I've never seen anything like that. I have, however, seen tables that pull out from a cab out of the way of the main cooking/cleanup zones to provide a little eating space in very tiny, walled-off kitchens. Yours seems bigger than this.

I don't think I understand the point of that in general or it's specific placement. Isn't the countertop space there enough? Because if you pull that out, the countertop above it becomes pretty useless. And, doesn't that block your main sink then? Does no one in your house ever use the cleanup sink while someone else is cooking? I agree it would be a cool gadget-y thing to have, but I don't think it would be functional. Unless I'm missing something?

or you could get a boos block. but i'm guessing you like to complicate matters.

A boos block creates the same problem I'm trying to solve - where do I store it when it's not in use?

{{gwi:1940540}}

I'm trying to integrate into a kitchen space rather than have to wheel something out of the garage every time I need to use it.

I don't think I understand the point of that in general or it's specific placement.

It's for larger butchering tasks - so I want room and I want stability on the work surface. Cutting meat for a stir fry can be done on a countertop cutting board, butchering a 50 lb piece of beef/pork, not so much.

The placement is where it is because a.) it's near the sink and b.) I get a nice long stretch of cabinet there, thus allowing for a larger table.

The countertop space is enough but the material is wrong - stone instead of wood. As I noted, I could place a maple butcher block section there, but there's something about the "checkerboard effect" or the interruption of soapstone with maple and then back to soapstone which doesn't look right to me. I haven't seen any photos of such an interrupted countertop in midstream, all I've seen is a change of material at the end of the countertop. If anyone has photos of such a countertop I'd be most appreciative of your effort in sharing them.

What about placing the butcher block material in the same place, but build it in where the drawer is just below the countertop. Then have the granite fabricated with an overlap there so the granite over the wood lifts off when needed? The sections around the opening would have a notch out of the top with a lip left below, and the piece over the wood would have a lip on top with a notch cut out below so they overlep.

Williamsem,

Your solution certainly addresses the proximity to the sink and the table stability issue but creates a handling problem for the granite. One piece is too heavy to move (220 lbs) and prone to break even if it could be moved. This means tiles but now I need to find a way to keep the tiles secure in place and a way to deal with the gaps between the tiles.

It's too bad that stone can't be fabricated into a tambour - then I'd just roll the stone countertop into a slot against the wall and down into the back of the cabinet. :)

Ah, reality. Always gets me. I'm a fan of more ideas is better, so here come some more.

What about making it into a type of bifold door? One hinge running the length underneath recessed in the granite, and a track on each end to guide it, then a way to secure it to the wall behind?

Or make the block have a leg that fold up flat into the block and runs the whole width of the front? You can make the face of the block a little thicker to hide it all if needed, but once it is pulled out you fold the leg down and it would be supported along the entire edge. Ther has to be something strong that would make a good steady leg.

What about a rolling cart with drawers and a butcherblock top under the counter? I'd definitely seen that before.

I get what you're saying, and I think it's a great idea.

It's innovative, therefore often "AAAAck" to many. I like the idea you can put it away when you don't need it, and your countertop remains not only intact for MORE counterspace during prep times, but gives continuity.

I'm also a fan of the butcher block segments in other counter types. But if you leave it that high, when you pull it out, you have what? Open cabinet tops? Your idea is even much better, given the fact, again, your stone remains in place.

What's the drawback to this?
I can't see one...

Why not do a full counter of oiled Boos? I have oiled hard rock maple Boos island and it is fantastic.

This image is from houzz:

[

[Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Other Metros Design-build Witt Construction

Another on houzz:

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by San Francisco General Contractor Mascheroni Construction

Same idea:

My favorite:
{{gwi:1940544}}

I'd worry about the fussiness of having it roll back in and getting legs aligned. Wood warps with time and that sort of stuff just gets banged up. Plus, it has to be cleaned really well before re-storing ... how often will you be hauling this thing out?

I really love the ideas from houzz though, because they can be fabricated to roll the whole thing in and out and still have cabinetry inside of them for utility. Plus, it can be fabricated with more space between countertop and butcher block to allow storage even if it were a little wet, for example.

Ditto I fear installing electric gadgetry is just a mess in the making: what do you do when it stops working? If it doesn't need to be electronic, I'd avoid that.

Oh... I'm remembering that the guys who made my cabinets had something like this on their website. I'm not seeing it there anymore, but there is this video.

CEFreeman,

I get what you're saying, and I think it's a great idea.

Thanks. If I put a drawerfront on the edge of the butcher block, then the whole apparatus disappears when it's in the cabinetry and that appeals to me in the "kid who loves secret passageways" kind of way.

but gives continuity.

As I noted, that's my big bugaboo. I like the look of uninterrupted countertop. Putting a 4' section of 4" butcher block in the middle of a run breaks the visual appeal for me. Hands down it's more functional and easier to achieve but the engineering challenge here only has to be solved once whereas I have to see the broken continuity every time I use the kitchen.

I'm also a fan of the butcher block segments in other counter types.

I had that in a previous design - I don't mind the break in continuity when it occurs at the end of an island, in fact I quite like it:

Juliekcmo,

Why not do a full counter of oiled Boos?

That's a gorgeous counter. Do you slam a meat cleaver into that work of art? That's what I'm planning on doing.

I love wooden countertops and some posters here have fabulous counters, but when I see such counters, I don't want to abuse them.

Mama Goose,

Your Google-Fu is impressive. Yeah, those are all hitting on the same idea but all but the second one have a lot of wasted space in them. The 2nd one has a cabinet under the cutting surface and that could work for me as well except that means that I'm pulling even more mass out from underneath the countertop and with my proposal being far larger than the one from Houzz I'm not sure how workable that would be. As it is the two legs are designed to be functional cabinets, one for spices/oils and the other for baking sheets, so already I'm pulling that mass out in addition to the cabinet mass as well as the mass of a 4" thick butcher block table.

I've been thinking about the engineering aspects of this proposal and I'm not seeing any insurmountable problems. If the table doesn't fully extend, then the "legs" being situated in their slot works to add lateral bracing and the same can be achieved for the front (not shown) by connecting the toe kick board to the legs and just making the toe kick slot a bit deeper on the cabinets that remain in place. This is the principal challenge here - making the table stable. The motor slide is a piece of cake. The cabinetry and construction shouldn't be a problem. The problem is primarily design related - should I sacrifice table size in order to open up more space directly in front of the sink or should I slide the table, as is, under the rangetop and thus free up the space in front of the sink but sacrifice the symmetry of the drawers under the range?

Your idea totally appeals to the techy geek in my soul. But in response to one question in your original post, "yes I have seen a picture of an inset Boos block not at the end of a run". It is one of my favorite photos:

[

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by New York Interior Designer valerie pasquiou interiors + design, inc
Personally I think the inset block would look awesome in your kitchen and it would not be prone to any mechanical glitches which are my frequent bugaboos with cool techy solutions.
Also with the slide out table I think I might bump into it. I would be at the main sink, rinse, turn around and chop on the table, spin and throw into the wok. Just asking me to have a little too many of Ledainian Tomlinson's moves in the kitchen. A few too many bumps to that table and I will throw the slide out mechanism out of alignment for sure. (And I do see you have a prep sink but I am so bad at using a little sink when a big sink is calling my name.)

Alex,
That counter is 10 years old. We cut on it and do all prep on it.

Put hot pans on it, and rolll dough on it. I can't say I use a cleaver, but do use German chef's knives for all prep. It has some scratches and marks from time to time. I must say that a serrated cutco knife has done more to mar the surface than any heavy chopping with a chefs knife.

Nice thing is any marks can be sanded and re oiled if they are too deep. The only stains I haven't been able to remove with baking soda and lemon juice is sharpie marker. (sanded it to remove.) It is like having a 7 foot long cutting board ,and we really like it.

It's a cool idea but the only thing that would worry me is the more 'stuff' the more potential for problems down the road. If you did do it, why motorize it? Why not have it on little wheels and you can just roll it out and back? If the grid goes down and you have to butcher squirrels then you can't get your butcher table out, right? j/k but not entirely...

This is in our sunroom but the one drawer is a pull out cutting board that is 24 inches wide. It is not fully pulled out in the picture.

Brookhaven cabinet but I am sure most can do this

I have an inset boos block. I love it. My GC had it sanded or planed or somehow made smaller so it would be closer to the thickness of the counter.

I like your idea of a hidden butcher block. We have something similar in our kitchen. Maybe it could be adjusted for a butcher block? We installed a wood table (30 inches wide) with two leaves beneath Corian countertops years ago. It was a standard option with Dutch Made cabinets, and works great as a table or countertop extension. One advantage of this design is that I can pull out the integrated wood top (counter depth), or add one or two leaves to make it about 5 feet long. Because it's built into the cabinets, the table is quite stable. We don't have a fancy motor as you propose (great idea for a heavy butcher block!), but it's easy to pull out using our "human" motors.

The table sits 3.5 inches below our countertop, the integrated cover closes off the opening when we take out the table, and the leaves are stored on top of the first extension when inside the cabinet. I like the location next to our cooktop because it doubles as an island for prep or serving (when you have 20+ bowls of soup to line up for plating . . .).

Fully closed

First extension, showing integrated table top

Mechanism for two additional leaf extensions

Fully extended table

I have to ask, have you done any butchering before? Because your plans just don't reflect the reality of killing hogs or chickens or beef. First of all, you need a lot more space. Second of all, it needs to either be outside, or somewhere NOT around the food prep area. You've got to do the kill, drain the blood, and pluck the feathers or in the case of a hog, dip piggy into a cauldron of boiling water to get the bristles off. That ain't gonna happen in a kitchen.

That belongs outdoors or in a separate farm outbuilding/shed where you have a stainless restaurant style poly cutting table and sink. Blood spurt can travel quite a ways, and you want the entire surface of the shed to be able to be washed down with a hose and a sanitizing spray. Innards are also full of bacteria, and pulling those out and cleaning them in a kitchen that also preps food is a really bad idea unless you want a lot of e coli spread around. That task belongs someplace with a floor drain and a high pressure hose.

You need to spend some time at a meat plant to get an idea of how nasty butchering is and why it doesn't belong in a home. Or just find an old fashioned farm gramma who still kills her own chickens and spend some time with her. My gramma did (30 years ago) and it involved an old cedar stump that she kept outside, an axe, and a iron pot of boiling water. None of which I'd want in my kitchen. The pigs got the chicken innards except for the gizzards and livers. What do you plan on doing with yours? The feathers?

And a motorized table is complete and utter overkill that has the promise of failing. Even FLW's sliding table at Falling Water was just done manually. Yours should be too, IF it comes to wanting a small indoor place to cut up already butchered and sectioned meats.

repac, that's ingenious. And you still have a cabinet underneath.

I think it might be a problem having it so close to the sink. I have pull-out cutting boards and after using them, and cleaning them, I like to let them dry off before pushing them back into the cabinetry. I could see that you might have the same problem if this was integrated into the cabinetry. You might not want to push it back in until it's clean and dry. Which might conflict with when you want to use the sink to clean up after a meal.

If it was a separate rollout table which slid under the counter, it looks like it would have more air flow around it so you could push it back in before it was dry. You could also roll it out of the way completely.

repac, I love that table--I'd seen it before, and was actually trying to find the picture when I found the first one from houzz. My DR table has the same type of slides, to accept extra leaves.

AlexHouse, sorry I didn't notice in your second post that by 'butcher' block you meant the real sense of the word. I understand the stability issue, but seamless integration (or lack of) wouldn't be a big issue for me. And I agree with GreenDesigns--it seems that simpler would be better. Having said that, I think your idea is really interesting, and I'm looking forward to your finished project. I hope you will let us know how things progress.

OT-Does anyone remember the poster who wanted to build a kitchen island that would raise and lower, in much the same manner?

repac...

I love your idea! Do you have plans for it? That would totally solve my table need dilemma for my island. It's mostly just DH and me but to be able to expand to accommodate guests would be ideal. Thanks!

GreenDesigns,

I have to ask, have you done any butchering before? Because your plans just don't reflect the reality of killing hogs or chickens or beef.

I'm not sure how one can jump from a butcher block table to thinking that I'm planning on leading a cow into my kitchen, having it lean over the table and then proceeding to slaughter it.

Directly, yes I've been involved in the entire chain of processing a 1.) cow, 2.) pig, 3.) deer, 4.) moose, 5.) bear, 6.) goat 7.) sheep, 8.) turkey, 9.) chicken and 10.) various species of fish, in order to make them ready for the dinner table. Some I've done once, some I've done a few times, some I've done to the point that I don't need someone guiding me any longer. For some I've had to seek out the experience, some came about from hunting, some came about from time on a farm as a young lad. That however has no bearing on wanting a butcher block table in my kitchen.

This is a butcher block table, not a slaughterhouse set-up. Do you even know the difference between how one uses a butcher table and how one puts down an animal and proceeds to eviscerate it? Frankly I can't ever recall seeing someone bring a maple butcher block to a slaughter and asking the animal to stand on it before they proceeded with dispatching it. Maybe there are different ways of doing these things in your neck of the woods but I think that the more parsimonious explanation here is that you're taking a high horse approach about something that you don't understand all too well.

You need to spend some time at a meat plant to get an idea of how nasty butchering is and why it doesn't belong in a home.

Do you believe that your local butchershop or the meat department in your grocery store perform the same task as an abattoir? I can't believe that this has to be spelled out for you.

Repac,

Because it's built into the cabinets, the table is quite stable. We don't have a fancy motor as you propose (great idea for a heavy butcher block!), but it's easy to pull out using our "human" motors.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. (There goes my patent - boo hoo.)

I love the way that your table integrates into the cabinetry. Thanks for sharing the photo - it brings the idea to life. The table legs blend in very nicely - they look like they belong in the cabinet and that's the effect that I'm shooting for.

I love the idea of the extensions.

The butcher block should mass out to 180 lbs. The cabinet legs would weigh (?) and then they would be full of baking sheets and what not, so add that mass as well. Probably looking at a 250 lb table. On a flat, low friction surface (granite) that shouldn't be a problem for me to pull, but I'm trying to design with the possibility that I may develop a disability or have someone in the house who doesn't want to pull a 250 lb table out in order to use it. The mechanical aspect and any potential problem that may develop doesn't bother me in the least (these are not black arts to me), though I agree that it is not a necessary component.

itsallaboutthefood,

I like to let them dry off before pushing them back into the cabinetry.

I do love your thinking about the practicalities. Very much appreciated. I mentioned in another thread, when this butcher block was part of a countertop, the two level design, with the top level being detachable. This should aid me with my disinfection procedures after each use. I'm planning on carrying through with that feature, but now because I don't have the stability of a fixed counter underneath the butcher block the depth of the butcher block is increasing in order to increase the mass, and stability, of the table. In other words, the table in not one unitary mass.

Alex, Just wanted to say I love this idea and completely understand about your butchering station. In the fall when we have a deer or two to butcher something like this would be wonderful.

Saw this great idea on Houzz for a pull-out table in an island. This orientation would work for me - plus, there's no table leaves to worry about. Wish I knew how they did this...anyone have an idea?

I linked the Houzz page for kitchen pull-out tables.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pull-out tables for the kitchen

Repac- I put your table into our new peda rehab center but a different company. I might like yours more for our kids!

Thought I missed something about the slaughter house so thanks for clarifying... I agree- how you go from a butcher block to slaughtering cows-LOL.
My GF owned a meat shop, so I saw how he used the butcher block- now he only cut small meats but was very careful cleaning the butcher block!

Wish I knew how they did this...anyone have an idea?

Cabinet drawers can be mounted with side-mount slides or under-mount slides.

Here's what I'd do do make your slide-out table work - router a channel into the underside surface for undermount-slides, then attach the mounting hardware to various points within the cabinetry, mount the table to the slide, and presto-chango, your table slides out without any visible means of support.

Thanks, Alex!

You lost me at "Here's what I'd do..." since I'm not geared that way. Throw me a cookbook or sewing machine & I can do that LOL

I copied it for future reference for whoever is going to build my island. I love the simplicity of this design.

Thanks so much!
:)

Being a pull out, it means the butcher block will be 1 1/2" or more lower than your counter tops. Is that the correct height for how you want to use it?

The other problem I see is how is the granite over this section going to be supported?

And I am not understanding where the rails/glides for the slide out are going to go. They are going to have to be pretty heavy duty to support it. Where will the handle to pull it out go?

dekeoboe,

Being a pull out, it means the butcher block will be 1 1/2" or more lower than your counter tops. Is that the correct height for how you want to use it?

More or less. In my Island iterations of this design (butcher board section at end of island) I always dropped the surface a few inches, so this works out about right. I'm not sure if it's ideal, but I did like having two different counter heights for the occasions when I wanted a lower working surface. Whether meat cutting is best done at 36" or 34" is something that I'm not a 100% sure of.

Even if it is less that 100% ideal, I'm having a very hard time finding the combination of features and their placement which allows every placement and feature to achieve a 100% ideal state. If I find that meatcutting is best done at 36" height, then that means a redesign and the requirement to find counter space for that task or to compromise on the height in order to gain better features with placement or overall work flow/design.

The other problem I see is how is the granite over this section going to be supported?

As described in the previous comment. Slight channels are cut into the stone and a steel support is placed into the channels and they rest on the cabinets, supporting the slab and directing the load to the beefed up cabinet sides.

And I am not understanding where the rails/glides for the slide out are going to go.

On the underside of the two extending cabinets or even on both sides of each supporting cabinet. Of course these two cabinets will have to be built to different standards because they will be subjected to different forces from the forward/backwards movement which are not found in stationary cabinets subject to a stationary dead load, and in fact, may even be built out of different material than the remainder of the cabinets.

Alex -- did you notice the video I linked to above? When I pull that up on youtube there are a hundred other such videos that come up as well.

Aliris19, yes I watched the video right after I saw your message. It's a little different in terms of application but the principle is the same.

I'm not getting the sense that this is an outlandish project.

Alex- I'm glad you posted this, my husband is not. I think I'm going to do this in the pantry. We are often processing some type of animal (chickens, pigs, deer, squirrels, rabbits, you name it, we eat it). Normally, this is all done in a non-heated garage on a piece of laminate and a 24x36 cutting board after the initial mess is done. It's not fun when you can't feel your fingers and you're playing with knives. Ask me how I know this! I like the motorized version, but I would try to motorize anything if it made my life easier. If you make the wiring and motor easily accessible, I don't see any issues that you haven't covered. I like the idea of a manual pull-out too, but I don't think I would want to pull 250 lbs more than once a year. Even with great casters and a smooth rolling surface, that's a ton of weight. Of course, I'm sure there is some type of hardware that would essentially have a pulley effect and would make pulling it easier. What about some type of locking spring or hydraulics? These ideas are off the top of my head and not well thought out, so they might not work at all, and by morning I will have 40 reasons why neither might not work. Aside from making the butcher block thinner, I don't see a way to do the manual pull very easily. I'm also wondering if when you start pulling it, if there's going to be enough weight behind it to keep it from stopping until it can't go any farther, putting stress on whatever mechanism you choose to use. Put me in line with the others that are waiting to see what you come up with.

melaska: I don't have plans for the pull-out extension table. Because it was a standard option with Dutch Made, the plans just showed the location and not the working mechanism. As you proposed, we have used it for extra company for years. It can seat up to 5 adults, or at least that many kids. Also, our kitchen isn't wide enough for an island, so I like it for extra counter space when I need it. And as yandj pointed out, we still have a fully enclosed, good sized cabinet beneath the table.

a2gemini: what company did your pull-out table for the rehab center? I wonder how many companies have this as an option?

AlexHouse: your idea is really an engineering marvel--I am impressed!. Where will the electrical mechanism be located? Would it be possible to cover the end of the butcher block with matching wood for the cabinets, if you wished to hide it completely?

I think this is an awful lot of engineering to achieve a cumbersome result. The placement of that table loses you the ability to use the main sink for handwashing, cleanup and fluid disposal without making a drippy mess across the floor. I also think it is likely that the floor will get damaged no matter what material you choose--you'll need the absolute minimum of deflection or tile and even granite will crack.

So does the photo localeater posted really look so heinous to you? Even if it does, why not switch the function of the peninsula and make that your butchery station, with a sink handy right beside? When clean, the wood countertop will also be more comfortable for people to sit at than stone. You will need a trivet when removing things from the oven but that is a much smaller inconvenience relative to the Dr. No retracting table.

People pay thousands for antique french butcher blocks, cleaver marks and all. It's usually a feature people like to showcase in their kitchen, not hide.

Repac- we don't have our plans approved yet but I think it was rev a shelf...

marcolo,

I also think it is likely that the floor will get damaged no matter what material you choose--you'll need the absolute minimum of deflection or tile and even granite will crack.

I'm pretty sure that I've NEVER seen signs in buildings with granite floors which bar people who weight over 250 lbs from walking inside due to their propensity to crack the granite slabs on the floor.

250 lbs distributed over two 30" x 6" long cabinet legs, is 125 lbs per leg and, assuming even weight transferance over the surface area, a downward force of 100 lbs per sq. ft. To compare, a two legged woman with size 6 feet (8" x 3") and weighing 140 lbs exerts a downward force on that granite of 420 lbs per square foot.

If a 140 lb woman can safely walk over a granite floor, then I don't think that I have to worry about granite cracking.

So does the photo localeater posted really look so heinous to you?

Oh the DRAMA!!11!!

It's not about the alternative being heinous, it's about what I prefer. Even if my preference is whimsically slight, it's still real, it's still something that I have to face every morning, afternoon, and evening when I'm in the kitchen. A very small effect magnified over a very long time exposure can produce a big effect. I'm sure that if we opened that topic on this board - little things in your kitchen that get on your nerves - we'd have a never ending thread.

Even if it does, why not switch the function of the peninsula and make that your butchery station, with a sink handy right beside? When clean, the wood countertop will also be more comfortable for people to sit at than stone.

I appreciate the original thinking. I prefer access to a larger sink than to a small bar sink. I prefer to bake with stone surface rather than on a wood surface.

No one will be sitting, at least by design, at the peninsula, so their preference for wood over stone is moot.

It's usually a feature people like to showcase in their kitchen, not hide.

I'd love to highlight the beautiful wood too, but I can't have everything I want and so the question devolves down to arranging priorities - "do I want to highlight the wood or do I want to favor the continuity of the stone in the countertop?" alongside of "will I be more peeved about hiding the wood or having to face the discontinuity in the countertop surface material?"

I think this is an awful lot of engineering to achieve a cumbersome result.

The engineering is a no-brainer. If you think that this is an ordeal then be thankful your not having to face what I'm doing with many of the other systems in the house.

The placement of that table loses you the ability to use the main sink for handwashing, cleanup and fluid disposal without making a drippy mess across the floor.

With the table fully extended I can stand at the edge of the table and still have a 26" run of the sink directly in front of me. The space between table edge and sink edge is 12". If there is drippage between table and sink and that lands on the floor how exactly is that any different than if there is drippage on any other surface when I'm moving material across a distance of 12"? If I dripped on a countertop I'd have to clean the drippage. Same with the floor - if something lands on the floor, I'll clean it. You know, again, if we polled people on this forum and asked them if they ever transported wet material from one point in their kitchen to another point, even a distance as short as 12", and they dripped during transit, did they believe that the drippage that occurred signaled a design failure in their kitchen, I'd venture that most people would see that drippage does not equate to design failure. YMMV.

mrsmortarmixer,

You can cut down on the weight in three ways:

1.) Reduce the thickness of the butcherblock; and
2.) Reduce the size of the legs; and
3.) Don't use the legs for storage.

In short, do what repac has done. Create a functional table and don't overlap function as I'm doing. I'm simply trying to use the fact that a cabinet needs sidewalls and those sidewalls can do double duty by actually carrying a load that sits on top of the sidewalls, so that being the case, functional cabinets can nicely serve as table legs. The converse though isn't true, table legs, as shown in repac's photos, cannot serve as cabinets in themselves - they're single purpose.

We are talking about minor loss of space here though - repac's table legs look to be about 3" wide, so two legs inset into her cabinet results in the loss of 6" of cabinet run. Certainly not the end of the world as we know it. For me, all things being equal, I like the feeling of making use of those 6" of cabinet run.

repac,

Where will the electrical mechanism be located? Would it be possible to cover the end of the butcher block with matching wood for the cabinets, if you wished to hide it completely?

All the gear should go up front, in the toe-kick space. Access provided by removing the bottom drawer from the fixed cabinet above.

Hiding the butcherblock with a matching drawer front is what I'm planning on doing but it was too much trouble to gimmick up the visual for the rendering, seeing how this is kitchen design is still fluid and a work in progress.

I'm not a layout person nor an engineer. But, as I have looked at your plans and have read your responses to all the "buts" and "what ifs," all I want to say to you is that I think this idea of yours is simply brilliant! So much so that, if I were starting out today, with a much bigger kitchen than the one I already have, I'd likely be thinking long and hard about how to steal if for my own application. Good luck!

Agree with you Alex on your definition of slaughtering as opposed to butchering. Negative comments are unwarranted. My neighborhood butcher has never slaughtered live animals(although some live chicken shops do but that's something different). I too think this is a great idea.
I'm so glad you posted this and that repac posted the Dutchmade pullout table. I wish I had known about that...