I'm not sure of the style of the remainder of your kitchen, but what about using the wood for the main portion of the island and having 3-5inches of either stainless or copper on each end? Therefore the middle and largest portion of you island would be wood and the ends would be the other material. Does that make sense?

Thanks, luvnola, I did not think of that arrangement. Not sure if that would cost more with all of the edges or not, so I'll have to investigate further. I'm up for anything as long as it gets this job done!

I have a concrete counter top and a stainless steel seating area all the same level. (SS just got installed on Friday.) My island is 12' x 3' and the ss is 66" x 20" inserted in one corner. Does that make sense?

Here's mine. The stone is six feet with two feet of butcher block on the far end.
{{!gwi}}

Mackswim, that does make sense - and I wish I had a 12' island! Did you have to do anything special at the SS seam? Thanks, cleo, for the picture. I love the backsplash behind the stove. I wish we could do what you did on the island. Unfortunately, our problem has to do with being short going lengthwise so we'll either have to cut off some of the island overhang or have essentially a wide stripe of a different material going down the middle or at the eating area lengthwise. It's always great to see what other people have done. Thanks again!

Sorry I didn't see your question earlier. Actually the ss is about 1/2 " thicker and I had it made as if it was on it's own. I just had a sealer put in the cracks so nothing would fall down inside. here is a picture.
http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/mackswim/?action=view&current=finishedkitchen004.jpg"; target="_blank">

For 20 years, we've had ceramic tile on the cooking end of our island and butcherblock on the eating end. The butcherblock is about a half-inch higher than the tile and extends about a half-inch over the top of the tile, with a sealer in the joint. This was the way the house came when we bought it, and it's been both sensible and fine.