Except for the toaster oven and coffee maker which have permanent spots on the perimeter counters, I use the island outlets for all other small appliances; mixer, food processor, waffle iron, etc. It's where I do almost all of my prep and baking. I also use it for my laptop when I am sitting at the kitchen table.

Anna what kind of outlets do you have on your island and where are they placed??

Our island has our sink, so sometimes it's nice having a place to push items into the sink...mainly coffee that I grind near the sink. I also put my laptop on there...portable cookbook! We also use it for the waffle maker.

bowyer...hmmm never thought of that. I can imagine doing the same. That makes outlet on top of the counter more appealing, no cords to get caught and pull the lap top off the counter.

Toaster. Popcorn maker. Occasionally the juicer or blender.

Laptops mostly. Then charging phones (wasn't the plan but they often end up there). Followed by small, occasionally used appliances (waffle iron, crepe maker, toaster, etc.). I had a mockett purchased, then backed out at the last minute -- should have gone ahead and had the thing installed -- having the laptop cords up on the table and not dangling off the side and getting caught in the microwave drawer would be so much better. I had a little granite worship going on the day they installed it and didn't want to break up the slab. Silly. Function first, and having an outlet on top would have been really nice.

We have outlets on either ends of the island. I mostly use it for the mixer, waffle maker, etc.

I'm in Thornhill, Ontario - I've had an outlet in my my kitchen islands for over 25 years - first house 13 years, current house 12.
I keep all my baking appliances and baking supplies in my island, so I use the mixer when I do my baking prep on the island. Occasionaly the blender. Never had an issue.

We have dark brown conventional outlets on the end panels. They currently have brown plastic covers, but we are going to have the finishing guy stain wood ones to match the cabinets. They are about 10 inches below the countertop. We refinished our existing cabinets and that's where they were before, but we now have nice end panels on the island. Wasn't really practical to move them, and I didn't want them in the countertop. If I was designing an island from scratch, I would find a way to have them be less visible.

We use ours every day, although nothing is permanently plugged in there. We prep most of our food there, and DH does smoothies every morning.
I love having it for either my food processor, Kitchen Aid mixer, and the crockpot when it's used.
Our contractor was able to use strips that are slightly recessed into the upper part of the cabinet so that the outlets are hidden by the countertop edges and aren't visible. I'll try to post a photo of them pre countertop- there is the same strip on the other end of the island, that does not have the corbels (i.e. standard counter overhang) and it also is hidden from view.

Caya...are yours just normal outlets mounted on the ends of the island? If so, do cords hanging over bother you at all? If they are on top of the island, what kind is it? I am fromthe stratford area.

Anna why didn't you want them in the countertop...looks or function?

Labbie, thanks. I am not sure what Canadian electricians think of wiremold. It doesnt seem as popular up here. Im curious, what is the electrical box that I can see in that picture for?

I use mine for e everything. Do all my prepping there and my kenwood chef is in a big drawer in the island well all my appl. are there but the toaster, coffiemacine and blender. They are in a appl garages on the sink run. Im in Europe so my outlets are way different than your, no outlets in the island would have been a deal breaker for me.

ice...which part of Europe? I know the outlets are different, but I am curious where they are placed on the island. Any possibility of pictures?

Thanks!

Electric Can opener, mixer, knife, mini chopper, etc. Ell the electric prep items.

Dilly...are yours on the top or side of the island?

ali80ca. Im In Iceland, volcano land. Im at work but can post a photo later tonight.
Here we use much bigger outlets than you guys, they are never hidden, most always in plain sight. There is a little outlet snob going on here lol. mine are on the side.

This post was edited by ice1 on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 11:43

ice lol outlet snob...I like that. My big thing is trying to figure out what I am going to use it for. Our old island had no outlets so I am not used to thinking of doing anything but making sandwiches on it. Either way whether i put them on the sides or on the top I will have to make sure that there is room for them and that is part of the problem. The island is designed to have top drawers in most spots and then 2 ends of the island will have shallow shelves with panels covering them. If they are on the countertop I might be able to get away without changing anything. If they go in the side I will need a bigger spacer so there is room for them. Do you have any options for what you can buy or would everyone end up with exactly the same thing because it is the only thing that is available?? Iceland always looks like a lovely place!

My outlet is located at the shorter end of a rectangular island. I use it as many of the others have mentioned...for small appliances like the food processor during prep and for the laptop.

I also use the outlet for plugging in the slow cooker(s), particularly if I'm serving directly out of it/them. It isn't fancy, but tonight I'm using one for baked beans and one for baked potatoes during a family gathering. We often have soups and chili at Christmas time and use the slow cookers the same way then.

Ali,

The outlet is just a regular outlet at the shorter end of the rectangular island. I mainly use it for my mixmaster when preparing cookie dough, cake batter etc. I do not keep any of the appliances on the island, just pull them out when I need them, so there is no issue of the cords hanging over all the time.

These are big. But that is fine. People that see them know they are of great quality. Here in Iceland if someone ( child ) plugs something like a pen or anything sharp in the socket the electric automaticly shuts of. So we dont have to worry about the safety in that area.

ice...if it is what the norm is it never is a big deal. I have discovered that lots of things my american friends can use in their kitchens we can't (legally)

westley, I likely will use my slowcooker on the island also and while I don't have little kids at home I imagine at some point I will have grandkids and I worry a bit about them tugging on the cord and bringing something down on top of their head.

ali,
The big electrical 'box' you see inside the island is the outlet for our beverage fridge. The fridge faces out (obviously) and is less deep than the island, allowing the electrical to be mounted behind it as shown.
Our beverage fridge is one of my favorite splurges....not necessary in our size kitchen, but we really do use it a lot when family/friends come to visit. Dh makes beer, so he appreciates having a space somewhat dedicated to it too.