I understand your desire to have one level, but this area represents the workhorse of the kitchen - sink area, dishwasher area, lots of prep space... The elevated counter serves to disguise some of this busyness of a functional kitchen from the family room that is open to the kitchen.

I am sure you could make this one level if you desired, but I think there are codes for placement of electrical outlets throughout a kitchen counter space.

I

Here's a family that did what you are thinking...

https://bella-tucker.com/2017/10/two-tier-kitchen-island-update/

Looks nice! I am not sure where they hid the outlets.

We did this a couple years ago not DIY for us. Wonderful result in expanded work space & opening up kitchen area. Our island is angled as yours is with DW at one end, sink in middle but only a very narrow cab & drawer at other end so not as large as yours. Ours is 10’4” from outside end to outside end, We used Cambria jumbo slab so we wouldn’t have a seam. We have air switch next to faucet for disposal & plug in outlets at both ends. The end without DW also has light switch for island pendants & over sink work light.

I did exactly what you’re planning, just not a DIY project. Also, like @KW a huge slab that has no seams in it. But there are seams in my countertop since my kitchen is large.

They have these in different styles, colors and finishes. They pop up from the counter when you need them and when they are flat they charge phones.

Or just cover it with the counter material.

Hadn’t thought to include pics but here’s the before / start

Here’s the after / done

Looks so much better!

Yes, I had mine lowered recently by a fabricator. I used the same granite that was originally there. I love it!

It depends upon how skilled of a DIYer you are.

The wall framing all needs to be either be reframed or at the least considerably modified, not just drywall, electrical outlets and tops.

One level counters are more popular now, but think through the outlets before starting. The way they are now is simple, accessible and practical. But I don't hate two level counters the way some people do. I know my hubs could DIY this, but as Joseph says, whether it is a DIY job for you depends on how skilled you are. A lot of jobs seem simpler than they end up being and once you start this you will have disabled a valuable part of your kitchen. One issue with DIY is that you're going to take longer to do it than a pro would. Since it's their job they are faster because that's all they do.

The pop-up outlets that Paul F posted are a potential solution, but be aware they take up a bunch of space inside the cabinets. They often require rebuilding the top drawer to a shorter depth. One example of how a DIY project can be more complicated thanyou expect.

Overhangs sometimes/usually? require support underneath because of the weight. Make sure to account for this.

My 2 cents on the two level countertop- I still like them and find them practical. I had a similar arrangement as yours and I liked that it blocked the water splash and hid some mess from the other side.

I am not too worried about losing the outlets from the bar since we are currently not using them and still have 6 other outlets in the kitchen that will remain. While i do think id be capable of DIY i think finding the time to get it done all in one go will be the biggest hurdle.

For those of you who have hired a contractor what was your rough cost?

Also usually bar height counters are 12" deep while counter height needs to be a minimum of 15" deep for comfortable seating. And as someone else mentioned, you will need support for the counter.

$1600.00

@Abe Sadowsky You are not worried about the outlets but the inspector and building code thinks otherwise. You need to determine what they require and how they will be handled before starting a DIY project.

@Abe Sadowsky Trying to give you a ballpark but our contract included more than island redo. We had a new master bath glass shower enclosure & guest bath counter & sink redo too. The electrician, plumber, counter fabricator & installer, tile installer, shower glass were all subbed out but paid by GC so their cost included too. The back splash demo, install prep, island carpentry (ours has a pony wall in addition to the drywall behind the sink & seating side is beadboard covered not wallboard) appliance moving out & back (stove, frig, DW) all done by GC staff. I can say the kitchen countertop material & fabrication cost was @$8k + & the 6 steel overhang supports $450. Our entire contract for all work done in kitchen & baths was $32k in spring 2020 & location SW WA. As a side note, because our island used the complete jumbo slab with nothing usable left over, we had to purchase a second jumbo slab for the perimeter counters & there was a lot left over from that piece. We used those leftovers rather than losing them to the stone company to sell as remnants. So some of the adds to our cost was more fabrication & demo (bath counter) & install. We used the left over counter material for a new 40” long guest bath counter (& of course new sink & faucets more $$) & also had a top made for a freestanding cabinet in dining area - you can see it in the upper right corner of my second picture of the ’after’ I posted earlier.

"$1600.00"

That gave me a chuckle. I wouldn't change your kitchen sink for $1,600.00. You'll pay a little less than that for the custom steel frame needed to support a natural stone top overhang. If I proposed this job and it was less than $16,000.00, I'd go take another look at my numbers and ask my electrician to do the same.

I could DIY this, but I chose not to. I paid a contractor 12K to handle the whole thing, and it was well worth it. I only had to pick out which counters I wanted. It could easily have been 20K if I went with the super beautiful quartzite that I really loved. Couldn’t justify that though. I went with a plain leathered Gray Steel granite that was not at all expensive.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC - that was to lower my 2 tier 76" long ISLAND countertop to 1 tier. The overhang that needed to be lowered was 18". What do you think the $1600.00 is for?

I can’t separate out the structural change since all the countertops were done at the same time - including a laundry room. My contractor cut down the tier to make the surface level.

My total cost for 5 pieces (4 in the kitchen, one in the laundry room) was $8,000 (3 slabs of granite, templating, and installation) and it was done in 2017.