Consider getting a prep sink with a cutting board ledge. Although those look like a neat idea, I did not consider it because I am fastidious about cleaning my cutting boards, and wonder how easily it is to disinfect the board and the rim inside the hole. I wouldn't be keen about cutting something, giving it a quick wipe and then shoving it back under the countertop.

I'm pretty sure your second pic is of beaglesdoitbetter's amazing kitchen. You can message her through her member page.

I left a positive reveal on my 33" sink, so that I can lay a cutting board over half of the sink, as wilson describes, but I like the idea of pull-out boards.

I have a blanco solon which keeps the smell from compostables under an air tight lid. I would not want wet garbage going into an open container, it just gets too hot here...my city trash can is quite a trek from the kitchen so I try to empty the wet garbage only once a day.

We compost all our kitchen scraps so a pull-out cutting board over the trash would not work for me. I also wonder about caring for the board as wilson853 mentioned. Besides cleaning, they also need occasional oiling to keep from drying out...that would be a big mess. Another thing that could be an issue is if you're a tall family...my husband is 6'4" and even the regular height counter is kinda short to him...he would notice and not like losing another inch and a half.

Maybe my glass is half empty but all I see is tomato seeds and juice all over the underside of the board, the sides of the trash cabinet, on the floor, and on the side of the trash can from "near misses". Sometimes ingenuity adds complexity. I'd rather have the seeds and juice on the counter where I can easily see it and wipe it up with one swipe. Plus agree the board is too big for most jobs so it would often go unused.

I also tend to lean on things a little - and would worry about the robustness of the draw slides over time. And, like others, I make a much larger mess than can usually be contained on any size cutting board. I also like to slide things off the edge into my hand and prefer my misses hit the counter and not the floor. Lastly - I often cut and slide off directly into a pot / pan.

I would think that the cutting board would be removable if you did go this route. A couple of those pictures do look like they have the provisions to lift out or detach without deconstructing the entire mechanism.

I could see it being cool if you used it for bread only. Light duty and easy to sweep the crumbs into the hole.

My gut - looks cool - but probably not a significant upgrade.

I think I'm with the majority here: Very cool to look at, but I wonder about its functionality. I also like to know my boards are CLEAN, and I don't see how you can thoroughly clean these non-removable boards.

I'll throw out another suggestion for a sink-with-a-ledge. Many people here either have or want the Kohler Stages 45 -- you can see that the ledge is beneath the countertop level, so crumbs, etc. could be brushed into the sink, and it would be very easy to sanitize.

Another thought: A trash hole in your countertop. Sometimes people talk compost "holes", but I don't think I personally would want that -- but a hole (with a cover) leading into the trash can is something to consider, if you're doing under-cabinet trash. I would not surround this with a cutting board.

Finally, I do think that's Beagles' kitchen. I know she had so much blue in her house. That is a lovely blue granite on the island.

The board itself isn't removable from the frame? I would imagine you can GET it removable.

My dog would love a pull out cutting board because he sits there waiting...hoping.. praying for something to hit the floor.. lol

Me, I move around too much to use something stationary...but some people love that.

A pull-out cutting board with hole in it seems to lack versatility. You might find that it too limiting.

You don't need the Kohler stages 45 (although it might be nice to have), any large sink will do because you can buy aftermarket cutting boards that will go across any of them. There is something to be gained with having the cutting board right over the sink, You can slide the cuttings into a bowl paced directly underneath and the rest, the mess just washes down the drain...

Thank you all for very valuable feedback!

I have the old fashioned pull-out cutting board (along with the old fashioned kitchen!), which doesn't have a hole nor glides and is just a board that pulls out partially so I can push stuff into the trash just below it. I can also pull it completely out for cleaning. There's not a lot of counter space in this kitchen so I'm happy to have extra prep space wherever I can find it. I think a hole would be in the way and unhelpful, though if you have to have a drawer front to make it look not like a cutting board, then I guess you'd have to have a hole. I only use it for non-meat but this new (to me) kitchen does have a garbage disposal (city sewer woo hoo!) so I guess I could actually put this food prep debris down the disposal? We've been on septic for so long that I'm not used to a disposal. Then for something really messy like tomatoes, I could set the board over the sink and push the tomato guts into the disposal.

We all had slide out breadboards growing up. I can only remember my mom making sandwiches on it but she must have cut tomatoes for the sandwiches. I know she disinfected it but as a kid i didn't pay attention. It was over a set of drawers. No pull out trash cans in those days. Lol

How about a Galley Sink or a Rachiele sink? Both have ledges on which you can sit chopping boards, prep dishes, draining racks, bowls, colanders, etc. Not cheap, but they are SO versatile you could think you're offsetting the cost of expensive countertop materials and acreage.

We love our pull-out cutting board - wish I'd put in another one next to the fridge for making sandwiches.

Mine is removable, and gets pulled out regularly to get scrubbed in the sink. For messy operations - like making salsa - we put the trash can under the cutting board. I would not like a hole - too often, things would fall through, when they were intended to stay on the board. And the hole would be harder to clean.

Just coming from a visit to our slow but surely in progress kitchen, where I had the option to do the hole in the board pullout above the rubbish bins ...

I finally decided against it (1) its is a very small kitchen so need to maximize space above the rubbish bins (2) was not keen on having open rubbish bins (which the hole in the cutting board would need)

I finally opted for a pullout drawer next to the sink. Below this is the cabinet for the pullout rubbish bins. I'm putting in a 9" high pullout rollout tray in the space above the trash cans, to store carry bags etc.

In the cook area, I have a pullout table @ 27.5" height to use as a writing / landing area, and a pull out kneading board which rest on heavy duty Blum glides. The surface of the kneading board is quartz and the whole thing can be taken out for cleaning,

It seems really limiting to me to have a cutting board with a hole in it - you'd have to be so careful not to lose things through the hole.

Why couldn't you have a hole in the cutting board, with a cover like the pic above? You wouldn't accidentally lose anything (except maybe some dripping liquid). Remove the cover when you want to scrape the debris into the can.

Also grew up with cutting boards that slid out from above a drawer. Mom used them ALL the time due to little counter space. Best thing - freshly baked cookies cooling. Worst thing - running through the kitchen and beaning myself on the corner of the temporarily pulled out cutting board.

Mama_goose, I can't even figure out how you would remove that cover, except punching it out from below!

On a cutting board that shouldn't be a problem, but in a counter over a cabinet IDK. Maybe the cover has a piece of metal embedded in the underside, and you use a magnet to engage and lift it. IIRC beagles' kitchen had something similar for outlet covers.

Or maybe you push a button and a little lever shoots out and pops it up. I just had an image of 'Thing' from the Addams Family. ;)

Elkay, when I remodeled my kitchen in 2012, the KD suggested the pullout cutting board on glides over the trash bin, similar to the one shown in the 2nd photo in your original post, i.e., no hole in the board. One difference was that drawer front pulled down, rather than being attached to the cutting board. I thought it was a great idea and went ahead with it; however, it was not useful.

When I remodeled again in 2015 (long story), I took out the cutting board and replaced it with a horizontal spice drawer. Also removed a narrow pullout spice cabinet that had been installed next to the range in 2012.

Problems with the pullout cutting board were: (1) It tended to move around when I was cutting. I prefer to have a work surface that is immobile when I have a sharp object in my hand. (2) Juice from cut fruit (tomatoes, oranges) rolled off the edge of the board onto the floor. (3) When the cutting board and trash can were extended, they blocked access to adjacent cabinets and counter space, so I needed to make sure I had everything ready before I started cutting. (The board was near a corner.)

I compost fruit and vegetable scraps, so they go into a compost can on my counter, not into the trash can below, so it was not that useful. It took up valuable space that was better served with a spice drawer - I didn't like the vertical spice drawer because it meant kneeling down to reach the spices on the bottom shelf.