" Which makes more sense to do? "

Forget the waterfall entirely. Post up a floorplan with all dimensions. I know you have posted a couple times recently about your kitchen but do not know if you ever posted the floor plan.

Why did you start another post when you have been back in the original a couple hours ago?

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6424050/waterfall-island-counter-overhang#n=11

My wife likes the waterfall island look. The ikea cabinets we are using for the island are very plain on the sides and the waterfall feature would make the kitchen feel more high end. The quartz we are buying comes mitered which should make the install easier. Also the sides of the cabinets don’t have any doors so I’m not losing any storage space. I attached a picture if the quartz we are planning to use and it has very light and minimal veins so I’m thinking it will be fine if they don’t match perfectly

Waterfall islands are only appropriate in highly contemporary kitchens and in your case will allow nw stools at the end and BTW cost a lot of money to get right. I just read this is aduplicate post so have fun now going to every post to read answers .

Translation......Assuming perimeter cabs at 24, and your info?

Your kitchen width, wall to wall is 170"

A passage of NOT less than 45" at fridge, and not less than 48" at dish washer is what you need.

Allows you a comfortable ISLAND , 30 inches wide. Squeezing.

You have .....

TWO perimeters = 48 of base cab

between sink and is is 37"

Between fridge/isl is 41"

island is 44

= 170 " or 14' 2"

WHICH MEANS....... it should not be there at all

Or you make an island 30 inches wide and zero seating to allow for comfortable/ barely clearances.

For help? You need an accurate scaled drawing of the existing kitchen , every last inch. Window, walls, passages etc.

I am betting it once had a peninsula.

Oh. I think I understand. You bought Ikea cabinets to make an island, and they aren't like the more traditional cabinets that were already in the rest of the kitchen, so the waterfall is to make the Ikeash disappear? I fear that may be throwing good money after bad, to be honest. As I understand it, waterfall countertops are tricky to install, and this will cost you a fair bit to get a good result. Maybe you're better off hiring a local expert to rip out the Ikeash, and build you a more useful and long-lasting solution that suits your room. It sounds like it would be expensive, but estimates don't cost anything, and you may get some good ideas on how to get what you want.

I have not installed the ikea cabinets yet. It still looks like in the picture. With the current width of 44 inch island it is only an issue when someone is sitting at the island and we need to open the fridge. On the side of the dish washer the 41 inch feels very roomy.

24

42

36 ( island maximum/not good at fridge

44 ( fridge and walk way)

24

________

170" total width of kitchen

It's your home, nobody can stop you. The kitchen doesn't seem suited to waterfall, few are.. Nobody can tell you the best kitchen , minus an accurate drawing of all you have.

Recommended clearances, counter to counter or other, exist for a reason. : )

As noted above, waterfalls suit a very contemporary kitchen and yours is very traditional. As you have discovered, kitchens are all about math, and yours doesn't add up: neither your current layout nor your proposal. It probably was a peninsula, with seats at the end.

Your best, most cost effective solution is to keep your current island cabinets and get a stone guy to come in and slice about 10" off the back of the island, enough so the overhangs front and back match. Put a stool at the end and call it a day.

Why? The passage in front of the fridge would be the recommended width, and no one would be sitting there to block It. Your current colors work together nicely, much better than the white/grey countertop will. Your current door style is no longer popular, so trendy touches will not be cohesive. A new Ikea cabinet won't blend with what you have.

Putting a lot of money into this kitchen doesn't make sense unless it solves the poor layout, with a barrier island between the sink and fridge. You also need better ventilation above your cooktop.

As others have mentioned, waterfall islands are most appropriate in a modern/minimalist spacious kitchen. It won't look more "high end" in your kitchen, it will look out of place with your traditional style cabinets and other surfaces. Function over style anyway with your aisle widths.

What are you hoping to accomplish with this change? If aesthetics are the issue I think just changing the island will not provide the change you are hoping for with out changing all counters and back splash.

I’m planning to replace the kitchen doors with white shaker style and paint the cabinets white to match and replace counter tops and backsplash. I wanted to have the island be wood color as the existing island can only be painted in solid color so that’s why I thought to get the ikea one. Maybe instead I should keep the island and paint it blue. Don’t want the kitchen to look too white.

I would consider splitting the difference and doing a 39" island. You will still be comfortable with other side and will get an additional 5" on the refrigerator side.

As for the other stuff. I am OK with waterfalls and shaker cabinets and I suspect most people would find it appealing. Certainly, a select few will turn up their nose at it, I recommend you just not invite those people over.

If you are comfortable with the walkways then that is all that matters.

One reason I was considering 42 or 36 is because they are sold in those sizes. I figured it would look nicer and be cheaper if they don’t need to not cut but maybe it’s not a big deal

When you redo the island are you recentering it for the counter top or will it stay in it's current location? If you leave the island in it's current location and put a different size top on it that will affect the aisle widths differently than if you moved the island and then put a different sized counter on it.

If your wife loves waterfall put it in but as noted be aware that it is expensive, the fabricator and installer really have to know what they're doing so ask for their experience and their process and do your own research, and realize that context is everything. The island with the waterfall sides aren't the only thing going on in the kitchen and it is a strong feature so do make sure it will mesh with the other features.

It sounds like you have a lot of decisions that haven't yet been made and I think those need to be a bit more firm.

Lots of good advice, it can seem like a lot - but folks on here are trying to help you spend your money (which will be significant) well -

just a note to keep flooring in mind if you change your island footprint - I had a cousin DIY an island redesign, she demo'd it only to realize there was no flooring underneath it

Your best advice? That will come from a fully dimensioned drawing of the space, as it exists right now.

Everything else aside from island top size is a design issue secondary to the first. Inches.. All and everything.

That is the best advice ...believe it.: ) or not

Also ? I see back packs? So.....what is happening with the O.T.C microwave, and the inefficient venting, before you go to this big expense?

"90x36 would not need any additional support as the island overhang would be 11.5 inches with 24 inch base cabinet and 0.5 inch overhang on the front of the cabinets."

Page 65 please.

Bob, you are planning a lot of expensive things that are just not functional. Wouldn't it be better to plan things out that actually work, with the use of a measured diagram? Rather than spend 18K on this waterfall island and have it not work. Because you also need electrical outlets on that island, as well as steel support. This is not DIY plannable. It would be risk to life and limb, get red tagged by any inspection.

@Bob z “One reason I was considering 42 or 36 is because they are sold in those sizes. I figured it would look nicer and be cheaper if they don’t need to not cut but maybe it’s not a big deal”

Be careful that you don’t let the tail wag the dog. While the cut could be expensive, when considered in the overall cost of the project it is likely inconsequential.

I am a big fan of design starting with the people who are actually going to be using the kitchen. No rules on size and workflow are going to achieve the results that an in depth examination of the way you use your kitchen will.

Additionally, it is OK to improve things without them being perfect. I mean sometimes you just don’t have the budget to pick up the house and turn it 19 degrees to get the perfect lighting for the kitchen you moved to the other side of the house because your isles would have been 3” too narrow to be perfect in the old kitchen location. The OP has a 44” island… 42” is better, and 39” is even better than that.

I have to say I really like your kitchen the way it is. The cabinets are fine, and wood is trending (not that that should really matter). What type of wood is it. I think the main problem with your kitchen is the dated backsplash and countertops. Replace them. There are many beautiful stone and quartz countertops that would go with your lovely cabinets. As for the waterfall island, I personally do not like the look of them and they probably will be out of style in a few years. Do something classic, and you won’t regret it. As for dimensions for the island I think you got good advice from everyone. What you are proposing to do is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig.

Ruth if you can share any example kitchens that have quartz countertops and backsplash similar to my kitchen. One problem with my cabinets is the arch at the top is outdated. I’m able to get all new replacement doors in white shaker style for around $5000 and another $2000 to have the rest of the cabinets painted to match. So it’s a significant cost but not completely extreme.

Thank you DeWayne for that image. I think the cabinets also don’t go well with the floors. I tried searching all the kitchen photos on Houzz and I wasn’t able to find a single kitchen with cherry cabinets with arch that wasn’t from 15+ years ago.

If I buy custom doors for the island in walnut, how hard would it be to match the rest of island to the walnut doors? I have no idea what my current cabinets are made from

It's the internet. Someone will say easy. Someone will say impossible. Someone will give you the instructions.

The wisest answer here, is probably to live with the kitchen you have, until such time you want to, and can afford to rip the kitchen. You want more from it, than it will deliver.

If determined? Change door and drawer faces, do a painted island and move on, to include clearances you find comfortable, whatever inches those may be.

I' d say no to the walnut and the chances of a perfect match, exactly zero, as you attempt to turn zebra hide to elephant hide...........: ) No.

"Outdated" is so subjective. What matters is, are you comfortable there? If "outdated" wasn't even a factor, would you be happy with the cabinets? One of our neighbors had a gorgeous kitchen with custom cherry cabinets and gorgeous countertops; a few years ago, it was sold and the new buyer ripped it all out and replaced it with stock painted white cabinets and manufactured quartz countertops. Guess what? Someone bought it this year, and spent several months ripping out those ghastly stock cabinets and quartz countertop, to put in -- guess what? Custom wooden cabinets. They also got rid of all the grey walls in the house. It's said that painted brick exteriors are also "on the way out"? How many people are going to go get the paint stripped off their homes because painted brick is "outdated"? A lot of foolish money follows trends that don't actually make us happy.

Don't be a lemming with fads that are already moving into that overused "outdated" word. You have something that is beautiful and that doesn't need to be butchered. If you can't improve it, leave it alone. None of those ideas of waterfalls and tiny walkways, or cheap painted white anything, improves on what you have.

Get new, correctly sized countertops, a new backsplash, and buy Mrs. Bob a nice diamond ring. Everbody's happy.

@Bob You also may find it's not so hard to refinish the floors to a tone that is more soothing to you next to the cabinets, if the floors are wood.

Cora, great comments. I recently penned a blog about how to measure walkway space from a floor plan. The given dimension rarely takes into consideration the countertop overhang and the protrusion of appliances. Feel free to read my short blog here.