Jujulu, there are all kinds of different island setups, just as there are all kinds of perimeter setups, and each have their pros and cons. The safety issues that are spoken of about island cooktops aren't about who is walking behind you. That's equal no matter which surface the cooktop is on, and has to do with other considerations in kitchen design. One important factor we talk about is putting the stove in a protected position. That is one where people aren't always walking by where they'll get smacked with hot pans, walk into open oven doors, startle the cook, or tug on mommy's shirt when she's holding a hot pan. Your island cooktop is obviously positioned well in your kitchen to be able to protect against the last. In my friend's kitchen, it's positioned where people coming from a couple of different directions could sneak up on the cook, even though the cook has panoramic view of most of the kitchen and the breakfast room. The same dichotomy could happen with a perimeter stove--in one position it could be well protected with the cook aware of the comings and goings, and in another position it could be at the axis of all bad things happening. The bigger dangers with island cooktops, especially gas ones, come from how people gather around. There is often seating or leaning space across from the cooktop, whence a glass of wine can be knocked over into the flames. Or spilled milk can put out the flames and they can reignite with a whoosh. It can seem to work perfectly for years, then a drop of water hits the pan and a big spatter hits a kid right in the face and causes ER trips and scars. All this stuff happens. People try to guard against it. Personally, I wouldn't want to see all the spatter I clean off of my backsplash and counters by the stove to be all over my kitchen and kids, but if it's just crud and not burning, then it's the same issue of cleaning up. I almost never fry, mind you. I get spatter from soups and stews (bubbly things) and sometimes even sautes, and when it hits me, it hurts! You have to have a big enough island that you can protect the pots and burners from interference by people walking on the non-cooking sides. Not people just walking by, but the errant golf clubs, leaping out of arms cats, bags of groceries plopped down near the active stove, etc. Add to that, people tend not to keep the surfaces on islands as clear as they do either side of a perimeter cooktop. That is, they don't give it so much space of honor in an island, and all of a sudden, Junior pushes away the juice which pushes the napkin holder which pushes the pile of junk mail right into the stove. So when you're making your island big enough for the walkers around, you have to make it that much bigger for the sitters down. All this can be done. People who are careful can make anything work. Statistically, people spend very little time actually facing the wall tending the stove while they're cooking, and much more time prepping, which is part of why--excluding the better position for venting and containing spatter--most people like the model of a perimeter stove with a prep area on an island across from it. The island helps protect the position of the stove, while offering the cook an open area to work in. For some people, however, the pivot way of working isn't a good option, or just doesn't fit their druthers. They, like you, prefer to work next to the stove, rather than across from it. There are also people who poke at their cooking food too much, interfering with the cooking, rather than helping it, but I'm not accusing you of that. You obviously prefer your setup, and aren't bothered by whatever smells and dirt you have without a good (or switched on) vent. If you're happy with what you have, we're not judging you for making your choice. All of the preceding is for information and full of "usually" and generalizations. None of it may apply to your own kitchen and cooking style, or you've made other compensations to deal with the issues. All the best for your new kitchen. Edeevee, you give me too much credit. I didn't make the tiles--they're commercially available artisan made. I just arranged them. You can go into any good tile store, or website, and choose beautiful tiles too. If the tile didn't work out and I had to use all green soapstone, this--Erin Adams for Ann Sacks and available as is--would have been my backsplash: Edit: Sorry. That's not in the budget. I just love it so jumped at a chance to post it, and wish I had an excuse to redo my bathroom and use it. :) My friends used grab bag, builder grade, glossy tiles and some ingenuity, to make amazing art tiling. I promise you, their budget was a lot smaller than yours. Some alternatives to the living finish of copper include stainless--and there are some great textured stainless sheets out now, far beyond diamond plate, if you want something with a little punch. Still very economical. You could go sleek with glass. You could even use back painted glass. It would cost a lot more, but you could also cut out as much of the wall behind the stove as possible and install a glass wall instead and use the view as your backsplash and see it behind the hood. Or just a fixed window between the hood and the top of the stove. Or you could search the art departments near you and see if someone is studying tile and wants to trade experience for materials. :) This post was edited by plllog on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 16:59

chloenkitty: It seems to me that, being a novice to this, you probably didn't realize that there are longstanding discussions and debates that get reflected in posts here. You stumble across one of those tripwires and and then find people debating issues as though you were not even in the room. That about how it feels? First, I would say "not to worry." It happens to everybody who spends much time here. Conversations wander and you get lots of opinions on debates that may seem off "your" topic. For every post like Deeageaux's, Wekick's or bmorepanic's that addresses specific concerns of yours, there will be several others debating issues you did not even know you were raising. When you run into this debating society, some of what you may hear will inevitably go over your head, at first, or seem intimidating or even snarky to you. Because the conversation is in writing from folks whose are passionate about their preferences, what gets written may come across with unintended inflections and intonations. As you have discovered, if you say something about it, most folks will be clear that they did not intend anything hurtful or personal. And that is what I saw happening here. Conversations do wander. And when they do, I am again reminded that this forum is a kind of debating society where some of us have been participating for a decade or more. We have well honed opinions which novices may mistake for dogma and factual assertions and direct or indirect assaults on intelligence or integrity. All that has happened here is that you've stirred up a debtate you did not know existed and did not know that somebody might think important. It whizzed by you leaving you in the dust but was not personal. Beyond that, I've got some suggestions for you about focucsing on your developing preferences and proceeding with your choices. First, there is never going to be a right answer or even a consensus on what will be the best choice for you, as Wekick already pointed out. Frankly, every stove represents engineering compromises and design tradeoffs. Different mixes of theses will appeal to different folks and your preferences may change over time. That's one reason there are so many choices. Second, you have developed some specific preferences about design aesthetics. That's part of the package and, for the money, can be important. You do not need to defend those preferences from those who do not share them. In other words, you can get a Mercedes if you want one and others' preference are for a Subaru (or, like me, a used Subaru!). But what I like about hearing these varying voices that that they may help better figure out my own preferences. Third, you asked about getting a "grill" if you got a Viking 30" range but I think you meant "griddle." It is a vocabulary thing. Generally, around here, the term "grill" refers to something with open flame/heat beneath a metal grate, rather like what you see on a bbq grill. A "griddle" on the other hand, is a solid (often thick) piece of flat metal for cooking pancakes and the like. You might be able to order a custom design from Viking with two gas burners on one side and a built in griddle on the other. That would be expensive and, to my thinking, impractical on a 30" wide stove. I think it would be far more practical to buy a separate griddle which (a) will likely have a larger cooking surface; (b) can be stashed out of the way when you are not using it (giving you all four burners for other cooking),; and (c) will be a lot easier to keep clean. Brands that have been recommended here include Vollrath (even-heating aluminum griddle) and Chef King (traditional carbon steel -- can also be used on induction and other electric surfaces, too.) Fourth, Viking can seem an attractive looking choice particularly since they now have three year warranties as standard. (Most ranges have one-year warranties and require you to buy an extended warranty if you want longer coverage.) However, searching on VIking will turn up a history of not-so-great quality control and uneven warranty service for a significant percentage of customers. Also, the company was acquired by the Middleby congolmerate last year and the effects of that acquisition are still uncertain. Fifth, if you are looking at a Viking all gas range, you also might want to consider Dacor products, too. Right now, Dacor's pricing is significantly lower than Viking's and, to all appearances, the current Dacor 30" all-gas ranges seem like a better value. When it comes to electronics and electric ovens, Dacor has had the same kinds of issues that Viking did, but the all gas versions skip most of the electronics and seem inherently more reliable. Some poeple like the looks of the Dacor a lot more, too. Bmorepanic has just bought one and it should be due for installation shortly if it is not already installed. Hopefully, we'll get a report. Sixth, most "pro-style" ranges (such as Dacor and Viking) can be had with or without a riser in the back. (Note that "pro-style" refers to a design style and should not be confused with true commercial ranges of the sort that would be used in restaurants.) They all need a trim piece in the back for the oven to vent properly, but you have choices from "island trim" (about 1" high) on up to a tall-stainless sheet riser topped with a shelf. The island trim gives you what you would be calling a "slide-in." Technically and narrowly, however, the term "slide-in" is usually used for ranges that (a) do not have the thick backsplash/vent/control panel that is characteristic of typical of most "freestanding" ranges from major brands; and (b) also have a cooktop "overhang" on either side (kind of like the brim of an upside down hat.) The overhang is intended to to cover the gaps between sides of the stove and the adjoing cabintes and countertops. Seventh, the GE Cafe ranges are called "free-standing" ranges --- even though they do not have thick backsplashes/vent/risers --- because their cooktops do not overhang the gap between stove and counter. I've sometimes seen them referred to as a "semi-pro" style. EIghth, the electronics in major brand stoves (as with the GE Cafe) give you a lot of conveniences including self-cleaning oven functions. Some folks will not consider a range without self-cleaning functions, some think self-cleaning is undesireable for its potential adverse effect on the electronics, and others have health issues (the fumes can be irritating for those with lung problems, for example.) Ninth, you mentioned having had health issues. I don't know if those include lung problems but, if so, you might want to avoid a gas range and go with a magnetic induction range, instead. Magnetic induction basically makes the pan heat itself (which is different than other electric heating burners which glow like a fire and throw heat that way.) Since you are pretty much starting out fresh, and (I assume) will be getting cookware anyway, you would just need to look for cookware with magnetic metal in the base. You might want to have a look at the new GE PHS920 slide-in model. (There's an active thread on this range right now.) Tenth, if you are looking for a wall oven, I would definitely recommend going with electric wall ovens. More choices and, generally speaking, easier to install. "More choices" is probably not what you want to hear at this point, though. ;>)

Posted by mike9 : " How large of a cooler do you recommend? " How big a cooler will depend on how much food you try to sous vide. Since the components of my system are portable, I have several container sizes, from a small one to cook a few eggs to a good size cooler for large roasts. "How much power do i need? " The pump is less than 10 watts, the rest depends on the electric heater. Remember the heater use not much power to keep the water at the set temperature. "If i had to raise that the temperature of the cooler 30-40 degrees above hot tap water then its going to take a long time with 300w. I'd have to pull out the pans boil water on the stove etc. Could say a 1500w heater be too much and have problems with overshooting? I plan on using a PID and solid state relay. " I always use boiling water to get the water bath temperature high enough. 1,500 W heater will not overshoot if you have a good enough circulator. PID controller with a solid state relay, I believe, but not sure, throttles the heater from low to high. PID will, using self-tuning, self-adjusting to compensate overall equipment overshooting. "How much power does it take to sustain the equilibrium temp after everything has been cooking for many hours? " Depends on the insulating property of your container and the size of the container. "How much power does it take to maintain the set water temperature after a bunch of frozen food has been dropped into the bath? That could be important if i have an item already cooking and then later throw something frozen in there, if the temp of the water dropped for a long time it could mess up the cooking time of the first item. " Just keep an eye on the temperature reading, add more boiling water if needed. "I was looking at these heaters. http://www.amazon.com/NORPRO-559-Immersion-Warming-Liquids/dp/B000I8VE68/ http://www.amazon.com/Bush-CH-101-Energy-Saving-Immersion-Heater/dp/B003DLB5KW/ http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-9000129-045-Electric-Heater-Element/dp/B000H5W1TQ/ " The first two not too good: 1. they are not long lasting. 2. They are not completely submersible. The third one is very long lasting, but requires you to build something around the exposed terminals to waterproof and shock-proof. ------------------------------------------- I would like to say this to those of you who may be reading this thread, do not worry about any of these tech stuff. They are not what sous vide cooking is all about. A ready-made sous vide cooker is not that expensive anymore, plug it in, set the temperature and enjoy the superior food. That is all. All these annoying tech stuff are for crazy folks like me, who hasn�t quite outgrown his toy playing delinquencies yet. dcarch

We have the wood mantel style with hood insert (like in pic #2). Cleaning is not big deal--pop the filters out, wash them, then put them back in. (Cascade with Dawn DW detergent packs work really well for the metal mesh filters--place the filters in the sink, run super hot water in the sink to cover the filters & drop in a cascade pack. The grease melts right off--no elbow grease required!) Stainless steel cleaner wipes or a spritz of your favorite cleaner for interior SS surround and control panel. Swiffer duster for the exterior wood part. Done. I would think it would be similar on all stainless one as in pic #1, only instead of swiffering, you would use the stainless steel wipes on the exterior as well as the interior. So it really comes down to which look you're going for as to which style of hood to go with. Hope this helps!