Just remember that the island will become a part of the decor in the open and adjacent room..........and yes,;;;;;your ventilation needs to be considered as well. Also, that a very showy stone in a home "not up to it"...is usually not a great idea. Make certain your is. Up to it.

All kitchens, ( all rooms in fact) are the sums of different elements making a cohesive and beautiful whole. One star in a show is plenty, and any star needs just a supporting cast. (I'd skip your middle photo.....)

You think it is better to have heat and food spatter/ sauteing in the "party zone?" The GC made the argument, because so many have tried, and loathed the cook on an island . Many faucets are quite beautiful, and ranges of the pro variety a focal point. But to each his own.

My cooktop is on the island with a downdraft. Has not been a problem for me. I like one and three.

I'm not a fan of busy hard materials. I'm fickle in nature and "I love it" at the stone yard to "I now hate it" the week after it's installed would be my fear. I would much rather use boring -ish hard elements that I will never 'love' nor 'hate' but....'like'. I would rather pick soft elements such as rugs, pillows, art, blankets that I can easily change out after the 'love' dies. There is enough going on in my kitchen with life...I don't need it in my counter top. That's me. You do you. :)

We are going with an induction cooktop which doesn't require a hood

That is 100% incorrect. Where did you get that idea? While an induction cooktop won't have the minor emissions that a gas cooktop has from the gas itself, it will have the exact same grease and smoke from cooking that a gas cooktop has.

If you are cooking a steak on an induction cooktop, do you think it will splatter and smoke less than it would on a gas cooktop? How about fish? Bacon? The hood is to exhaust the smoke and grease from cooking, regardless of the source of the heat.

Your idea of people sitting around the cooktop in the island is a fantasy from TV shows and magazines, and doesn't take into account that they may be splattered by the cooking, or inhaling smoke, or generally being in the cook's way. Keep in mind that when you are cooking, you are looking down at your pots and pans, not gazing at your guests. A cooking show chef once said it took her weeks to train to be able to cook while looking up at the camera for the show.

A better choice would be to dedicate the island for prep. That way, people can comfortably sit at the island, and even help you prep if you want, and generally be more social than cooking in front of them. The beauty of your stone will be front and center.

If you are going for a gorgeous stone island, why would you want it to have a cooktop in it to be splattered on, and if you are concerned about a sink interrupting the flow, the cooktop will interrupt it a lot more.

As to a faucet and sink in the island, some people look at faucets as jewelry for the kitchen. There are some beautiful faucets out there, and their placement on the island will be like adding gleaming earrings to a beautiful dress.

I got interrupted while I was typing, and finished my post a few minutes later, and added more comments to it about hoods over islands.

Where did you get the idea an induction stove does not require ventilation. They still create smells , splatters andsteam all of which needs ventilation. As for the counter IMO you either have a different counter on the island and all the same color cabinets or you have all the same counter and different color for the island cabinets but not both. As for which stone I would need to see your layout the rest of your home befors making a comment on that.I never put a cooktop in an island unless there are no outside to ventilate properly.BTW your GC should have nothing to do with your kitchen design that should have involved a kitchen designer from the beginning.

I would think a cooktop on your island would cause an even bigger visual black hole, detracting from a beautiful, statement-making stone than a sink cut out (especially if it’s just a small prep sink)

As I understand it, the question is, do you like a countertop with a wow factor? Yes. I love the idea of a statement making countertop. I love the second one and I see you say that's not your favorite. Sorry. If the house is big enough, the awesome granite will look fantastic.

Put your cooktop wherever you want it.

Spending a fortune on a showy upgraded counter and not a dime on professional design advice? Contractors do not design. Amateurs shouldn’t design.

Get a better layout first. Worry about finish materials after the important things have been addressed. Like workflow. It’s much better to spend 10K on adding a window, lighting, and moving some plumbing, if that makes the kitchen work harder and more efficiently. Not a counter on top of a poor layout.

Finishes come and go. Good design is the backbone to the finishes likevhe counter actually being noticed rather than the bad design. Good design is invisible. Things work how they should. Bad design shouts and bangs your shins. What it usually shouts is “someone spent lot of money on the wrong things.”

As Jan said, everything must "go together". I had my heart set on a specific porcelain tile. Sample tile in hand, I selected the only paint cabinet color that looked good with the flooring...then selected the only granite that "looked right". The cabinet color & granite would not have been my first...or fourth choice but, they were the only options that worked with the tile. Conclusion, select your "must have" first and build around it. Please don't put your cooktop in the island...the concept just does not work, for SO many reasons. And, why would you interrupt an expanse of gorgeous stone with a "hole"?

My stone is a wow factor. I used the same stone on both the island and the perimeter with the island in a different color. I would not do the island and perimeter different colors and do different counters on the island and perimeter. Too much.

Here is my kitchen

Interesting how many care if the range is in the island. Our GC made a passionate arguement for putting the sink there, but I don't like the visual hole of a sink in the island, nor a faucet sprouting out of the middle of a flat pane of stone.

Having a hood spouting from the top and a cooktop is worse. Plus we spend the majority of our time prepping and only 10% actually cooking meals, so why would you want your back to your guests for the majority of the time? I'm sorry but you have it backwards.

While GC's are not normally KD's, in this case, he/she is correct.

nor a faucet sprouting out of the middle of a flat pane of stone.

I like to think my faucet adds to the overall look and it doesn't detract.

Or having to do dirty dishes in the party zone. :)

So put your prep sink in the island and put a cleanup sink elsewhere which is actually more common than what I did. I reversed the common idea of the prep sink on the island because we are aging in place and prepping along the perimeter works better for our workflow.

We are going with an induction cooktop which doesn't require a hood, but we'll put one in that is higher than standard to minimize the visual impact. I'm happier with this approach.

If you put it higher than standard, then all you're doing is throwing your money away. There is a reason hoods are a certain height from the cooktop. And while you might not need a hood for code, I'd hate to see what your ceilings, cabinets, etc look like after a year or two if you don't have proper hood capture.

"Somehow our choice of cooking surface placement has taken over my initial request."

That happens a lot here. On another thread a lady asked about her cabinet doors and I had to tell her that her floor underlayment wasn't installed per manufacturer's specifications. Can't help myself. It's like asking me to watch you let your kids play near the expressway.

I like all of your choices, but especially 1 & 2. I agree with above comments if the kitchen and layout of common areas can support it, go for it! It’s nice to see something different.

I’d be concerned that combining one of those countertops with walnut cabinets will be too busy. In my opinion, walnut can have a lot of movement. If you were going to doing a flat color cabinet like cpartist did, it might be a different story. Given that you want to use two cabinet colors and two countertop colors, with one being bold, I’d be fearful the whole kitchen might look too busy and dated. Also, walnut will fade and can turn almost blonde in color, so be prepared for that possibility as well.

I have an induction cooktop and a sink on my island, but i did not have a choice, given the kitchen layout. The island is big enough that splattering of guests is not an issue, but since my island is walnut, I am hyperviligant when using the sink or cooktop. I also rarely prepare meals at home, so it’s not really an issue for me anyway.

I like the look of a bold granite island, but only you will know if you will love it 10+ years from now. My only suggestion would be to keep all your cabinets the same if you choose a bold granite island and coordinating perimeter counters so that your kitchen looks more cohesive and the island top can really be the star.

I love cpartist's kitchen countertops! They are absolutely stunning. And they work in her house. She's kept everything else quite simple.

Really busy, "statement-making" countertops usually work best in a humongous kitchen with an island the size of a landing strip for a small plane. In a typical kitchen, they can look very busy. One is far more likely to tire of such, as well.

Thank you Anglo.

Anglo my island isn't humongous by any stretch. It's 82" wide x 42" deep. True it's not tiny but it's what I consider right sized. Can seat 3 people.

Perhaps there is a layout that has neither the cooktop nor the sink on the island, and would let a statement stone make an actual statement.

That is what a pro KD is for. And worth every penny!

Hi Elizabeth K,

I say go for something beautiful that you will enjoy. I am not a fan of cookstops on a peninsula or island but only you know if that would work for you. meanwhile here are some images.. I have been collecting them because I am looking for a bit of drama with my stone too.

Typhoon Bordeaux Granite with Full Backsplash · More Info

Engineered hardwood floors · More Info

Russian Hill - John Maniscalco Architecture · More Info

Kashmir Gold Granite in an log cabin in Owings, MD · More Info

Mcaffee Farm Rd. 2 Kitchen, Bedford · More Info

La Grange Kitchen · More Info

Talbots Lane Kitchen · More Info

Marin Elegance · More Info

highland park · More Info

Classic and Timeless Kitchen · More Info

I am surprised so many people have an issue with island cooktops. I cook and entertain a lot. I love to set up buffet style on my island and keep soup snd gravy and such warming on my cooktop. I have a Dacor downdraft and it works great. I am from New Orleans originally so a lot of frying going on but this has not been an issue. My island is large though.

Just want to add I did have a kitchen designer review my plans and she significantly improved the look and functionality of my kitchen and it actually ended up costing less after her modifications. The cabinet company had a designer but it is well worth getting an independent designer to review.

Boxerpal - thanks so much for sharing the inspiring photos. This is really helpful to see these beautiful stones in a lovely setting. I'm convinced that the piece of nature's art we love today, we'll love in our kichen for a long time. I wish you well in your decisions. So many beautiful stones out there!

saratogaswizzlestick - Thank you for your comments. We'll meet again with our team now that our association approved some work that may happen with the remodel. It is nice to hear from someone that the execution of the cooktop isn't the worst idea in the world. I am trying to like the look of the sink in the island, but I just don't. Clearly, I'm in the minority--but that's never bothered me before. Thank you for a bit of validation. (Darn social media.) :)

Good thought on the kitchen designer. Thanks for sharing your experience!

When we built our house I LOVED the Verde Labrador granite (nothing unique really, but nice colors and sparkle). 13 years later, we replaced it with a plain silestone to match our changing tastes. Point being is you may grow tired of ANYTHING you choose, so get what you love and enjoy it for what it is. If the resale value or longevity factor is a concern for you, temper your choice a bit.

If you can have no sink or cooktop on the island, that would be ideal! I have the sink and while the layout works and I can wash dishes and chat with people, it is always wet on my counter. I do have a sleek one-piece, pull-out-spray faucet which is a very minimal distraction. Best of luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience mnmamax3. :)

I love statement pieces for islands! So unique and beautiful!

Catt Combs that is beautiful!

Thank you!

cat, that is stunning.

I'll echo Sophie's comment, of letting the statement stone, be the statement; have you gotten layout advice, on whether you can get the cooktop off the island? Functionally, its not ideal, for ventilation and related issues others have mentioned. My previous layout had the cooktop in a peninsula with bar, so I know it felt dysfunctional to me- and always grimy. It also did not make the peninsula a friendly place to hang out, so the bar space ended up wasted space.

Started over with completely new layout. I now have a 105 x 55 island, no cooktop, with a main sink and bar sink on the perimeters. It really is the social hub of the kitchen now, we definitely notice family and friends want to congregate there more. Having a beautiful stone is a part of drawing people in. I loved my dramatic stone the day I saw it, and I'm far from tiring of it. Brings me joy every time I walk in the room. But from a functional point of view, I love being able to really spread out projects, or lay out a big buffet spread, without a sink or cooktop getting in the way. You'll have to wait a bit for a picture, right now its functioning as a giant project table and you can't see the statement at all :)

I am not putting a sink or cooktop in my island, but just a thought on your aversion to sinks in the island. Have you looked at any of the composite sinks (like Silgranite) where you can get a sink color that compliments your stone? I think they can blend much better than stainless steel and make the sink “jump out” at you less. It can look less like a hole in the stone because the colors all flow better, imo, no matter where you put your sink.

Jen K! Love you. If you were in the neighborhood, I'd invite you over for some sweet tea! :) Thanks for sharing your perspective!

strob06, this is a good thought. I honestly haven't looked at sinks in depth yet beyond flagging a few standouts on Houzz. I have this on my list of to dos this weekend.