Ack! Need advice tonight!

[bullygirl979]

I have to decide tonight where we are placing the outlets in the island. My H wants them both where I highlighted in red. He wants them somewhat hidden and feels they will still be super functional as that’s essentially our kitchen table. So easy to use a laptop, charge your phone, etc. and the cords for my mixer are still long enough that I can place the mixer on the “working” side of the island. The other option is to do one where it’s highlighted red and the other where I highlighted yellow (which is the side of the island closest to the working part). H thinks it’ll stick out like a sore thumb as it’s designed to look like a cabinet, even though it’s not.

I do have a few appliances (like my crockpot) that have a short cord so I wouldn’t be able to really pull them over to the cooking side if we did them both where my H wants to.

What say you? For reference, there will be 5 outlets around the perimeter cabinets.

[penguingrrl]

I agree with your H. Visually having them hidden makes sense to me. And having them on what’s designed to look like a door is very visually distracting IMO.

[aprilsails]

With the faux cabinet effect I tend to agree with your husband. I wouldn’t want an outlet there. I would stick with the hidden ones and just put a crockpot on the perimeter countertop.

What is the surface of the non-working portion of the island? Is it wood or quartz? If it was quartz or whatnot I wouldn’t care about putting a crockpot down there either.

[k3am]

Agreed with YH.

FWIW, because my crockpot is something that I set and forget, I'd probably end up putting it in a back corner out of the way vs. on the island, but I know that this is also dependent on cooking style and workflows in your kitchen.

[cmeon]

Is a pop-up outlet an option? I agree that the outlets make the most sense in the red spots (the yellow spot is not great), but, I also think it would be nice to have outlet access for that end of the counter.

[bullygirl979]

Oct 17, 2019 17:18:45 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

With the faux cabinet effect I tend to agree with your husband. I wouldn’t want an outlet there. I would stick with the hidden ones and just put a crockpot on the perimeter countertop.

What is the surface of the non-working portion of the island? Is it wood or quartz? If it was quartz or whatnot I wouldn’t care about putting a crockpot down there either.

The counters are granite.

[bullygirl979]

Oct 17, 2019 17:25:05 GMT -5 k3am said:

Agreed with YH.

FWIW, because my crockpot is something that I set and forget, I'd probably end up putting it in a back corner out of the way vs. on the island, but I know that this is also dependent on cooking style and workflows in your kitchen.

The only time I see using the crockpot on the island is if we do a party. So I can stack food on the island and keep people away from the perimeter cabinets if I’m still cooking. Because the walkway from the perimeter and the island is 4 feet, I see that as a good use of the island from a flow perspective.

[bullygirl979]

Oct 17, 2019 17:25:42 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Is a pop-up outlet an option? I agree that the outlets make the most sense in the red spots (the yellow spot is not great), but, I also think it would be nice to have outlet access for that end of the counter.

At this point it’s so close to counter install, I wouldn’t want to make that call now.

[cmeon]

Oct 17, 2019 17:41:03 GMT -5 bullygirl979 said:

Oct 17, 2019 17:25:42 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Is a pop-up outlet an option? I agree that the outlets make the most sense in the red spots (the yellow spot is not great), but, I also think it would be nice to have outlet access for that end of the counter.

At this point it’s so close to counter install, I wouldn’t want to make that call now.

They can be added later- I'd give it a shot where they are now, and deal with issues if they come along.

[k3am]

Oct 17, 2019 17:40:14 GMT -5 bullygirl979 said:

Oct 17, 2019 17:25:05 GMT -5 k3am said:

Agreed with YH.

FWIW, because my crockpot is something that I set and forget, I'd probably end up putting it in a back corner out of the way vs. on the island, but I know that this is also dependent on cooking style and workflows in your kitchen.

The only time I see using the crockpot on the island is if we do a party. So I can stack food on the island and keep people away from the perimeter cabinets if I’m still cooking. Because the walkway from the perimeter and the island is 4 feet, I see that as a good use of the island from a flow perspective.

Under those circumstances, my personal preference is to have what looks best most of the time and pull out a short extension cord for parties. I'd think you could chase it along the side with minimal effort and not risk tripping over it. If you were going to have your crockpot out all day, every day, then I'd want a better solution. 

[lilac05]

I agree with red. If that end was a solid piece, I would like one there for ease. But with the faux doors, I do think it would be distracting.

[dr.girlfriend]

I'm probably too late, but I would do them where they are hidden (red) and use an extension cord if needed for the rare occasions (e.g., crockpot).

[bullygirl979]

dr.girlfriend, I went with the masses and did them where my H wanted