If you have three kids, do NOT settle for seating for only two! When we built our house 10 years ago, the original plan for the house only had two island seats...one thing I insisted on was three and I am so glad I did. Do you have a layout or floorplan you could post? This is sort of hard to describe (and without a floorplan hard to tell if it would work for you), but the shape that has worked well for us is what I would describe as a wedge shape or wide pie shape. Two side of the island are at straight right angles to follow the L-shape of the cabinet run they are across from. But the other side, the seating side, is a curved arc shape.

If you have a convenient place to store it and you can pick it up I wouldn't mess up your layout to fit a lift. Mine used to be in a really terrible place ergonomically - on a high shallow shelf over the washing machine. I could reach it, barely, but it was a PITA. With the new cabinets it lives in a nice safe pullout in a tall cabinet and I'm so happy to be able to just grab it and put it wherever on the counter. They aren't really THAT heavy. if I couldn't lift a mixer I'd personally rather leave it on the counter full time instead of having a lift. I'm a messy baker and I'd prefer that the stray ingredients fall on the counter instead of all over the floor and the cabinets.

From the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread: FAQ: Aisle Widths, Walkways, Seating Overhangs, Work/Landing Space etc https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500771/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc Summary: For counter-height seating (36" off the finished floor): 15" clear leg/knee overhang space where there's seating 24" linear space per person No overlapping of seats on corners (two people cannot share the same leg space on a corner) So: For two seats, you need 48" (4') of linear space For three seats, 72" (6') For four seats, 96" (8') . Aisles around the island: Range from 44" to 60" or so, depending on what's behind the seats. See the linked thread above for this information as well. Remember to measure the aisles to/from the items that stick out the farthest into the aisle: appliance handles, counter edges, etc. -- Do not measure cabinet-to-cabinet as cabinet measurements are only listed for the cabinet box and do not include the doors/drawer fronts or the overhanging counter edges (usually 1.5" past the cabinet box). --- Standard counter depth along a perimeter is 25.5" (24"D box + 1.5" counter overhang) -- Appliance handles usually stick out even farther. E.g., counter-depth refrigerators are really 30" to 32" deep when counting the doors and handles. (Only the refrigerator box is counter-depth; the doors must stick out past the surrounding cabinets, counters, walls, etc.)

We just got new cabinets. My island is 28x66 and divided roughly into thirds. The end facing the range holds the microwave and one giant drawer, the other end holds a mixer lift, and the middle has three drawers with all my baking and mixing bowls and tools. I had our electrician split the existing power to give both the mixer and mw dedicated power and put a discrete pop-out receptacle on the end for hand tools, etc. I also changed most of my lowers into drawers. A set of three (2 deep) next to the range for cookware, a set of four on the far side of the dw for flatware, misc. They range from 21” to 27” or so, and they are all ample. I’m glad I have them all, but I have to admit, some of them are a bit too wide. I’m sure I’ll manage to fill them up, though, lol. (My middle island drawers are 23”. The right door is the mixer, the left is a fake because the mw is on that end.)