Just adding that I have frameless cabinets. In my old kitchen, I didn't have drawer handles at all.

Also, I have an island with drawers on one side and nothing on the ends (no fancy end panel.) Would it look weird to have a larger overhang on the drawer side (to protect the drawers and maybe--depending on advice here--stick out over the handles) and then a smaller overhang on the ends with no drawers? It's just that a half inch can make a different in the space between the island and oven on once side and island and table on the other side.

An overhang of 1 1/2" from the cabinet front is standard, however, even 2 1/2" doesn't look odd. It's personal preference; just let your templater know please.

I have two different counters—one with a 1” overhang on framed inset cabinets that is beyond the handles and one with a 1 1/2” overhang on frameless cabinets where the handles extend beyond the counter. (Both measured from the frame--so on the inset, that is also 1" past the door, and on the frameless, it is .75" past the door.) Both work just fine.

To complicate things further, you can use blocking to space your cabinets away from the wall. This allows a deeper counter with more workspace. Kinda more island-like. Very valuable when combined with counter width to create a work zone. 28-30" is possible in a galley layout. Especially on either side of a range. Or any space where prep of a complicated recipe is prepared.

Step 2. Once the templet is set the cuts can be laid out on the material. How any pattern in the counter will appear from any angle, how the convex corners patterns meet, how a slab backsplash meets with the counter pattern and how these things use up the slabs are determined. Make sure, if you are able, to get this correct by communicating with the fabricator to include an examination and approval mechanism before work is done. Go in and approve the product before allowing delivery and installation.

If the handles have ends that'll catch on your clothes, more overhang can lessen that. The overhang affects clearance space between the island and the opposite run.

Thanks. I will be looking at the layout on the slab to approve. I don't want the cabinets pushed out (they're already installed) as I don't have the room.

For the overhang, I think I'm leaning toward 1.5 from the cabinet frame, which will be about 1/2" past the drawer face and won't overhang the handles. They ARE handles you can get caught on, so I have another hour or two to ponder that before the guy shows up, but I honestly don't see getting caught on them. My parents kitchen has similar handles and short overhang (I couldn't remember but I had taken pictures a while back and can see they don't overhang the handles) and no one has ever gotten caught on them, let alone it being a regular issue. And if I overhang 1.5 on the drawer sides of the island, I can overhang just 1" on the non-drawer sides and it will look the same overall.

I'm going to have a slight negative reveal on the sink. Hadn't thought about corner radius. Old kitchen had laminate and it was just 90 degrees in the corner. I've chosen an edge profile.

"I'm going to have a slight negative reveal on the sink."

Please reconsider, as any negative reveal creates a crud lip, an elongated silicone line that frays and becomes contaminated, and provides no protection to the bottom of the stone from chipping.

A slight positive reveal makes a highly inconspicuous maintenance-free silicone joint, looks great, is easy to clean and verify that it's clean, and protects the bottom of the stone from chipping.

No pencil edges on sink cutouts please, 1/4" radius no matter your main edge profile.

How is the silicone line different in positive vs negative reveal?

I don't tihnk I've ever seen a pencil edge on the sink cutout. I'll ask him about that.

I did a lot of reading here on reveals, including your advice. I was leaning that way, but decided on the slight negative. Most people I know have that and don't have issues, but yeah, we'll have to make sure to clean there regularly. But with a postive reveal, I think it's too hard to get just right and I've seen too many posts here about how the reveal isn't even all around and that would really bug me.

I'm thinking the counter should be at least even with the handles and maybe 1/4" further out. That would be 1.25" from the drawer front or 2.25" from the cabinet frame, so if 1.5 is "standard" and it's from the frame, not the drawer front, it seems like 2.25 would be a lot.

Subjectivity exists in this arena, but I'm inclined to say your thinking is solid.

To complicate things further, you can use blocking to space your cabinets away from the wall. This allows a deeper counter with more workspace.

Being very short /having proportionally short arms, I would hate this.

I will be looking at the layout on the slab to approve.

Yes, being involved at every stage is a good way to prevent a sad post later.
They ARE handles you can get caught on

Another thing you want to avoid is non-circular knobs ... I have vertical knobs (so pretty) that're always turning (not so pretty).

Everyone gets along OK with islands that are much deeper than standard counters. That's one reason islands are popular.

Thanks for all the help.

I decided to go with the "standard" 1.5", which I think is what we had before. It won't stick out past the handles. It will stick out about 1/2" from the drawer front.

I put on a loose jacket and tried my best to get stuck on a drawer handle (while also holding it in place because they're not installed yet, so not a perfect test) and I'm really at a loss as to how people catch clothing on these things. Hopefully it won't be an issue for us.

I asked for just 1/2" overhand on the non-drawer sides of the island (we don't have decorative sides) so the overhangs will be the same all around.

Hopefully I'll be happy!

Oh, and the sink will be 3.75" from the edge of the counter, which from what I've read here is ok. It seems 3" would be the minimum.

One thing I missed on the templating was a cabinet I have right next to a doorway to the dining room. Besides the island, it's the only cabinet that has a non-drawer side. Since the templater measures from the cabinet box, not the drawer, the overhang on the non-drawer side will be "bigger", which I don't want--plus there's just not a lot of space there with the doorway. I emailed the fabricator asking them to shorter the overhang on that side to 1/2".

Also, my granite slab got sold out from under me. I'm reading here that that has happened to others. The granite place sent some other random slab in its place. I'm getting silver cloud and the new slab is much curvier rather than more lines, but I went and looked at accepted it. The way it'll be templated hits more of the part with lines, though the island will have more swirls. It was frustrating, but I think it's ok and may even be a bit more interesting.

Oh my, I would be livid if the slab I chose disappeared! Did you have a deposit on the slab?

Our stone yard put my name on 3 slabs as soon as I paid the deposit; a week later they were delivered to the fabricator (so not even available for anyone else to look at).

I'm glad that you are OK with the different slab - I hope it works out beautifully for you!

I think I was half expecting it. When the templater came, he said they'd have the slab sent over--the slab I bought 5 months ago. (My project was delayed 2 months because of another screw up.) I thought the slab was being sent over pretty much as soon as I bought it. So the fact that they didn't have it worried me. Yeah, I'm mad, but I'm at a point in my life where I just don't get that mad at this kind of stuff. But I do appreciate the sympathy.