Hoboken,
Glad the photos helped! The island is 39" wide including the overhang (I love that I can clean the whole island from one side... I don't have to walk around to reach the other side!) The cabinets are cherry (Plain & Fancy) and I'd have to dig up my plans to see what the stain is... let me know if you want that. (We did this kitchen 3 years ago and I thought I was done with my GW obsession, but now we are moving into another fixer-upper and I'm starting the process all over again!)
When we bought the house, it had the original 1960s cape cod kitchen -- small, not eat-in, and closed off from the family room and dining room. We removed walls between the kitchen/DR and kitchen/FR to open it up. I originally thought we wouldn't have enough room (width) for an island and that we'd have a peninsula between the kitchen and family room, but my architect suggested that this aisle width would suffice and she was right. The island is much better for us than a peninsula would have been.
I love the cabinets on either end. I have two boys and they each have an end for their "stuff", ranging from homework supplies to leftover halloween candy... It has been especially useful as we don't have a desk area in the kitchen. The ONE thing I don't like about the island design (and it's minor) is that when all 4 of us are having a meal together, my husband usually stands up on the other side of the island to eat. He doesn't mind, and we only do it when it's casual (lunch or breakfast); when we have dinner together we eat in the dining room. Even if it's the two boys and I, I don't love sitting 3 in a row and I sometimes wish I could put another stool at one end of the island so we could look at each other. BUT it's a small inconvenience and I far prefer the symmetry and we just deal with sitting 3 in a row. (And -- who am I kidding -- I usually stand on one end of the island and serve the boys!)
In terms of the aisle, it would probably be too cramped for some families, but it works for us. It is tight when two people are passing in the aisle and a drawer is open, so if someone has the silverware drawer open to set the table and I need to walk past, I wait for a minute for them to close the drawer. This is such a minor inconvenience compared to having my gloriously long island!! I think it helps that the refrigerator is at one end of the aisle, so I can have the kids get milk, etc. out of the fridge without getting in the way. The tightest time is when the dishwasher door is open, but there is definitely room for it to open fully and to have the 4-drawer trash bin that is directly across from it open, but not open all the way.
Let mw know if you want any detailed pictures as you are going through this process!
Here is a picture of the before kitchen:
and another view of the aisle, before we got the new bar stools:
Q
Another pic of my favorite kitchen. Must be quarter sawn oak. Love the island cabinet latches. Don’t think the shape of hood or cross board accents are too bad, but not sure that’s what we’d like.
Q