Hey, thanks for the ideas and nice cabinet comments, guys. All good. I'll check that rainforest brown, too. Um, it's not really grabbing me like the green does but good thought, thanks CIC! Romy: I loved the hardware until the first screw stripped out and then a handle snapped off the first time I pulled on it. Oh well, that's what you get for buying cheap crap hardware from overseas. I needed something with a flat projection and that seemed to fit the bill. They are sending replacements, no questions asked, though. Now Fori, you are on to something with that embedded tile thought..... I'll have a wine tonight ;) and mull over that idea, but I like it! Maybe we could cut the tile so it was more rectangular and inset one into the center of the oak? Oh! I have so many tile samples of all sorts that might work for this... have to drag out my box and look through it. (what does one DO what all the samples when the remodeling is done, anyway? There's a thread to start....)

I installed a sink in a 3 1/2 inch butcher block countertop just last month. We could find nothing that would hold it in, such as clips. We ended up using a silicon-based adhesive around the edge and putting a piece of plywood on top of it with a 5-gallon bucket of drywall mud on top of that. Let it sit for at least 4-5 days, and a week is better. No problems so far. It was a copper prep sink, and I spent about 2 hours hammering the edges to get them nice and flat first. Mounting the faucet was also challenge. We ended up counterboring from the bottom to get the nut on.

I'd want the tiles on the wall where they could be seen from a variety of locations in the room. Framing them is a good alternative if you don't want to cement them in. Your sink would have originally had a metal base cabinet. Chances are good that it rusted out over time. We had a sink just like that in our last kitchen, and the metal cabinet was getting rusty. I adored the integrated drainboards, but the finish inside the sink was pretty tired by the time we moved. You'll want to give it a good gentle cleaning and make sure it still has a nice shine to it. If the finish is more matte than shiny it will be very difficult to keep looking clean. Bar keeper's friend helps, but it won't stay nice long if the finish is worn. Also, the porcelain is prone to chipping if you drop something on it. Hopefully you're less clumsy than our family, though. I've watched your kitchen dreams over the last few years, and am thrilled to see you moving from sketches to real items. I'm very happy for you!

mikebone: This island was installed per engineered stone manufacturer's installation instructions, but not by me. Although you can't see it here, it has a slight dip in the middle of the cantilever: Manufacturers don't always know what's best for their products, however, the guys who make money from installing their products and will lose money if they get a callback, do. Sink manufacturers say you need a 36" cabinet to install a 33" sink. You don't; I do it all the time, no callbacks. They provide clips for the installation of their sinks; clips are junk and leak. We'd still be making joints in Corian with silicone were it up to the engineers and specifiers at DuPont. Thermoforming was invented by the guys who bought the sheets; they wrote the specs after we worked the bugs out. You had better know what the hell you're doing if you go against the manufacturer's specifications, however, they should be considered minimums. The estone manufacturer in the above photo didn't wait around long enough to see the sag. I didn't have to, but there it was. Our customers are much more fussy than theirs.