ONe more reason for architects to not design kitchens the new one is awesome and so functional.

The new island is a breath of fresh air! I am not so sure about a black countertop on it, which doesn't make sense to me with the earthy, gold granite perimeter. Could you do the island top in something... browner? Wood was suggested (yes), and I've seen some dark brown stones out there. Or a cream counter similar to the cabinet color.

@julies thank you for your input. I tried looking for a light quartz that would match, but only found ones with veining. I will continue to look.

Are there any you'd recommend?

My granite is similar to Venetian gold

Or Santa Cecilia

There are definitely quartz with no veining. Ours wouldn’t match as it has a speckle but no veins to be found.

I'm sorry, I don't have a specific quartz name but there are speckly yellow toned cream/beige ones out there, and maybe cheaper than the marble look ones that are popular - we chose such a countertop for our starter home when we moved out as it looked great with the fairly yellow LVP flooring throughout. I wouldn't fight the existing Santa Cecelia counters with a "fresh new" style island counter as it tends to make the old counters appear tired and dingy in comparison. It turns out better overall when you steer into the look of what's already there IMHO.

I assume that the footprint of the new one level island will be the same or larger than the existing island's footprint - otherwise, you will have a flooring issue.

Are you reconfiguring/modifying existing cabinets + having them painted OR are you purchasing new cabinets? Do you know the brand + name of the white paint on perimeter cabinets? How old are perimeter cabinets (paint color may have changed - you need to have a near perfect match between the island and perimeter white cabinets or it will be noticeable).

You can take one of your drawers with you to a paint store (like SW) in order to have them color match the white color.

A pretty walnut butcher block countertop would look nice on your white island.

Walnut is fairly expensive - however, you also can stain another wood to look like walnut + seal it (use cutting boards on the island - don't directly cut on the island unless it's finished with only food safe products).

Love that idea Julie!

My perimeter cabinets were recently painted as alabaster white

New Island will be fantastic at one level, and go as big as you can, but I would give yourself a bit more room between Refrigerator....42" if you can...looks like you could? and the honed black is a great option - it's forgiving, and with white cabinets a very good tie-in to the existing!

Thank you all for your input! Here's a pic of my granite. It does have black specks you can't see from the pictures.

Here is a mockup with quartz. I'm worried the slab would clash with the existing granite. I think honed black granite or a wood countertop would be best. Granite seems the safest of the two options. I'm going to look into both.

I would live with a temporary plywood top on the "new" island and start saving to replace all the counters at the same time. Don't limit your granite/quartz selection to only the few slabs that will go with your 1990 granite.

How thick should the island countertop be? I love the look of a thicker slab.

There are standards, inch and a half is rather typical. If you go super thick just be sure it doesn't appear top heavy. Having a different/ coordinating counter top on an island has become fairly typical. Personal preference in the end.

The look of a thick counter is a build up and miter. Concentrate on something more important, I find "thicker " annoying. the disparity between thicknesses a bit pretentious and a waste of time, energy.

Before I had a pool, I'd have eliminated the hi/low of upper perimeter cabinetry: ) but that's jmo.

I'd throw Corian ( dupont original, There are TON of whites, seams invisible ) in something that blends with my granite/ cabinet white. Wait it out for tops I wanted.

You can order large size samples of a half dozen absolutely plain white Dupont Corian ( not Corian quartz) online.

I think if you are going through all the expense and mess of a new island with a new countertop, consider the marginal cost of doing the perimeter countertops at the same time. If you want to get the kitchen out of the '90s, then replace the speckled granite at the same time. Use the same material as on the island--it may be less than you think.

Also most thick looking island countertops aren't the same thickness throughout. They are mitered on the ends so they look thicker.

Looks good to me. Your husband is right, college is expensive, been there. My only other comment is that I wouldn’t even think about a wood countertop as some have suggested. Had ours removed, looked terrible even after having it refinished, looks good when newly installed , however.

It looks to me like you're changing the upper and lower cabinets to the right of the stove? If that's the case, aren't you also going to need to replace the granite on that section? If so, I would bite the bullet and replace all the countertops, using the same product on the perimeter surfaces and the island. If that's just a designer's error, and there's no change to that side of the perimeter cabinets, then I would use wood on the island as several have suggested.

Are there general design guidelines for drawer stacks? For example, should all top drawers match in height, or is variation normal?

Here's a very rough sketch of what I'm thinking in the work side. Plan on having 12"deep cabinets on the backside as well.

Very rough sketch.

Ours are the same. The top row of drawers are narrower and other two deeper. We also have 12” deep cabinets on the seating side. They have push open features which are the most frustrating thing ever and I do not recommend at.

Thank you! Would you be willing to share a picture of your work side?

What do you want to put in the drawers? I would not want a bunch of 6” drawers personally

I can share a pic but our layout is very different as we have a sink and soy washer on island.

Here is example of one 6” drawer and two 12” drawers. As well as our island. This is also 6” top drawer and two 12” drawers then 6” top drawer and a pull out garbage and recycling.

Love your kitchen!! Thank you so much for sharing these pics. It helps me to visualize it.

I like your update and am with you that the black is a good neutral. Butcher block in a warm brown may be a good option as well. How wide is the walkway in front of the fridge?

Currently 41... I'm going to increase it by a couple of inches.

I like the new island except for the black countertop. Would prefer a white quartz over the black.

WHAT happened? With all of this information, clearances/storage etc all?

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6485567/kitchen-island-to-replace-or-wait

I'm not going to comment: ) there are enough of mine on the ^^ thread link.

I agree with the others that say you should change all the countertops to match.

As for lower drawers, I usually vote for symmetry. Here are a bank of lower drawers, which are under glass fronted top cabinets. Deeper drawers can hold pots, pans, casserole dishes, etc. I have lower drawers everywhere but under the kitchen sink. Those had to be doors.

RedRyder, what are the measurments of your drawers? We are thinking of doing one stack of 4 equal drawers, one w/ 6", 12, 12, and another w/ 2 equal. I just worry it'll look to mismatched. I like how yours are more uniform.

I like the new island.

Consider two larger light fixtures on a dimmer as the the existing two pendants look undersized and you need more light in the center of your kitchen.

The small drawers - the drawer fronts are 18” x 6.5”
Deeper drawers - drawer fronts are 12” x 36”

This is the sink side of the island. These drawers are really great for pots (far side) and my frequent use pans are right next to the sink, under the silverware drawer and in the cooking dude of the island.

Final question:
Which honed blk granite is closest to blk and would work best with Venetian gold granite? Honed absolute blk or honed black mist?

I would shop the available slabs in your area. The names don’t matter as much as the actual stone you are buying. From the photos I’m seeing, the honed absolute black seems more plain dark black.

Which honed black granite would you recommend for my busy surround? Absolute black or Black Mist? Black subtle hints of brown swirls (see large slab in attached photo). Absolute black has no movement which I think might be best for my surround. I couldn't really tell the difference between the two.

Here are the samples side by side

Black mist has subtle brown swirls throughout it as seen in this slab.

I'm leaning towards absolute as it's a solid color and in my opinion safer choice

@RedRyder - how deep should drawers for holding pans be? I assume that you have a separate drawer for lids - how deep should a drawer for lids be?

my frequent use pans are right next to the sink, under the silverware drawer and in the cooking dude of the island.

Obviously, the word "dude" in the above sentence from your comment is a typo. However, I'm not sure what you meant to type (my brain isn't functioning well at the moment - I hit my head on my patio and have a tiny brain bleed - not fun).

Would you mind posting a photo of your island?

Oh dear Dani so sorry about your brain issue! But I don’t know what “dude” is supposed to mean either. I think that either of the black granites would look great. But make sure it's honed and not shiny/polished.

No way would I keep the dated granite perimeter. Just no way.

If that marginal extra busts all financial security?

Sorry….. you delay the whole island redo.

Nobody will like that:) state statement

Jan, I completely understand where you’re coming from, but I really feel that taking out the three-tiered island will make the biggest difference in the space. We do plan to change the perimeter to something lighter, like New River White, down the road—it’s just not doable right now. And truthfully, this project is already more than I expected my husband to go for!

I type too fast. The silverware drawer is on the cooking SIDE of the island.

Yes, the middle drawer to the left of,the sink holds the lids, the second drawer holds frying pans (2 favorites). Pots are in the deeper drawers, near the stove.