One mistake I initially made when I first began my hosta aficionado was to pull the plant from the pot and stick it directly into the ground (at or at least around the proper depth). The plant seemed fine the first year or so, then as the original potting mix began to break down; the plant would slowly begin to sink, eventually rotting the plant. Although I had tilled, and appended the surrounding soil, the old potting mix started decomposing immediately, causing a mushy sink hole. I had lost quite a few hostas because of this mistake, and now I carefully remove ALL the medium from around the hosta and roots and then plant it into the pre-prepared soil, then if there is any decomposition or soil settling, then the whole area settles together Initially I wanted to minimize the disturbance to the plant and roots, which ended up being a big boo booÂ.

Thank you all for your responses! I've been away from my computer for a few days and am delighted to see and read what you've all shared. " I couldn't give up extra storage and dead space, to me, is crazy! " I agree with you Jennybc. I hope your new kitchen works great for you. : ) Ilovecookie, you sound like an experienced island owner. : ) It'll be interesting to hear which island style is your all time favorite. Marykh, having a 48" deep island with a cooktop sounds like a very good idea. Island cooktops without a lot of extra depth always look so scary to me. It's neat that you liked your current configuration enough to do it again. Sjhockeyfan (bonus points for you!) I love the way you did partial storage and partial seating. Great idea! That's a good compromise, and you don't have to crawl like a troll under a bridge to get your things out from the back side. Nice. Scootermom, that's funny. I can just picture my dh sticking one of our little kids on top of a towel and scooching them around by their ankles to clean the middle of that mammoth island. I don't think I'd want one that big, for sure. Ah, Cloudswift, you have my favorite island cooktop configuration. I don't think we'll be doing a cooktop, but if we did, I think it would look much like yours. I also like your idea of doing storage just on the ends. Good thinking! Thanks for the pictures. You get bonus points too. ; ) Oldbat2be, just look at that sunshine streaming across your island. Pure loveliness. Sigh. I get the stuff spreading across the island. I think that's one of the downsides of a big one. It's all too easy to set stuff and then push it around rather than cleaning it off. A small island is much easier, imo, to keep cleared for working. But once the big one is cleared, like chiefneil said, it's a great spot to work! Debrak, I can picture you and your cat doing your island dance, LOL. We have a cat with a similar bent on life that likes to hop in our vehicle when we go to leave. I can't tell you how many times we've had to chase him from one end to the other of our 12 passenger van, over and under seats and around passengers and belongings before we can get him out(the little weasel) But we love him. Nhbaskets, I really liked your old kitchen, and your new one is going to be beautiful, too. That's great that your DH made you check to reach the whole island before install. You get bonus points for your picture as well. : ) Sherri58, I like the sounds of your island configuration too, with a mix of seating and storage. Do you have a different spot for hanger-outers since you won't have island seating in the new kitchen? I like to have someplace for those sweet visitors to go that's out. of. my. workzone. Otherwise, I like you, would make it all storage! Calquail, thanks for asking about the island dimensions, and thanks, sjhockeyfan for your detailed description. That's so helpful! Good point about going a little deeper on the shallow bases. Thanks all!

cat-mom - sorry to get in the middle of this thread, but I saw a very old thread about your narrow island with seats at the end. It says I can see your photos at FKB? What is that and is there still access to your photos? Thanks so much. I also didn't know how to message you directly. :)

I started out wanting minimal holes on my island and thought I wanted a touchless faucet. Then another GWer explained the function of the Kohler Karbon and I was sold though it was $$$ out of my budget. While I cooked in my temp kitchen during the many months of my remodel, I had the revelation that the sink and faucet were what I used most in my kitchen. This led to me making major changes and budget alterations to accommodate. I decided to get what functioned best for me. My sink and faucet are the best decisions I made in my kitchen and these decisions evolved with research. I know it's beyond your budget, but you asked how others decided. There are so many technological changes with faucets that I'd advise to take your time, research them, and try to see and play in person. Choose one that suits your needs and style. The favorite function of mine is that I can position it where I want it then have both hands free under it. I wouldn't give a second thought to a soap dispenser. It's used all day long!