I did downdraft and is was absolutely useless despite the expense. My whole house would smell of whatever I cooked and smoke alarm goes off repeatedly. Don't do it!!!!

Do a Dramatic Chimney Hood Into the Vaulted Ceiling...

If there is a bar on the island with stools and children are around I've heard the stove isn't a great idea bc they tend to want to touch it with it being right in front of them.

A consistent theme I have heard about one or the other is that they wish the stove and the sink were on the same side. My observation is that the island is where everybody lives..do their homework, hang out and martini and mojito.. whatever, splashing from a sink can be as annoying as bacon grease..I also noticed that vegetable sinks don't get used.. Just food for thought... If you need one or the other I think the stove is better, using a rising air vent if you can't use a chimney. IMHO I think the best islands are the ones with no appliances and show off the cool counter material...good luck

Our last home had a great kitchen (which hubby did a wonderul job of remodeling to my wishes) with a down-drafting stovetop. We won't be doing that again. For me, the stovetop along with built-in ovens became a waste of space. Because the stovetop took up so much room we didn't have a lot of seating around the island. Our friends and family still gathered around the island! We are remodeling another home and with the knowledge we gathered from the last ... we will have a large island with seating around 3 sides, with the sink and stove on the outside walls.

I have a peninsula, not an island, and I prefer to keep it clear of EVERYTHING as jeff2160 said,

Thanks for all the great advice!