Not only is there no toe kick, it's actually a Plinth which is as thick as the doors, thicker if you include the quarter round and the heat register. It would be very uncomfortable for many people to stand at that sink.

I noticed immediately the stained quarter round. I just can't get passed that!!! I think it makes the island look so much less than it could! I mean, do you put quarter round around your pieces of furniture like a hutch and stain them to try and match the floor?

I love the heat vent under my sink, since the ceramic tile floor sits above an unheated, un insulated crawl space. But at least there is room for my toes. I wonder when the homeowner realized what happened?

It looks like there's a gap between the counter and the top of the cabinets on the short end.

* No toe kick, which is so user-unfriendly. I would hate that!
* Doored cab at end of island.
* Painted electrical outlet

The sides look slanted to me.

Yep, the stained quarter round and no toe kick looks really strange. As a test, I just stood at my kitchen island and my toes slightly go under the island. But then, I have really big feet.

OT ... kinda ... why is it against code to paint outlets? I remember seeing pics of some that are painted to match the granite that surrounds them. Of course, no painted outlets in my home ... nooooo, none at all.

Is it the cheap, painted outlet on the side of the large, expensive island, rather than a hidden outlet?

Not enough overhang of countertop?

This is what she said about the quarter round...
"1. Why is the quarter round around the island wood toned instead of painted? ThatâÂÂs just a standard thing the builder does with oak floors since it tends to hide dust and scuffs more (we think itâÂÂs regional since all of our houses in Richmond have also had wood quarter round) but heâÂÂs happy to paint it if a buyer prefers that look."

The quarter round should be painted since it takes away from what is a gorgeous island. Handless definitely look as though they could be toilet paper holders~good idea. Not liking the painted outlet cover.

You can paint the outlet covers all you want. Just not the outlets. It's a potential fire hazard when the paint starts peeling of and the prongs get bits of it on them as they scrape and get stuck into the outlets. Lutron makes all kinds of colored outlets, so you can have outlets very close in color to most paints.

I noticed that it's blue because I am planning to paint our original Hoosier style cabinets blue as part of our kitchen remodel.

My eye immediately went to the weird quarter round at the base of the island. Initially, I thought it was a white trim at the bottom. No toe kick-- how awkward!

Painted outlets: oops, a PO painted our black, yes, black, outlets white. The switches are still black, though.

Also, the dishwasher doesn't fit right.

I believe that quarter round is often called shoe mold. We had it on our baseboards of our first house, which was a federal style duplex built in 1939. Ours was also matched to the wood flooring rather than to the painted baseboard. That was in the DC area. I am pretty sure it was in the kitchen too, though we had 1970s cabinets with a typical toe kick so it wouldn't have been very noticeable either way.

The stained quarter round wouldnt bother me, if there were toe kicks on the cabinet. The way it is now, it looks like the stained quarter round is mounted to the base of the cabinet and sticks out like a sore thumb. If there were the indented toe kicks all the way around, the quarter round, would actually look like it belonged with the floor. I also would like a bit more overhang on the countertop.

Perhaps the outlet cover is a Taymac Masque. I want Taymac Masques on over outlet and light switch in my house! Note: I do not *have* them. I *want* them. One day my ship will come.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Taymac Masque

It's ugly?
(yeah, I did notice quite a few other less important things!)

Between the lack of a toe kick and the fact that the counter top doesn't overhang enough, that's got to be a very uncomfortable counter to work at.mi know I would be wacking myself all the time on those handles. They stick out too much.

The first thing I noticed was the cabinet doors on the end. Second, the quarter round stood out. But I looooove the color.

Duplicate

This post was edited by dirtyshoes on Tue, Jan 20, 15 at 7:13

I agree that the toe kicks would make the island look finished, especially with the jagged line with the vents and dishwasher.

If I had to go with the quarter round, and I don't hate it, I would definitely stain it darker, going for the darkest color in the floor grain as the overall color. The thing is, as a round surface, it reflects a shine no matter where you are standing and attracts your eye more than the floor boards or island. But if it were painted, it wouldn't take wear as well, I fear.

And the couch up next to the island, might just be for convenience, "Want an apple? Don't get up, I'll roll it over to you."

This post was edited by Lilylore on Tue, Jan 20, 15 at 6:22

First was the lack of a toe kick. Second was what looked like a space between the countertop and the cabs, and there didn't appear to be enough overhang. Then the quarter round didn't look like the same stain, but it could be reflection. Just looked off. The 'doors' at the end don't even appear to be hinged. Yes, I know they could be hidden, but there doesn't even seem to be enough set off space for a door to open.

first thing I noticed - no overhang on countertop

I noticed the overhang, probably because this kitchen doesn't have it either. I didn't see the flaw when we bought the house, I did the first time I cooked in the kitchen.

There are enough pluses to make up for it, but if (when) I get around to changing the counter top surfaces, that will be corrected.

First: the stained shoe mold. It makes the island look like it's elevated on a wee platform.

Second: the large cabinet doors at the end. Just wondering if that's more convenient than having back-to-back cabs on either side of the island (ie have cabinet door where outlet is and its twin on the other side of the island). Interesting choice by the homeowner.

So, what is it that YOU noticed, aktillery?

We are dying to know! Pretty much everything has been covered already me thinks.

This thread is bad for people that cant deal with closure (big bang episode) lol.

Aktlillery did reply...See the post on 1/19 at 1432.
I have a question after reading these comments. All our kick molding is stained to match our wood floor. We have white moldings, white kitchen cabinets and a white builder grade island. Is the kick molding supposed to be white? Is it a regional preference?

There it is! Hmm... forgot Ctrl+F... -_-

Anyhow, I would get rid of the quarter round and get the same trim that is already in the kitchen so it matches the kitchen. Otherwise like others have said, you could paint that quarter round to match the island.

Also swap out the painted outlets with new ones, also already mentioned (fire hazard).

That quarter round is throughout the entire house, even on baseboards.

It stood out to me, too. It certainly isn't something done regionally where I am. To my eye, it would look better to match the island (and, in other areas, to match the baseboards.)

There it is! Buried in there with all of the other posts mentioning the lack of toe-kick and weird base shoe.

the lack of a toe kick would drive me crazy!! i would prefer the island with no shoe molding, but would want it to match the island color now that it's there...
don't you think that the outlet is just a black outlet--- i would seriously doubt that the outlet has been painted...

Is anyone saying there is something wrong with cabinet doors on the end?

I did....doesn't look as if they really function. I get hidden hinges, but there doesn't appear to be enough room for a door to open properly without bumping against the panel next to it.

I chose not to recess the toekick on the outside of my peninsula because those cabinets were only 16 inches deep and I wanted the full depth for the toekick drawers. The toekick drawer front looks like the referenced picture above. I need and completely use that storage (so would not change things) , but if I am standing on that side of the peninsula I am always bumping the toekick and therefore opening that toekick drawer. Brings home how functional a toekick space is.

Photos of the whole house are at the link attached.

RE: the island cabinet doors:

From the linked site: "But perhaps our favorite storage areas in this whole kitchen are the big 30â³ x 18â³ cabinets on either end of the island. We used them a lot for stashing things out of the cleaning crewâÂÂs way and they were awesome."

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gallery-2/our-showhouse/

I didn't realize the OP had answered earlier on the thread, either! Sorry, aktillery.

I don't think the island is ugly. Even though I don't care for the color, after viewing the pics in the link, I can see how it ties in with the exterior and living areas.

outsideplaying, we have European hinges on some of our cabinet doors. The door sits flat against the cabinet face. As it's opened, the hinges cause it to pivot, pushing the door away from the cabinet face, but pulling the edge closer to the middle, away from the panel on the side. It's a nice, clean look, but the doors open only slightly past 90 degrees.

(Edited--I probably didn't explain that correctly, but it works.)

This post was edited by mama_goose on Wed, Jan 21, 15 at 16:27

Interestingly enough, there is a similar island on the Hometalk site today. The base shoe matches the floor (I'm sure on this pic it matches, it's just the light is wrong). I think the fact that there is no toe-kick that makes it look weird.

I had stained quarter round in our home with painted baseboards. Because if you paint the quarter round, it gets really chipped up. If it is stained, you don't notice.

Although I noticed the choice of the shoe, it was the lack of the toe kick that looked like a mistake. They should of done an attached valence if they wanted the furniture look. The shoe also looks like it is stained too light, which makes it standout even more. (I went without a shoe as my floors are continuous).

Thanks, mama goose, re the hinges. I get it now.

When is aktillery coming back to tell us what she noticed?

Posted by aktillery (My Page) on Mon, Jan 19, 15 at 14:32
I noticed immediately the stained quarter round. I just can't get passed that!!! I think it makes the island look so much less than it could! I mean, do you put quarter round around your pieces of furniture like a hutch and stain them to try and match the floor?

Never thought this thread would get this much traffic. Just wanted to come back to check in. Funny how we all notice different things. That's what makes the world so interesting.

Oh dear, I need new glasses! I scrolled through the replies wanting to see what Ak noticed, and completely missed her reply.

Thanks, Neroselover. lol

Paint color?

@Tracywaldy, Benjamin Moore Hale Navy. See description of kitchen here: http://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gallery-2/our-showhouse/