How many people do you anticipate sitting at the island at one time?

With the end seating you would be able to seat 4-5, without it you'll be able to seat 3 (4 if they are itty bitty kids on narrow stools!) In many families the island is sort of rotational seating, as people grab breakfast quickly or kids stop in to visit and/or do homework while a parent prepares dinner. For events like parties, people are more likely to stand around the island than to sit around it.

If I'm understanding correctly, you currently have seating around one half of a rectangle that is 6' x 4', correct? If half the island is available for seating than you can seat 4 people: 2 at the very end and 1 on each side. So, you'd cut your seating in half. You said the waterfall edge would be stunning. Is the rest of the area similarly attractive so that the waterfall edge complemented an already very attractive area? If so, and if it's not a burden on the family, then I'd say go for it. A pretty island with a couple places to sit, as well, could make the sitting spaces appear to be an attractive design element. Might be a more enjoyable space to sit at as well.

Do you live in an Uber modern downtown loft? Waterfalls and the white on white plus gray choices are something that will date a home very badly. Waterfalls do not belong in the average mini McMansion wannabe tract house. They belong in sleek urban spaces that use color blocking as a major principle in the overall design of the home.

I would say that without seeing the plan there is no way of knowing what would work. I agree that waterfall counters work best in very sleek kitchens. From your inspiration pics your style could handle the counter but only if it was a much larger island .

Waterfall edging is very trendy, and what started as high end is now appearing in kitchens in mid-level mass-built condominiums. A sure sign it has crested or is about to crest the wave of popularity. There is a strong risk you will be looking at the waterfall in 3 years and saying "I wish I had allowed more seating". Plus the added expense, plus a lot of contractors do not do waterfalls well, hard to know if yours will.

Thank you so much everyone! Really appreciate your input!!!

Since my home is still being built (by the way, it is an inner city detached house that I am building - the overall interior design is quite modern), I don't have any photos to show you, but let me show you the inspiration pic below, as the layout and size is quite similar to what I have:

The original design of the island is quite similar to this (and even the size is!) so the open area below allows for plenty of seating options around the island. However, I thought that doing a waterfall there would be very nice.

I do not need plenty of seating for my family and in fact, seating for 4 is plenty. So that is not a big consideration, but then if I am entertaining, I guess that will be an issue.

The cost of the waterfall edge is actually less than the cost of building up the thickness of the countertop! I could not believe that... but you see how nice this thick edge looks for this island? If I don't do waterfall I would do this thick edge anyway. I think that it is quite nice in a way to have an open island like this anyway, if I do a contrast material in the base, to add some warmth and color to the otherwise mostly white kitchen. It may also make the area look a bit more open and larger, perhaps?

The only other factor that I am considering is that, the dining room is next to this kitchen, and so if I have seating at the end of the island, then it may be terrible close to the dining table. However, I don't imagine using the seating at the end of the island often at all. So the design/form is probably more important than the function.

So what do you all think now? Thank you again!

Skip the waterfall. Looks plenty nice without it.

Let me pile on …. it will typically cost you another slab as well as a bunch more fabrication costs.

Lots of cool stuff costs more.

I love waterfalls, built them in two specs and have one now. I used it to "formalize" my kitchen as you pass through it on the way to the family room. Really I dislike open plans but it's what works in my plan so I used the waterfall to add a bit of non kitchen look.

I'm not concerned with it going out of style, by then I'll probably want to remodel.

Allow 24” per seat at a bar; with a 4 x 6 you can accommodate 3 people.

With the dining area so close, just let folks stand around the island (no seats) for apps and “spirits”…use it as a sideboard.

When you say, "the island is right next to the dining area' how far is "right next to"? Here are some quetions you can ask yourself. How wide are are your aisles at that point? Stools will add some inches to the dimension of that part of the island. What is adjacent to where the stools will go? Wil there be refrigerator doors or appliance doors opening onto and encroaching the stool area. ( Or conversely, will the extra inches taken up by stools which you are always pushing back ) encroach onto walkway and appliance door space. In my primary kitchen i have stools around a round countertop and I'm always stubbing my toes on the feet of the stools. Will it bother you if you look from the dining room and the stools are pulled out? Do you need that seating for people to perch at when you are cooking or for a quick breakfast or for kids doing their homework?

i have to say the photo that Pippabean photoshopped made me go, "Wow"!

waverly6, the aisles are about 42" at this point. Unfortunately, adjacent to the stools will be the ovens, but I don't have many people in my household so that should be OK. For the last 2 houses, I have stools by the island but I very, very rarely use those stools. We always end up sitting at the dining table. So the stools will not really be messy there.

Yes, that photoshop by Pippabean was amazing and amazingly helpful! Now it really got me thinking....! thanks!!!

JudyG Designs, I think that you hit it right on the head of the nail. I typically have people standing around the island, but no one really is sitting around it.

In that case, does it mean that it will look better with a waterfall edge? If I don't have stools around the island, then will the "leggy" look with the open area below the countertop that I had in the original design be a bit strange looking?

pippabean, thank you so much for the amazingly helpful photoshop!

I do love the waterfall edge there. That said, now that I look at it again, it does seem to have "shrunken" that kitchen area by quite a bit. The original open design seems to make the kitchen look bigger, which was my suspicion before.

What do you all think?

This is just a thought. If you're really into doing something creative and neat, how about a Salvadore Dali-esque waterfall? Something along these lines. Round the ends of the slab in such a way as to give it the appearance of having become soft and malleable and is now hanging very naturally over the edge.

David Perfette, what a great idea.

Or something with epoxy...

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/a19603070/how-to-build-waterfall-table/

Thor, son of Odin. that's almost identical what we are putting in for my island countertop. We just finished making a 10 foot desktop like that for my office ,with a live edge and the kitchen island will have glass plus shell inclusions in the resin ( It's a beach house).

Sounds stunning!

Wow! All this is very bold and I am afraid I am too chicken to do this...!!!

BTW, I went to do some measurements and found that there will be about 50 inches between the island and the dining table, which will be perpendicular to the 48 inch side of the 48" x 72" island.

So there is not a ton of space there between the island and the dining table. Would that change your mind as to whether it should be an open island there, vs one with the waterfall edge, since there probably will not be enough space for eating around the island by the dining table? Would the dining table be blocking the view of the waterfall edge, so it's not worth it? Or is that still a good look since the island will be quite a bit higher than the dining table still?

I would really appreciate your thoughts here! thanks.

I prefer an island where people can sit and look at each other versus everyone sitting in a row, like a diner. I also agree with the other folks who said that waterfalls are already dated.

It sounds like you’re building a beautiful new house - so exciting! I hope you will continue to post here to get input. There are a lot of knowledgeable contributors who could help you. (I am just an amateur with opinions). :)

There is an alternative between open and waterfall pricey.

I'm doing a sleek modern exurban. And I'm sure my choice will come down to budget. So many people saying it's just a trendy choice helps me make that decision.

OTOH, that resin waterfall could be spectacularly appropriate.

Thanks, cyc2001 and worthy!

If I don't do a waterfall, then it will show off the base structure of the island, which I am doing in a contrast color. I think that it will be nice.

I guess my main question now is, should a waterfall edge be done only if there is sufficiently open space in between the island and the next item (in this case, the dining table) for it to be totally worth it and appreciated? With only at most 4.5 feet between the island and the dining table, I am wondering if that is not sufficient space....

Thank you again!

Off topic, love the picture you posted that is similar to what you have. Can you share the link?

Sure! Here it is:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/coastal-mid-century-contemporary-dining-room-san-diego-phvw-vp~52721698

@ostrich THANK YOU! I'm currently obsessed and THIS WILL BE MY NEXT KITCHEN! <3 <3 <3

Ha ha ha.... leslieap10, I love this kitchen too!!!

It's interesting because while I thought that this kitchen was 10/10, when I showed it to others, many have commented that it was too dark, with way too much dark wood. However, I am in love with it and hope that my new kitchen will be as well put together and well-designed as this!!! Sigh....

Seems like that's always the way. I definitely lean towards minimalist, monochromatic and accent with texture and some contrast vs using color for interest. I think it's soothing. I find a lot fo color or a lot of objects feels a bit busy for me. But ugh. A dark, moody walnut and black kitchen? YESSSSS

And I was wondering if the white cabs on the wall opposite wall is intentional. Bouncing light around. Lighten things up. Probably?

I think so! I love the white contrast on that one side - it totally lightens things up for me. Without that one white wall, I would not have loved this kitchen at all... :-)

I think it's also worth thinking about lighting- and I'm not sure how many other people are thinking about this, but I'm picky about light bulbs. I use a specific bulb everywhere (GE Reveal). I don't like soft white or warm white at all. In general, I just think that color of the light bulb is huge.

Oh yes, lighting is very important for sure! I am using all LED there, and making sure that it will be 3000K throughout, so that it will be bright and warm.

Going back to the island though, if I don't do a waterfall edge, is it worth building it up to a thicker edge? The cost is significant, but doable. But people are telling me that hardly anyone will notice the difference between 1.25" and 2" in the countertop thickness but myself.... so it's not worth the extra cost.

What do you think?

I don't think that difference is worth the cost, personally. If I were going to beef it up, I'd go 3". Also, can the cabinet installer mimic the look for the thicker counter but building up under the counter then install trim around the edge? Not sure what material you're going with or exactly how they install it, honestly. And. What about keeping the seating like the inspo pic, but just doing a waterfall over the edge of that? So add a couple seats that face each other and still wrap the end.