OK so I got mixed advice from IKEA as to 18 vs. 24 cabinet and my contractor (who I trust and usually agree with) installed something I can wave up at but not USE. See photo. (sigh) 18" does NOT work in my situation but he doesn't want me to get the 24" since it will hang about 1-2" below the cabinet line. But goodness below could only be better than 4" above. The problem in my kitchen is that the contractor gave us 23" of clearance from the countertop (it'll be 21" once the skirt for under cabinet lights is installed, and I'm fine with 20-21" of clearance and prefer it, but I'm 5'3" and my husband is 5'7" or 5'8" and we have a grade school child and I think 23" for reaching up to cabs is too high! I want to lower the cabs 1-2" overall but they are installed (IKEA isn't that hard to lower the rail on which they are all installed but still). Right now the microwave clearance is 26.5" from stovetop to bottom of microwave. Crazy! If we switch to a 24" cab over the microwave the clearance will still be 20.5" which I think is fine. Means our microwave will be the most accessible, vs. 23" for the cabinets. This is frustrating, if I lower the cabinets more than 1" I can't lower the microwave because it will be really too low (I wouldn't go below 19 or so clearance for microwave which we would get at 21.5 clearance for cabinets). Part of the driver for the high clearance was a 16.5" faucet (gorgeous but perhaps the wrong choice for a sink under cabinets...) and a soffit that the cabinets come to at 23" clearance. I still think we need to lower the microwave 6" and/or the cabinets 1" or 1.5". Help!!

It seems that you've found a cool solution here without posts. In case anyone else is looking at this, our island is 8' long and we have a 14" overhang. We have posts supporting each corner which are quite substantial in size and fastened to the floor. I love having the aprons as well but be careful when you decide to go that route since it will inhibit the amount of room people have for their lap space when sitting at it. In our case, we only did an Apron around the sides. If you want an apron where people sit, you would either need to raise the island or somehow make the stools a bit shorter. Here is a pic of ours when the counters were being installed. Since our posts are hollow, we had power run up into them through the floor with outlets inserted and facing inwards towards the stools on each side. They are totally hidden yet really accessible! Btw, a longer overhang is totally worth it and makes sitting at the island WAY more comfortable! This post was edited by TB151 on Fri, Mar 14, 14 at 8:40

I would NOT sign that. I am not an expert, but to me this looks like license to give you an installation with very visible seams and to absolve themselves of responsibility for "fissures" when you already know they think a crack is a "fissure" and when you have an installer you already know is bad. If they insist you sign, can you tell them to take the whole thing back, that you're going to find a different fabricator w/ a different company and just deduct the money you have to pay for this new fabricator from whatever you owe them? In fact, can you do that anyway?

How long and deep is the peninsula right now? (I'm guessing around 7 or 8 feet long and 27 inches deep, but I'll wait for your reply.) I think you're saying that you use what is the table space in the picture as a playroom now for your children. Is that correct? You also state that you don't use your DR much for eating and want to use the peninsula for all meals. Is that also correct? Personally, I prefer table seating for family meals - it's more conducive to relaxing meals, conversation, and general family bonding. Island and peninsula seating, to me, is for quick/rushed meals. I am also concerned about your very young children. Even if the 18-month old is still in a highchair, most (safe) highchairs are table-height, not counter-height so he won't be "part of the action" while in a highchair and the counter-height seating may not be very safe for him just yet. Counter-height seating is usually problematical for young children and older adults. However, your children will grow very quickly (too quickly!!!!), so counter-height seating won't be an issue for them for very long!....:-) I'm not saying don't do the seating overhang, but I am suggesting you rethink eating at the peninsula as "standard operating procedure". Instead, why not use the peninsula for quick meals and the DR table for family meals? Is the DR too far away? Or, is it being used for something else? To your question about the counter overhang. I'm not sure how much of a curve you will be able to do without adding additional support. Would you be willing to add a leg or two (or more)? If it's going to be used for all meals, then I recommend an overhang of at least 18" for all seats. 15" is the minimum recommended for counter-height seating, but if it's going to replace a table, I think you want it to be more comfortable for everyone - now and when the young ones starting getting tall and gangly (and need that extra leg room!) You and any other adults will also appreciate it now! One thing, I'm not sure you have room for 4 or 5 people at the peninsula - even with a curve. While a curve will add more space for seating, I don't know if it will add that much. For each seat, you need 24" of linear space and all seats need their own clear knee/leg space - no sharing with another seat (e.g., two seats at a corner). So, for 4 people, you need 8' (96"); for 5 people, you need 10' (120"). I don't think you can get a big enough curve to gain that much space without just making it a "table" that's attached to your peninsula. I also think it will take a lot of space from the playroom - if you're going to eliminate the playroom altogether, then I think I'd rather see you put another table there. Tables take up less room b/c you have seats on both sides. So for 6 people, you can usually use a table that's 72"x39". You also need to be careful b/c of that wall on the far right that protrudes into the table/playroom space. You want to keep decent aisles on all sides of the peninsula - especially where there is through traffic. Have you considered making your DR a playroom and using the table space in the picture your primary eating area (with a table)? [That's what we did while our children were young. Later, when they became tweens/teens, we reclaimed the DR as a DR and eliminated the table space in our kitchen (it was too small anyway).] Quartz vs Granite....it may be that the gentleman is a natural stone person and really thinks granite is much nicer/better than quartz. I'll be honest and say that originally I wanted quartz b/c I thought all granite was high maintenance - that it all had to be sealed every couple of months. Thanks to this site, however, I discovered: (1) that not all granites need to be sealed (any stone with an absorption rate of =(2) if it does need sealing, it's not as laborious as I thought nor does it need to be done that often. Based on this "new" information, I expanded my horizons and ended up with a granite that does not need sealing (Absolute Black). Quartz can also be very nice. I think it's more a matter of what you prefer. If you want a light granite and don't want to have to seal and don't want a "patina" to develop, then probably quartz is best for you. (I think most light granites do need sealing.) He may also not be very familiar with quartz. If that's the case, then I would see if I could find someone else to deal with - someone who knows quartz....either at the same stoneyard or a different one. Familiarity with both would be ideal. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!