For those of you who question why I would be so concerned about a lack of an island in a kitchen remodel, what else would YOU think is you read the following in a magazine..." islands are now almost universal in new construction and rennovations of kitchens." ? I agree with the statement, because there is no arguing that islands are the trend and are popular. But if you don't have the room in your space, you don't...And I stick to my opinion that overcrowding the kitchen with an island that doesn't fit and ruins the work flow will work against you rather than for you in resale. I understand your concern, but also, why worry about not having something you can't fit? Make the best of what you have and do what you can. There are enough headaches in selling a house than to worry about things you can't reasonably change. I feel for you, because I hate having a house to sell, but give yourself a break on this one. About some of the other statements...I would die using a table as work space. Too low for my back and I'm under 5'4, so not sure how that would work for everyone...and I don't want chairs in my way either.

This was a "build it on site in one day with what you got" scenario. He didn't have time to build it with full mortise & tenon joints and veneer the panels with myrtle for goodness sake. The better design, which would have made it passable, would have been to incorporate a baseboard; even a flat 1x2 screwed to the floor with a 1/4" plow to capture the plywood edge would have helped. (profile the edge of the 1x2 to match base shoe) At this stage, best case is to add some full width cleat at the bottom, inside, to strongback the 1/4" sheet. If not that, then 6" rips of 3/4" ply behind the bottoms of those applied doors, to use their strength to reinforce the flimsy bits. Any of you built a pair of 80" mortise & tenon french doors, stain grade, on site, on the tailgate of your truck? I can take mine out, too... Who needs a fancy shop to get stuff done? It's just a crutch, IMO. just kidding, we're all friends here. Casey

Misaltow how many panels is that? I would still really think about it though. I went to bed last night remembering another kitchen we had without them. No wonder I can't get to sleep lol. we bought a house that was about 20 years old that did not have the end panels. We lived there about a year and the ends just always didn't look right. I discovered they were veneer and that's why they didn't look right because they did not age in color like the real wood cabinet fronts had. I was able to find the name of the cabinet company on one small quality stamp inside one of the cabinets. They were a couple hours away so I took off and existing door and went to see what could be done. They showed me in the showroom the difference in color between my old door and their new one. It was one or two slight shades off. They explained to me that with that much time passing there would for sure be a difference in color if I bought new doors. I asked if they thought it would look better than the veneer ends I had and they told me the door sizes I wanted would need to be custom made and may even be lighter then the sample in the showroom. I was bummed and sat on it for awhile and finally took my chance and ordered. When I got them I was happy they were not much different then the showroom samples but still one or two shades off from my existing ones. I had my handyman Carpenter install them and they looked incredible after they were installed. I didn't think about them being adjacent to the other cabinets so the slight change in color was not a big deal after all but it really made the kitchen look more upscale. btw love your kitchen design plan! Can't wait to see it finished!

<Edited for clarity> @Lyfia you said: “I wouldn't spend any money if you're selling.” That is a valid point! I am limiting myself now to replacing what needs to be fixed or that which is a “builder’s grade eyesore” for the photos in the future listing. And I thought about replacing now, rather than later, so I can enjoy the house while I am still occupying it. My original post was about finding a replacement for my kitchen island because when we replaced the floor in the kitchen, the current one was detached from the floor (the electrical outlet was disabled) and the bottom and corners of the cart were damaged. BTW, I love the different suggestions! Also said, "What is wrong with what you have currently?" 1- counters "look good in the picture", thank you, but on a closer look, there is a burnt, a warp, and a split on the L-shaped piece. 2-pendant & 3-knobs are ok, but I thought these were the affordable fixes I could do along the “must-do” (kitchen island and counters). So houzzers, please help me find a cohesive look; your opinions help me moving along; THANK YOU ALL.