you send him out my way? ;-)

Debbie, I built our last island and it was a labour of love. I found table legs com to be invaluable and bought most of the parts for it from there. The light fixture is a Thomas O'Brien - we have a matching chandelier over the dining table (or where the dining table will be tomorrow :)