Burbank Kitchen: Waterfall Island and a Second Prep Island

The kitchen from a complete home remodel in Burbank. White shaker cabinetry to the ceiling, a plaster hood over a professional range, and two islands — a large quartz waterfall island for seating and prep, and a second, smaller one in dark grey.

Project at a glance

Location	Burbank, CA
Completed	2025
Project type	Kitchen, as part of a complete home remodel
Scope	Full-height shaker cabinetry, quartz counters, mitred waterfall island, second prep island, plaster hood, professional range, built-in wine fridge, tile backsplash, lighting

Why two islands

One island has to do everything: seating, serving, prep, and somewhere to put the shopping down. In a kitchen with the floor area for it, splitting those jobs across two works better than stretching one island until it stops being usable from any side.

The larger island here takes the seating and the sink side of the work; the smaller dark one sits closer to the range and keeps the cooking traffic out of where people are sitting. It only works if the walkways between them stay generous — two islands in a kitchen that cannot take them is worse than one.

The mitred waterfall edge

The island’s stone turns down the side in a mitred waterfall, so the veining runs over the edge and continues down the panel instead of stopping at a butt joint. It has to be cut and matched from the same slab, and it is one of those details that costs a little more at the fabricator and is visible from every seat in the room for the next twenty years.

The finished kitchen

The part of a kitchen remodel that happens inside the walls

Kitchens are the most electrically demanding room in a house, and the requirements have moved a long way since most Los Angeles kitchens were wired. A kitchen from the 1960s or 70s frequently has a single circuit serving the whole room, two-prong receptacles, and no protection of any kind. Modern requirements exist because of what people now plug in.

When a kitchen is opened up, this is the work that costs money and that nobody photographs.

What a kitchen is required to have

• At least two 20-amp small-appliance branch circuits serving the countertop and wall receptacles in the kitchen, pantry and dining area — and nothing built-in allowed on them (California Electrical Code 210.52(B)). That is why the dishwasher, the disposal and the microwave each want their own supply rather than sharing with the toaster.
• A receptacle at every countertop space twelve inches or wider, positioned so no point along the wall line is more than 24 inches from an outlet (CEC 210.52(C)(1)). In practice that is a receptacle roughly every four feet.
• GFCI protection on everything serving the countertop (CEC 210.8(A)(6)), and on the dishwasher. The control has to be somewhere you can actually reach — a GFCI behind the dishwasher does not count.
• AFCI protection on the 120-volt 15- and 20-amp branch circuits supplying the kitchen (CEC 210.12(A)).
• Exhaust that discharges outdoors, in smooth-interior metal duct (CMC 504.3), terminating at least three feet from the property line and from any building opening (CMC 502.2.1).

Why this decides your layout, not the other way round

Homeowners plan kitchens around cabinets and appliances. The wiring then has to follow, and it is much cheaper to decide where the induction range, the wall oven and the coffee station are going before the electrician runs circuits than to discover afterwards that the appliance you chose needs 240 volts on a wall that has none.

The specific traps we see repeatedly: an island with no power because nobody planned a way to get a circuit to it; a range chosen late that turns out to be electric when the house is plumbed for gas; and a run of countertop with a beautiful uninterrupted backsplash and nowhere legal to plug anything in.

Lighting is three jobs, not one

A single fixture in the middle of the ceiling lights the floor and puts you in your own shadow at the counter. A kitchen that works has three layers: ambient light for the room, task light on the work surfaces — which in practice means under-cabinet lighting, because you stand between the ceiling and the counter — and accent light for the parts you want seen.

All of it is decided at rough-in, along with which switches control what. Switching is the detail people notice daily for years and never think about during planning.

Questions about kitchen electrical and permits

Does a kitchen remodel need a permit?

If you are moving or adding circuits, plumbing or gas — yes. A cosmetic refresh that changes nothing behind the walls is different. Once the walls open, it is permitted work, and the rough inspection before the walls close is the one that matters.

Can I keep my existing wiring?

Sometimes in part, rarely in whole. If the existing wiring is in good condition and there is capacity in the panel, some circuits can remain. What generally cannot remain is an ungrounded circuit serving a countertop, or a single circuit trying to serve a modern kitchen.

Will I need a panel upgrade?

It depends on what is in the panel now and what the new kitchen adds. An induction range or a wall oven can be the item that tips a marginal panel over. It is worth having the panel assessed at design stage, because it is a cost that belongs in the budget from the start rather than appearing halfway through.

Does the range hood have to vent outside?

A kitchen requires exhaust that discharges directly outdoors (CMC §405.4), with a recirculating exception in limited circumstances. Ducted outside is materially better: recirculating filters remove some grease and odour and do nothing about heat or moisture.

More kitchen remodeling work, the electrical services we provide, and our Burbank service area page.

Thinking about a similar project?

We remodel kitchens across Burbank, the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles — see kitchen remodeling, what a kitchen remodel costs, and our Burbank page. If the kitchen is part of something larger, whole-home renovation covers that. Read our guide to kitchen remodeling in Burbank for local costs, permits and timelines.

The site visit is free and takes about two hours, with a written proposal within 48 hours. Call (800) 348-3050 or tell us what you are planning. More work on our projects page.