Yes they are easy to operate ;Especially, if you have the height of Nicole Kidman .

what is the space between the countertop and the island please?

I have done quite a few homes over the last 5 years that used this horizontal concept. I will say that the very upper cabinets on the other side of the sink would be hard to reach. However the regular doors that are right above the countertop are usually really easy to operate.

You are right to question the confusing visual cue that centrally-placed horizontal hardware present. If this were a public space, I would recommend against doing it. But, since it is your home, used by the same person/people day after day, you can get away with it. Once you learn which direction each of the doors open, your brain will handle it subconsciously.

my thought was not so much which direction do they open but how the actual leverage works, pulling out and to the left/right from a central hold, vs just pulling.... anyone have experience living with this?

I ended up going with horizontal pulls on both the cabinets and drawers; it looks great and the "leverage" works great as well, easy to open and operate. One thing to keep in mind: where the pull hits (an adjacent wall, cabinet etc.) when the cabinet door is open. It may impact the pull size or placement.

theranch, did you center the pulls on the cabinets as pictured? I really like the look, just trying to get my head around how it will 'feel'/work pulling from the center vs the edge of the opening

Working with a shaker style cabinet, I centered the pulls across the bottom; I had the same dilemma about doing horizontal vs. traditional vertical pulls on upper cabinets but it took no time at all to get used to it. One hiccup, one pull hit a wall preventing pull-out drawers from rolling out, I had to get a smaller pull to accommodate.

How do you like the stainless steel countertops? Pros/cons. Would you do it again? We love to cook. Son in law a French trained chef. I like the more industrial and contemporary. Noisy? Scratches, I will have large island of stone. Appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.