Initially I planned for the island to be it 34-inches wide and 60-inches long. I made the temporary island 72-inches long thinking if it were too big, I could just keep trimming it down until I found the best fit for the room. It turns out that I didn't need to cut it down at all as it's a perfect size. I can easily fit three stools along the front and one on the end.
The other hold up in this project was creating a drawing and deciding on the construction methods. I finally got to work in Sketchup and have what I believe to be a good working solution. I still need to add drawer runners to the drawing but the overall carcase is done.
It will be a painted Shaker style affair with a natural walnut top and six large drawers. I had looked into buying a pre-made butcher block walnut top but there are a couple of drawbacks. First, they're pretty expensive. Second, I would likely have to special order it, meaning sight unseen. Some of the tops I have seen online have a mixture of heartwood and sapwood and I'm just not sure I'd like that. I'll probably end up building my own so I can pick the boards myself and get a consistent color.
Anyway, here's a rendered image of what I have so far.
