We prefer a hob on the island, we also agree with your husband that new induction technology will be the safest option for you and your family. The rings only get hot when a pan is on them and when a pan is removed, yes there is still heat there, however it is not scalding hot. It is also more sociable in our opinion to have the hob on the island is you are entertaining people. In regards to the extraction, you could ask your builder/kitchen installer to build a drop ceiling detail the same size and shape of your island to set the island location and have an extractor built into it which wouldn't be in your eye sight, you can also get external motors which boost the power and strength making the extraction work better. Call us on 0208 508 1941 or email us on info@anderson-sinclair.co.uk if you want to discuss or get some inspiration.

my thinking was the table could be pushed flush with the island the majority of the time leaving a gap to walk past of approx 140cm. Thats with a 110cm gap between island and units, 90cm island and 90cm table. Or if you rotate the table and have it pushed with one end against the island, a 120cm table would sit 4 and leave 110cm to pass which is the same as the gap between island and units. If it was an extending table it can be rotated 90 degrees on the rare occasion more seating is required. Yes, it would mean it would probably close off that side of the room but if it's not a daily occurance? Some compromises will have to be made if you really want to fit everything in that space unfortunately.

I’ve probably seen around 10 recessed hobs over the last month while kitchen shopping myself, although these have only been across two showrooms and all using Bora/Elica hobs (the likes of Wren and others don’t seem to flush mount in their displays). As far as I can remember they all used black sealant. I wouldn’t say it matters that the black contrasts the worktop as the hob is black anyway so it’s just a small extension of the hob colour. Also the actual sealant gaps that I’ve seen have been very minimal, and looks very sleek. I could also see a clear sealant working though as per Lifestyle’s post. Please post pics of the result as I’m looking to recess in the new kitchen in the near future!

They are trying to get out of doing a more complicated and time consuming job. If you decide on surface mounted you should ask for a discount. Personally I prefer flush mounted, I have clear silicone which against the hob looks nearly black and in my opinion is nicer than black silicone. And I think silicone gets damaged by cleaners that contain limescale removers and bleach and this it is why some people need to replace it from time to time. Mine looks the same as three years ago when it was installed but I don’t use a strong cleaner in my kitchen.