I'm about to put a cooktop on the 2.3 x 900 peninsular (island with only one free end ( in my new galley kitchen. I am using an induction top so it can be fitted flush with the benchtop surface, allowing me to use the whole area as benchtop when not in use. I intend to have bar stolls on the living room side for entertaining. My joiner has suggested making a beautiful, thin timbercover to go over the glass induction surface for added protection. I just need to decide on down draft induction hob or a ceiling casette. My main aim is to remove the smelly cooking smells from my unit. The smell from one evening of cooking indian chicken curry currently lasts at least a week! Any advice?

We installed a Zip system during our kitchen renovation- the filtered boiling, chilled and soda. We LOVE it! Having the hot water at a moments notice is amazing. Not only do we find we're drinking more tea (great thing for health), but we use it to soak things, heat up cooking quicker, etc. I probably use it 10x a day! We start our day off with hot lemon water w/ apple cider vinegar- it's so nice to have it at our fingertips! I saw the comment about being too hot... the beauty is that you have the chilled water with the push of a button. So I know that I fill my Yeti just under 2/3 with the boiling water and then flip the function and top it off with chilled water. I can drink it instantly. The chilled filtered water is a bit noisy, but in a house with kids, dog, lots of activity... it doesn't bother us. I also saw the comment about filling Britas... with kids that play sports, filling up water bottles constantly is so much easier right from the tap. And they want cold water. They did need to reorganize the plans for the cabinet to make room for it under the sink, but it really wasn't a big deal. I also had to adjust the bubbles to get a higher volume b/c we like our soda water fizzy- it was not difficult. We were avid Soda Stream users... this is SO much easier. We used to plow through Co2 cartridges so fast with the Soda Stream. And then you have to send them back to recycle them. The tech for Zip said we'll probably have to change out the Co2 on this unit once a year. I would say that if you're going to use it- it's definitely worth the money, space and noise.

Could you swap the fridge with the wall oven, going by your photo both fridge and Wall Oven would fit side by side. I would definately have the fridge on the cook top wall and not on the other side of the kitchen. I see by the photo that the timber beam could be in the way, I would speak to your plumber who should have a simple solution on ducting the range hood. A simple one built into a special cabinet above the cooktop can recirculate or be ducted outside by either exposed stainless tube for your industrial/country look or have the ducting boxed in, the ducting can be flexable so no problem avoiding beams.

Thanks, great feedback and some new thoughts. We purchased this place as it we felt it was a good buy and could be a good place for my parents to downsize to however it may be that we end up selling it the near future so as mindful of making it as appealing as possible. Hence removing the island despite all the cabinetry being in good condition albeit in an unusual colour. We have previously put in an ikea kitchen and were really happy with the finish so will likely go with that again versus having custom made to keep the costs down. This is the living room into the kitchen... do you think it would make that area cluttered ok Louise if we had seating there as you had drawn? We are happy to remove doors make opening wider. I also understand that keeping the toilet smells seperate from the kitchen is important and I think turning the door would achieve that. Will remove pantry door siriuskey as I agree too many openings, I was going to use it for additional bathroom space but if I keep toilet seperate that will be a waste and opening shelving could look nice. Your laundry design oklouise is exactly as I planned so that’s reassuring.