Standard cabinet height is 34 1/2", which with 1 1/2" of countertop (standard laminate), equals 36". Now 3 cm stone is slightly less than 1 1/2", so if you go with that, you're not quite 36" tall. Many people have made their islands non standard height however. Usually they either eliminate the toekick or shorten it for a lower height, or they do a custom height toekick for a taller height. Those who use a custom cabinet maker can have their cabinets made whatever height they want and don't have to do the toekick modification for the custom height. Most who have chosen custom heights for their island keep it within 3"-4" of standard height. YOu don't want to go too extreme in order not to make anyone who may use your kitchen uncomfortable working in it, or for resale value.

I have 2 tiered at our lake house and counter height at home. I love each of them in their respective spaces, and I think a lot depends on your layout & how you plan to use the island. Our home island seats four - not all lined up, but 2 stools on each of a short & long end. It is a single top slab -no prep sink/cooktop - and is essentially our everyday eating spot. It's open to a sunroom/seating area so I can chat with anyone sitting there without them being on top of me while I work. At the lake house the bar height helps denote the space between the kitchen & LR in the open floor plan. We entertain casually there and the higher tier works well as a place to put out appetizers and drinks while still allowing the counter height level to continue to be used for food prep. One thing to consider is whether small children will be sitting at the island regularly. Bar height stools can be hard to climb onto and rather high up for toddlers & pre schoolers. My Dad who is in his mid 80's finds my counter height seating easier to manage than bar height. Just some thoughts to consider.

Hi Bev, Sorry to say that "ct" is indeed Connecticut, and the table was made by a local cabinetmaker. However, before we decided to use him, we priced our options online and found a couple of places that could do a "round table with the end cut off" for us -- DeVos in Texas and Grothouse Lumber in Pennsylvania were both excellent options. (And both were REALLY nice and extremely helpful!) We ended up with African mahogany because that was the only wood that our local guy could use and stay within the pricing of the online suppliers, but they offered many other options and both were willing to make an odd-shaped tabletop if we provided either a template or exact measurements. We went with the local guy in part because he was able to match the bids we had and -- more importantly -- because he could make the pedestal as well. There are other options (metal pedestals) you could buy online, but I liked having it custom made of the same wood as the table. So all in all, it was easier to use the local guy -- he came and installed it, he saw the space and the island before he made it, etc. I suspect any good cabinetmaker could make a custom table for you. This one ran about $2,000. (Our guy REALLY wanted to use a crotch-cut walnut table, hunting-lodge style: rustic, "unusual" etc. I had to gently just KEEP saying "umm, no... round, please" I'm sure the "rustic" walnut would have been stunning, but we were looking for a different look...) We LOVE the round, it encourages conversation, is very flexible in numbers of chairs, etc. We, too, have lots of windows and a big 12-foot slider in this kitchen/family room -- we didn't want to commit floor space to a full table and chairs. This has been a perfect compromise. Here is another picture of the underside of the table, and the way it's mounted to the island, in case that's helpful if you talk to cabinetmakers:

You can most likely repurpose what's there, with a few fillers. (Just need to inventory cabinet sizes, etc.) Refrigerators are the least used of the main kitchen appliances dring actual food prep. Locating them on the perimeter out of the way of the main zone between sink and cooking allows them to serve dual usage as anchors of snack zones accessible to those not underfoot of the cook. It keeps people out of your hair. Yet, it's just steps from the island. Truem the island woud work better with a prep sink on it, but if you're on slab, that wouldn't be easy as it would with a crawlspace.