Close up of cabinet color sample.

can you post more pics? I see one on the design dilemma list, but when I click on your actual post, it's gone. all I see is your first comment. with the one close up photo. No other photos are coming through

are the current cabs staying as is? Or are those being replace w/an added island? how big will the island be? can you show an overall pic of the kitchen and where the island will be going?

I will start by saying a 60 x60 island is not a good idea. As for the actual counter I never like mixing fake plastic stone with real whay not just do the same black granite and IMO you do not have a differnt island color for cabinets and a different counter pick one ot the other .BTW you never need a 22" overhang 18" is perfect.

Thanks for your comments, Patricia! That must have been a typo; the overhang is 12 inches, not 22 — that was a typo. We were thinking of changing out the granite as well, so thanks for your suggestion. I know you do t like quartz. I have it in my home in a Florida and like it a lot.
Why not 60 by 60? It’s actually 60 by 58. Thanks so much for your ideas.

My nephew put in a large quartz island in their kitchen, wow, it's beautiful. I don't know the size but it's oversized for the space -at least 60" on one side- and makes the kitchen so expansive feeling. Big enough to just leave an aisle on three sides. Actually works great in a workspace, no feeling of being in the way. Fantastic for a spread when people are over.

I would make a full sized mock-up out of cardboard and live with it a while to make sure you get the proportions perfect.

Thanks so much, Trace! I have tape down but the mock up would be even better. As you can see from the photos, the space is so open and larger and the kitchen "l" is just crying out for an island -- not sure why they left it like this! We need the storage space, which is why it's so big (we'll gain 9 more drawers and a cabinet), and we can also use it on two sides for seating

The hard part is picking out the actual quartz. Too many choices!

Jacki, who is going to run the electrical to the island? have you thought about how that is going to be done?

personally I'd want the sink out of the corner. as long as you're running the electrical, you may as well do the plumbing. it will give you more workable counter space by the stove, and you can get a larger sink where you aren't facing a wall.

ideally you'd want the layout to look something like this. (getting the sink out of the corner)

taping off the size island is a goo idea too.

another option is to create a peninsula (doesn't have to be angled like this one) and moving the sink to this spot

I 1000 percent agree with you about the sink, but I'm afraid it's not happening because our condo is on the second floor of our building (which only has 15 units )and making that change would involve so many hoops, not to mention a solid concrete floor, both with the management and Board of Trustees of our building as well as the township abutting Boston where the condo is. If we change out the countertop on the perimenter we will be able to put in a larger sink (it's 21 inches now). As it is, we have 39 inches on one side of the stove and 30 on the other, and we will have the big island right in front, so I think-- hope--we'll be OK. In our house in Florida, we do most of our food prep on the peninsula across from our cooktop and stove rather than next to the stove, which works fine for us. But I totally agree this is not an ideal situation

Thanks for thosse inspirational photos. I especially love the second one with the beautiful expanse of quartz on the island and the black perimeter. An earlier commenter said that you realy should have the same countertop if the island and the perimenter cabinets are of different woods, but I love how that looks! I wonder what that quartz is.

Thans so much!

jacki, you didn't answer the question about the electrical. By code, all fixed islands must have multiple (for the size you want) outlets. Even w/that, they're going to have to saw cut the slab floor in order to run a line. That's why I said, as long as theyre doing that, you could also do the plumbing.

I hope you're doing some diff hardware? can't really see your handles, but I'd do something a bit more substantial on your doors/drawers. think of it as jewelry for your cabinets.

Material choices. you can do diff color island/perimeter and diff materials on both. there is no rule.

I like the grayish green and the golden tones of this quartz. check out Silestone Eternal calacatta too.

these type of pulls in the soft brass/gold would look great, and w/the wood

maybe some matching pendants over the island

I did a dark island, white perimeter cabs, (I had mine painted)

and did marble and quartz in the after shot. Calacatta marble on island, Silestone Eternal Serena-suede finish, on perimeter. Calacatta backsplash tile

Obviouly I did a lot more, but I just wanted to show you the diff materials.

Beth, I just wrote a long reply that I lost, but let me say I'd love to just switch houses with you -- your kitchen came out great! I love the hardware, and in answer to your question we will switch that out, though we are a bit limited on the perimeter by the holes we have (only 2 3/4 inches apart with pulls that ar 4 1/3 inches) but I love the ones you show. Do you have a brand. And i love the bar stools! We will have seating on two sides, two stools each. Yes, the electrical will go in but my understanding is that a far more narrow trench then we'd need for plumbing, so we are currently doing what we can handle. Seeing your before and after photos, you are tempting me to also paint my kitchen in Florida, which has cabinets of those colors, and pull out the granite which I now can't stand -- too busy But one project at a time. I would be tempted by marble but I'm afraid of the maintenance. I loved the Unique Calacatta Gold, but inder the lights in my condo the background is too gray for me. I also like the Eternal Calacatta Gold, but maybe too quiet. Looking for suggestions because I am ovewhelmed. I now I want something with a bright white bakground and some graining with a bit of god and some gray to anchor it, but it's all a bit confusing! Thanks so much for your absolutely fabulous ideas. I love the light pendants and all your suggestions!

your best bet is to walk around some stone yards and see what's avail.

Porcelain slabs have come a LONG way. these are just a few of the slabs I took pics of when I was redoing my kitchen a few years back.

As for the quartz, MSI, Silestone, and others, seem to have Calcatta Gold options

TaMajal quartzite is another nice choice

Surface One Aria quartzite

take a door from your maple, and from your island color and go walk around some stone palces to see what they have.

I'd switch out the perimeter granite too. (and don't do the 4" piece up the back if you want to do tile. it's one or the other)

Beth’s advice is absolutely the best way to find the right piece for your kitchen. Keep a door in your car in case you spot a stone dealer you didn’t notice before.

Thanks, Beth. We've actually been to two fabricators and four stone dealers. We've looked at Pental, Alleanza, Silestone, MSI and others. I bring my sampe everywhere I go. My problems is I find some too busy, some too much white space, too gray a background, etc. I am looking at Argento and the Calacatta Gold (Select and Eternal and Unique -- though I find the Unique a bit gray.I like the Calacatta Gold, but feel ihas maybe too much expanzeof white. so I'm looking for one that's interesting, with some drama.

sounds like you're doing what you're supposed to do. maybe you just haven't found the one yet. also, never choose from a sample piece. you need to ALWAYS view the entire slab

Thanks, Beth. I’m looking at many slabs — drawn to Calacatta gold but would like a bit more of the smaller veining snd marbling, too.

I am not a designer by any means, but we just redid our counters and had a hard time finding quartz as well. We ended up with Perfectly Fabulous from Surfaces by Pacific outside of chicago. Here is a close up of ours and it may work for your space too. It’s a creamy white with taupe swirls.

Thanks so much, kt_stock. Your kitchen looks terrific. I've nevver seen that quartz before!