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Is my island overhang too big...or is the whole thing wrong? PICS

13 years ago

Please take a look at my proposed island top and tell me what you think. Ignore the mess, please. My island will be two inch end grain wood...you can see a small sample in the pics. The first THREE pictures show the island at 48"X44" with clipped corners. The overhang is 18" with two corbels for support. The corbels come out 11" so there is seven inches past the corbels. We definitely have space in the room for this size, but I don't want my top to dwarf my little island or have the overhang be top heavy on that side. Know what I mean? The last picture shows the island cut back two inches to 42" so it would have more like a 16" overhang. What do you think? I also want to have a three inch overhang on the two sides. Does anyone think that will be a bad move? The deal here is I made my island base too small to begin with and I am trying to have my wood top as large as possible without it looking stupid.

Any and all comments are welcome... I can take it. HA!

Thanks,

pup

Comments (32)

  • 13 years ago

    i think it looks like the right size and i love your cabinets and windows.

  • 13 years ago

    I don't know about the island but your windows are stunning!
    Actually the island - it does look a little side heavy for the first three pics but I also don't think the clipped corners go with your corbels design-wise. They're too abrupt. What about just a straight 42" of top without the clipped corners.

  • 13 years ago

    I agree about the corners being wrong--too 80s or something. The overall size is good, and it'll look better in the darker wood than it does with the plywood. It won't be all that obvious that the cabinets beneath are small (and they aren't really). It's a cross between table and island and that is an appropriate look for you very lovely kitchen.

    The flamingo, however...that has to go. Do you need my address so I can rehome it for you? :P

  • 13 years ago

    What a beautiful space you have! The thickness of the actual top will help balance the larger size. I'd go with simple curves on those corners as well.

  • 13 years ago

    Thank you all. I said I could take it, but OH NO! You people agree with my husband. He thinks we should do 42" with no clips. THIS after we AGREED on the 44" inch with clips in the first pic and I had to leave to go out of town. Now he's doubled back on me and all I can see are the versions he's sending me via email cause I'm not there and won't be for another week. AND I'm trying to get this darn thing ordered today!!! I feel stressed. I hate when this happens.

    Oh dear, let's see if we have some other interesting ideas roll in...or even some that agree with me. And no deal on the flamingo. He may be give off an 80's vibe, too, but he's staying. LOL!

    FYI, below is a pic of the 42" inch with the sample block simulating no clips...hubby's choice.

    Thank you,
    pup

  • 13 years ago

    Is the island firmly attached to the floor? If not, it needs to be.

  • 13 years ago

    How about a compromise with all rounded corners? Easier on the hips and better for passing little ones. The two 90 degrees by the sink look like bruisers waiting to impale and the proposed clips aren't wide enough to match the existing angles by the cook top.

  • 13 years ago

    Weedmeister, oh yes, the island is firmly attached. It's actually been there for three years. Alas, I have had a lovely version of that particleboard as my island top for that long. It's time to move on.

  • 13 years ago

    I think the 44" is fine, but I have to agree with others about a curved or squared corner. I think I would go w/squared because the island isn't that wide and I think a curve would take too much away from the seating space.

  • 13 years ago

    How deep (wide) is the counter with the cooktop? I think the 44 is ok but maybe is on the big side when you see the cooktop area, can't tell for sure. Seems your room can take the big top, but I agree with you on the island not being huge, and then combined with the cooktop counter, I think a smaller top might be better. Also, the corbels seem in proportion to the island and may seem dwarfed by a larger top. I would stick with the cut corners because you did them in the cooktop counter....a good repeat.

  • 13 years ago

    I think the 44" is fine. And I'm going to have to go against the majority...a little. No square corners. We have them on our island/bar and we've both bruised our sides/hips more times than we care to count. I wish now we would've figured out a way to round them or clip them.

    And besides the clipped corners tie in with the peninsula which has clipped corners too.

  • 13 years ago

    Hi, I guess I'll be the lone voice in the crowd.

    My personal preference is no angles. But it's not my kitchen AND I can see an angled base cab in the top R of the picture plus the counter with the cooktop has angles.

    So, (1) the clipped island corners match the rest of the kitchen, and (2) if you have little ones, they are more gentle as opposed to 90 degree corners. So, for the sake of continuity I'd stick with the angles.

  • 13 years ago

    The overhang looks disproportional to my eye. Will anyone with extra-long femurs be sitting there? Has everyone who will be sitting there tried it out for size and comfort?

    If you do keep the overhang at its current side, do you have the option of moving the corbels closer to the edge of the island?

    As to the corners, I manage to run into almost everything at one time or another, so my inclination would be to minimize pointy bits for practical reasons.

  • 13 years ago

    Thanks for the additional comments. I'm glad to see a few people like the clipped corners.

    Let me say that yesterday before I left, hubby and I worked and concentrated on this thing. For the majority of the time we had it at a 48X44 inch size with no clips. We thought we would ask the manufacturer to SLIGHTLY round all the corners. Hubby even tried to do that on this particleboard piece but it mostly splintered. Still wanting to keep my 44" length, but fearing it was a bit too much, I finally asked hubby to clip the corners. He measured in four inches and did the cut. The clip that you see on our cooktop area is six inches and that would just be too much for this island. As soon as he clipped the corners it felt better. I still had my long overhang, but it "felt" smaller.

    In some ways I think I'm screwing myself all up with this top. I want the look of end grain, but I do wonder how clipped corners will look on that. And as Fori mentioned, I'm trying to combine the look of a butcher block top with essentially a table to eat on, and that's probably not a good thing. And no one so far has commented on having a three inch overhang on the two sides. I think it is much more typical to have it the same size as the base or maybe an inch wider. But as I've said, I'm trying to get the most size I can. I know it's hard for you to visualize the three inch overhang, but has anyone else done this or can anybody comment?

    Lur R Golden, I'm going to have to guess at the size of the peninsula. The cooktop is 36" and there looks to be 18 inches on either side so let's say at least 72 inches long. And depth is maybe 45"? And Honorbiltkit, hubby and I both sat at the island to try it on for size. He's 6'2" so I guess you would call him a long femured guy. I certainly realize that an 18" overhang is very deep. I even read that 16 was considered the maximum. And not that it really matters, but with the 18" overhang it makes the distance from the island to the cupboards and the distance from the island to the sink the same measurement...for what that's worth. As far as moving the corbels more to the edges, it worries me that will increase the unsupported span in the middle. See what I'm saying?

    Now everyone check out my green "spice" rack above the pot filler over the peninsula. You can't make it out but it does say Spices at the top. Now take a closer look at those spices. With this aggravation over this wood top, I could use one of those "spices" right about now....maybe that first one on the top. I think it is Grey Goose. LOL!!!

  • 13 years ago

    Small spice rack, but well-appointed.

    Okay, *I* think the extra overhang is table-ish, and I LIKE table-ish here. I wouldn't object to even MORE overhang if there's room. I like being able to tuck my toes under while I work, or pull a stool around to ANY side. Three measly inches make that more comfy than one. (More inches would be even comfier.) And the clipped corner isn't that bad because it's a THICK BB, right? And dark. So it's not even going to be all that in-your-face obvious. Instead of rounding the corners, maybe round the top edge, like a bullnose or even a frufru ogee. Slightly softer.

    May I suggest the less-inexpensive route: get it like you planned it. Live with it. Take pictures. See what friends and family think. Haul it back to the shop to get trimmed if it turns out too big.

  • 13 years ago

    I am torn on the clipped corner issue. If you didn't have clipped corners on your cooktop counter, I'd vote no, but you do, so... We were trying to make a similar decision for our island. It's a bit bigger, (the cabinets are 75" x 36"), and we're planning to have the overall length be 96" which would give us a 19" overhang. My thought was that we would have room for four people (tight) if we needed it - one on each side and two on the end. G

    Your kitchen is lovely. What granite do you have on the cooktop counter?

  • 13 years ago

    The overhang looks huge and out of proportion with the island to me. The poor little island looks like it's going to tip over any second.

    On the plus side, deep overhangs are great for legroom.

  • 13 years ago

    I think it is going to be nice! HAve you thought about some cute legs instead of the corbels? It might balance it better. REally love your kitchen!

  • 13 years ago

    Fori, I thought the same thing just a little while ago about getting it and then later clipping it...if only. We are ordering it from a company clear across the country from us. So, dat won't work. Glad you like the three inch overhang on the sides. We measured toe kick area and that is four inches, so we even tried that. It's too much...hubby and I both agree on that. So three is better then nothin, right? Oh, and would you care to join me in a glass of spice?

    Meggswife, the granite on the peninsula and perimeter area is Juparana Arandis. What a nightmare that was to pick out...maybe even worse then this wood top. I really didn't think I wanted granite...I wanted something simpler. But I finally got tired of searching and went with the granite, and I do love it.

    Chiefneil, I was afraid someone was going to say that. HA! But now focus on the corbels...add them into the equation. They extend eleven inches under the top. BTW, is there some mathmatical equation for percent of overhang versus countertop area?

  • 13 years ago

    Legs is a good idea!

  • 13 years ago

    If you can remove your corbels and bead board temporarily, you could build a small knee wall against the island cabinets to beef up the under part. Then replace your trim pieces, and you still have your *size* of island, but not such a disproportionate overhang.

  • 13 years ago

    I'm gonna just blurt it out....me no like legs! Apologies to those who do. I think they make it so much harder to snuggle up to the counter top...mine, anyway. My island is small so with two people sitting there you'd probably each have to straddle the legs to cozy up to the bar without rubbing elbows. Not a look I like. If you don't straddle and both sit confined between the legs, then the dismount is difficult. Whop your knee and say a dirty word. Then have to frantically scoot, scoot, scoot your stool to escape your filthy utterance.

    No thanks. No legs for pup.

  • 13 years ago

    The top will look heavy. The island will not look tipsy with that big ol' hunk of butcherblock on it. You don't need legs (unless you want it to look more balanced in which case they'd be nice). I mean it will look heavy in a good way, like a solid vintage farm table. I don't think you have a problem!

    (And anybody can trim it should it be needed later. Well, not ANYbody, but it isn't a difficult thing to do.)

  • 13 years ago

    It's badly out of proportion with your small island. It looks like a mushroom. You either need to embrace the farm table look with legs, or reduce the overhang to around 15" with brackets. Having 3" of overhang on the sides instead of the normal 1 1/2" also looks odd.

    Couldn't you just order another cabinet and add on to your island if you think it's too small? That would work much better than trying to fudge a fix after the fact.

  • 13 years ago

    Can you just move the top a little bit?? I would not have it hanging so much on the left side where the stools are, just move it so the corner is right above the corbell edge things and the other side (right) sticks out just a bit more. It does look like it is going to tip over. It also is sort of disproportionate to the stainless appliances on the other side, if you move the top it will 'center' those and look better.

  • 13 years ago

    GreenDesigns, been there, tried that. I think in the cobwebs of my mind I've held off on getting my wood top thinking that I should just remedy the size of the base. Hubby would have none of it....and even one designer I asked about this said that increasing the size of the island by a few inches here and there (which is really all it would be) was in no way worth the pain and expense. And to top it off, the last time I went on the Decora website, which is where I got my cabinets from, I no longer see my cabinet finish available.

    Sasafras, I don't think I've actually mentioned or shown a picture, but the right side of the island in my pics (the side closest to the sink) has two drawers with cabinets below. So, the overhang there has to be your standard one or one and a quarter inch. I can't move that side.

    And, as always, I want to say thank you very much to everyone who has taken the time to respond to my questions. I don't always call out the name or respond to every single one, but I do appreciate all your thoughts.

    pup

  • 13 years ago

    I think it does look a bit out of proportion, but I might not have noticed that if you weren't asking the question. Regarding the overhang, we have an island in our lakehouse which we use as a table (only table in kitchen). It is a perfect table, but we have cabinets underneath on two sides and it is inconvenient. It doesn't look like you have cabinets underneath, so I think it would be fine.

  • 13 years ago

    I'm baaaaaaack! Got sidetracked a bit being out of town and then came home and hubby had to be hospitalized with pneumonia. He's on the mend now.

    Sooooo, to all of you out there, speak now or forever just hold it! We are likely ordering tomorrow and this is the latest plan: We are going to go with a 16" inch overhang which is the shorter one in above pics...still not short, but shorter then 18. And I was sold on the clipped corners from the start, but now I don't think I'm going to do them. Interesting. We are going to have the corners just slightly rounded...there won't be a point. Guy asked if we wanted a dime size curve, or nickel, or coffee cup. Think the dime will be sufficient. We will also do the three inch overhang on the two sides. Top will likely be 2 and 1/2" thick end grain. That is the height you see in my pics with the 1/2" particleboard and the 2" sample board on top. And finish will be the permanent marine grade which I hear is Waterlox.

    That's all I can think of. If anyone has any comments, alternate ideas, or if you're just absolutely horrified, I would appreciate a shout out...sooner rather then later.

    Thanks,
    pup

  • 13 years ago

    Not horrified. I might choose differently, but that's not the point. There's nothing wrong with your choices, and you've lived with this decision long enough to know your own mind.

    One thing to consider is putting a counterbalance under the new top. You'll have more space underneath without the corbels. Not a big deal, however.

    It's good to have a decision. Enjoy it!

    Best wishes to your DH for a speedy recovery.

  • 13 years ago

    YES! One vote for not horrified. That makes me feel better. Thank you, plllog!

    pupwhipped

  • 13 years ago

    Pup, I love your kitchen and I love what you are planning for the island : )

    Question . . . will the corbels definitely hold the weight of the wood? I'm sure you've considered this. I just remember when we were choosing the overhang for our breakfast bar the weight was a big issue, but then again soapstone is heavier than wood.

  • 13 years ago

    Any chance that you could redo the island a little--bump the finished side a few inches toward the stool sitters? This would leave behind a nice niche to store table leaves. Or two narrow niches, one opening to each side, for trays and such. Or on one side a towel drying pullout with a narrow drawer above and on other side a niche for a folded stool. Or... (think creatively here and insert own skinny idea].