There was a post a year or so ago about heating stone counters. The kitchen owner wondered if anyone had experience with this given how cold stone can be. At the time I thought heating a counter was a little crazy, but with reflection I can see the point of it. Stone will be cold on the elbows/forearms, so I guess it depends how often and how you intend to use the space.

My peninsula is similar to the picture you pasted above, my quartzite counter is flush with the 15" walnut overhand for seating. I just did a comparison test with my forearms resting up against each section of the counter - the walnut is certainly fall more pleasant to rest up against. If you really love the look of all marble, I'm not sure this should stop you, but the stone really does get cold! And I like the look of stone and wood together.

My last kitchen had the overhand section raised over the main island. The clean up sink was on the island as well. Just a note - water did regularly splash up against that raised wood "backsplash" to the sink - it is important to treat the wood properly here I guess. It is more of a problem if the wood has a stain on it.

Sochi- That's one of the things I was considering...stone is cold, especially on bare elbows!

Did you like the idea of the raised area? I'm planning on a tile backsplash for the rest of the kitchen, but if it's not too expensive, I might try a marble backsplash on the island, with the butcher block on the raised area.

It's pretty much a cottage style kitchen and I think marble would look much too fancy, unless it's in a small area...then it looks like a bit of a splurge, just for the baking area :)

I do like raised areas for seating, mostly for the reason you noted - hiding dirty dishes, etc. This was important in my last kitchen. The main argument for keeping the area one level is the amount of space you have to spread out when needed - for reading the paper, wrapping presents, etc. At times having it all one level is certainly handy. I've had both and have been happy with both. If you do go with a raised area I would recommend that you extend out as far as possible - 15" being the minimum, more if you can.

A marble backsplash on the island would be lovely!

good question!
my kitchen floor will have radiant heat, so hopefully the counters will get at least room temp.
i think it will make them a lot more comfy to use during cold weather, yet cool in the summetime.

Sochi--I know you've posted your old kitchen before, but would you mind posting it here again please? Thanks!!

Lavender--this is one of the big reasons I'm considering NOT putting my Carrara on the island. It's not warm for many months of the year where I live, and marble would be very cold on the bodies of those sitting at the counterstools!

A lot of the worry about marble being "cold" might depend on your climate...I live in the south, and the thought of nice, cool marble to lean against in the summer sounds lovely to me! ;)

One con I forgot about for raised islands - the stools may have to be bar height rather than counter height. Not a big deal for some, but I (and a few others here) find counter height stools more comfortable to sit at.

The seating area at the island in my old kitchen was only slightly raised, so we still got away with counter height stools.

Breezy, here are a couple of pictures of the old kitchen. Note that the cherry eating area is only raised up the depth of the cherry above the stainless steel on the main part of the island. Our problem was that the water from the sink splashed on the cherry and removed the stain over time. We should have installed a thin SS backsplash, but never got around to it before we sold.

Thanks Sochi. I've never seen an eating counter raised just that little bit. It looks great and still seems like it provides some "hiding" of the other side. (I do like your new kitcen better though!;) )

I used marble on my perimeters and cherry on my island (where we sit) and I am glad I did. It's the best of all worlds. I have the cool marble on the long side counter expanses for baking projects; and the warm wood for sitting on. My wood top isn't edge grain, but wider cherry planks, so the island "feels" more like a big farm table and less like a Kitchen Island... but of course that would be negated by raising a part of it.

I have a marble counter on my island. While the marble is cold(I live in the NE), no one has ever complained about it. I guess we don't sit there leaning all the time. In the winter, we are wearing long sleeves, so I guess I think I would probably feel the cold the most in the spring/summer. Again, we've had this installed for about a year and a half, and had a granite island previously and no one has complained. I guess try and figure out how much you lean on the island and how much you are just hanging out and leaning back in a chair.