Thank you for the response but most of all for the inspiration!

Oh, it's our pleasure! Please feel free to email me with any more questions or to bounce ideas- ellie@michaelrobertconstruction.com

did you have to do anything special to support the floor with the weight of that island? also how deep is it and is there storage on both sides or an overhang? thanks

No, we didn't actually. It is approx 4' deep. The other side is an overhang for bar seating. Here is a view from the opposite direction:

thank you!

one other question: what are the dimensions of the island? i am doing an island that is going to be about 105"x40" and wondering if i should do two or three pendant lights hanging above. the proportions on your island look "right." (of course). i am workign in a much smaller space than yours: it is a 20' wide townhouse, and the kitchen uses a little more than one third the width, across the back. opposite the island will be a family room sort of area. thanks for your info/thoughts.

The exact dimensions of our island are 116"x51". The decision to do two or three pendants depends on the style and size of the fixtures you choose. The Restoration Hardware Benson Pendants we used ( http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1293204) are 8" diameter, and we went back and forth between doing 3 8" or 2 of the next size (13" diameter). In the end, I wanted a more uninterrupted sightline through the room, so I went with the smaller diameter. With the size of the island and room you are working with, I think you can go either way, but need to decide if you want the pendants to be the focus of the kitchen or not. If you love the fixtures, then I say go for it - do two oversized pendants. It's a very cool look. If you are more interested in staying with a classic, more proportionate feel, I'd say you could easily do 3 8" diameter pendants. Good luck!

thanks very much!

My pleasure! Let me know if I can help in any other way, and I hope you post pictures when your project is complete!

Hi Michael Robert Construction, what do you mean over 2" does not show as good? the Marble counter top does not look as good if it is over 2" thick? Is your island counter is thicker than the other counter? what would you recomand for the island and counter width? thank you.

No, the original question was whether to go with a slightly thicker countertop (2") or substantially thicker. I answered that a 2" thick slab would not be noticeably thicker to warrant the extra cost. Yes, our island top thickness is thicker than the surrounding marble. Approximately double.

Michael Robert, thank you for the explaination. May I know the reason why to choose thicker island top vs. the thinner surrounding counter? any functional reason? would you recomand to use 2.5" on the counter? to my eye, the 1 1/4" looks beautiful in your kitchen~!!

Thank you! It's purely aesthetic. In my opinion It gives the kitchen a more substantial, professional feel. It would be very expensive to do a double thickness for the whole kitchen, but t would be beautiful!

Michael Robert. Thank you for the tips. :-)

You're welcome! Good luck with your project.

How do you communicate to your cabinet guy that you are going to go with thicker countertops? I guess it depends if you go thicker slabs or just a laminated edge. We too have about the EXACT same island size and wanted a thicker counter but were going to double up the edge...how do they make full overlay drawers work?

The thickness of the countertop should not affect your drawers or cabinets. It sits on top of the cabinetry.