Yeah, I was afraid of that. I won't know till it gets here, either...

What about putting a strip of plugmold under the overhang of counter in the same location(i.e. on the side of the trash cab)? How big IS plugmold anyway? could it be mounted to the underside of the counter there? Or, recessed into the 3/4" cover panel's top stile just under the countertop? Or will that just look AWFUL? (I suspect so...) this is bumming me out. I had assumed I could "hide" it under the counter overhang on the seating side and now I find that's illegal :(

I have one of my island outlets on the side of my trash pullout just like you describe. It's mounted horizontally, and I got a matte black outlet cover to blend in with the wood. It's hardly noticeable, really.

I've seen some people use plugmold strips on their island to improve the aesthetics as well.

Here's a picture of how my outlet looks on the side of the trash pullout. Would I have liked it more hidden? Sure. In the grand scheme of the zillion other things in the kitchen and me being 8+ months pregnant... eh.

Please ignore the spaceship lights coming out from above the fridge. They put the wrong overcabinet lights in and they need to be replaced. That's the rave side of the kitchen, LOL.

{{!gwi}}

I can't even see an outlet in your picture.

It's not exactly an overhang (bilevel island) but here's mine. I'd have to measure, but I think it's about an inch front to back, so if you do 1.25" overhang you're OK.

If you look at Daki's FKB, she's got a plugmold strip at the end of her island and it looks really nice/integrated.

Don't be bummed. It won't look bad either way, and if you go the plugmold route, you can tout it as a feature :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Daki's Kitchen w/plugmold in island

I'm not sure if another bilevel island story helps, but here's mine:

I suppose the one on the other side of the island is not up to code in your part of the world -- I didn't especially want it but I was told that 2 outlets were required by code.

Another thought - if the plugs on the side of the island really bother you, you could look into the pop-up outlets. My KD had recommended using them so I wouldn't "blemish my beautiful wood with an outlet," but my builder was a baby about it. He said the inspectors freak out over anything they're not familiar with and red tag things willy-nilly, it would delay the project while we proved it was in code, blah blah blah blah... Plenty of people use them so I don't think it's that big of a deal, really (and my builder was just being difficult.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Mockett Pop-up Outlet

How about these. They started out as specialty sockets for candles on windowsills

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Sillites

We have plugmold under the short overhang side on our island (actually, it was such a big island that we have three separate strips of plugmold on three of the 6 sides of the L-shaped island).

I love it. It's essentially totally hidden from sight when you are looking from above the countertop (almost always), incredibly easy to use (right where you need them, and I have about 15 total outlets so we never run short). It's a lot like Daki's, though ours are beige, which blends in nicely with our painted cabs.

FWIW, I am in the "I hate Mockett Pop-ups" camp. I think they are gimmicky, likely to fail, and look goofy when extended. They also involve putting more holes in your countertop, not something I'd do if at all avoidable.

I installed Wiremold plugmold on our island yesterday. We've put in right under the lip of the counter. I recall it is about 1 3/8" wide x 1 3/8" tall. They come in long sections and you can cut them to the length you want.

I should note that our plan was to have a regular outlet on the outside of the cabinet (not plugmold). However, our euro-style cabinets are so efficient that there is barely any room for the wiring, let alone an electrical junction box. I don't think there is enough room behind the drawers for a Mockett, even if we liked them.

I'm really glad you posted this. we are about to vandalize our island on Wednesday and I'm am facing the same dilemma. Our island is blue, so the electrician suggested painting the outlet cover, which I'm sure I will not get around to doing. Plugmold was another option, but I'm not happy about that solution either.

Have you or your GC tried to talk to the inspector in your area? We were faced with the same sort of code and I was getting really bummed out. But our cabinet installation guy talked to the inspector and got him to agree that putting an outlet at each end of the island way up at the top of the 16" overhang would be okay. I don't know what our guy said or how he said it but the inspector said okay. I think it's worth a try to ask in person and explain your situation.

palimpsest, thanks for posting the Sillites site. I'd never seen them before & can think of 3 uses - & I don't even have an island! I'm off to order!

I don't know the technical terms, but..... When I did my electric walk-through with the electrician and the contractor, one wall was not deep enough for a standard electrical box. Instead they put in an electrical box that was not as deep (I can't remember what it is called). I want to say a half-stud but I don't think that is a term any self-respecting male electrician or engineer would ever come up with..... Maybe a shallow electrical box? All I know is that they exist and I think one would fit in your column.

Those Sillites are really neat - but when I click on "Where to Buy" I just get a map of my area, with no store info.

Half-depth box is "pancake" or "remodel" or "old work"

Ajsmama,

There should be a little "gauge" on the left. Drag the lever on the gauge (it's in the center to begin with) down and you will see a greater area. When you pull back far enough, you will see some red markers. Click on the marker. You will get a shop and an address.

We have a trash pullout in our island & decided to use the drawer space above it for electrical outlets. It has a flip up cover to hide the outlets when we're not using them; the direction is important so we can continue to use the trash pullout.

oldalgebra - thanks

gizmonike - hoe ingenius!

stacyneil - FYI, the Wiremold brand plugmold is 7/8" deep when mounted and 1 1/4" high. So might not work if you have drawers. I'm assuming you want the receptacles facing front, not down, so you don't have to bend over to see where you're plugging things in. You also need to allow enough room for your plugs on the ends of your cords - some of them can be quite wide. I can plug appliance cords into mine with app. 1/2" above and below my plugmold (2 1/8" b/t top of lower counter and bottom of upper) but can't fit most cellphone chargers, etc. - anything with an AC/DC transformer on it.

oldalgebra, thanks for the tip about zooming out on the Sillite site. Yesterday, when I didn't see anything but a local map, I emailed the company & this morning they wrote the same thing that you posted. It's always so promising when a company actually responds.

Those Sillites outlets are fantastic!

And gizmonike's outlets are amazing.

Great thread.

Just a thought, if you plan for the undercounter plugmold, you could have the countertop templated with just a bit of an extra overhang to account for it.

After measuring mine, I realized the problem wasn't the overhang (standard 1 - 1 1/4" should be fine), but the clearance b/t the underside of the counter and any drawer or door. You really need at least 1 3/4" there, 2" would be better. You can't put the plugmold snugged right up against the underside of the counter b/c most plugs are a little wider (some a lot wider) than the receptacle.

The minimal exposure outlet such as the sillite, has been further developed by another company where the round circle of the outlet is all that you see and the rest is drywall or finish material. There are not even any visible screws; there is a special tool that fits in the narrow space around the outlet to install and/or pull out the outlet for access. They are quite minimalist. And I am pretty sure quite expensive. I am waiting for wall switches in the same vein. (not that I can afford to rewire anything)

I will try to find the link

I work a whole lot on my island, but only occasionally need to plug something in there, so I put my outlet inside the door under my prep sink, mounted high on the open side toward where I work, so it's easy to reach and the door just stays open a couple of inches when a plug's in. I don't know what your code is, but our inspector asked where it was when he didn't see it and was perfectly happy when we showed him. Just in case, we had also run a second wire to a box on the side back of the same cabinet where it could be diverted to a plate on the end of the island if needed. It now stands ready to charge some new appliance someday. Or something.

great ideas everyone!! I am meeting with the inspector tomorrow so I'll run these by him...

I ordered the Sillites today through a local electrcal supply co. They're not cheap at $17.50 each - but a doable luxury since I only bought 2.