Sherman Oaks Kitchen Remodel With a Waterfall Island
The original kitchen in this Sherman Oaks house was white, boxy and short on counter space. The owners wanted a modern grey kitchen with a large island and a bigger window over the sink.
Project at a glance
| Location | Sherman Oaks, CA |
| Project type | Full kitchen remodel |
| Scope | Demolition, new window, electrical rough-in, drywall, grey shaker cabinets, quartz counters with full-height backsplash, waterfall island, black chimney hood, appliances |
Before
White cabinets with a small peninsula, a single window and no island.
Rough work
After demolition the electrical was rerouted for the island and the hood, and the sink window was enlarged. The photo of the plywood counter with the new window shows the kitchen at the templating stage, when the quartz fabricator measures for the tops.
The finish
Grey shaker cabinets to the ceiling, a marble-look quartz that runs from the counter up the wall behind the range, a black chimney hood, and an island with a waterfall edge on the seating side.
The result
A kitchen with roughly twice the counter space and a proper place to sit, in the same room.
What a waterfall edge actually is
A waterfall island is a countertop that turns ninety degrees and runs to the floor at one or both ends, so the stone reads as a single folded slab rather than a top sitting on cabinets. It is the detail that makes an island look designed rather than assembled, and almost all of the work is in the fabrication shop.
The vertical leg is cut from the same slab as the horizontal top, and the two pieces meet at a mitred corner — each edge cut at forty-five degrees so the joint falls on the arris and almost no seam is visible from the side. That mitre is the whole trick, and it is unforgiving: a corner that is fractionally off shows as a line of shadow along the most visible edge in the kitchen.
Why the slab has to be chosen, not ordered
For a waterfall the veining should run through the corner and continue down the leg, which only works if the top and the leg are cut from adjacent areas of the same slab and book-matched at the mitre. That is a decision made in the yard, standing in front of the actual stone, not from a sample chip.
- One slab, or matched slabs from one block. Natural stone varies between blocks; two slabs from different lots will not match at a mitre.
- Slab yield decides the layout. A large island with a waterfall on both ends plus a run of perimeter counter can exceed what one slab yields, which is where seam placement becomes a design decision rather than a technical one.
- Templating happens after cabinets are set. Nobody can template stone from a drawing. Cabinets are installed and levelled first, then the fabricator templates the real thing.
Quartz, quartzite and marble are not the same problem
| Behaves | Watch for | |
|---|---|---|
| Engineered quartz | Consistent, non-porous, no sealing | Can mark from a hot pan; the pattern repeats, which shows on long runs |
| Quartzite | Natural, very hard, heat tolerant | Genuinely varies — some slabs sold as quartzite are softer stone; it needs sealing |
| Marble | Beautiful, and it will etch | Acid marks from lemon and wine are chemical, not dirt, and they are permanent. Buy it knowing that |
| Granite | Hard, heat tolerant, forgiving | Pattern is busy at the scale of a large island; needs periodic sealing |
Overhang and support
A seating overhang looks like a stone question and is a structural one. Past a certain projection the stone needs support underneath — steel plate set into the cabinet, or brackets — and the point at which that becomes necessary depends on the material and its thickness. Unsupported overhangs do not sag; they crack, usually at a corner, usually years later, and usually when somebody leans on it.
Before, during and after
Related: Kitchen remodeling · Remodeling in Sherman Oaks · Kitchen remodel cost guide
Removing the wall between a Valley kitchen and dining room
Taking out the wall between a 1960s Valley kitchen and the dining room is one of the most requested remodels we do. Where that wall is structural, the beam and posts are sized by an engineer, new footings go in under the posts, and LADBS inspects at rough framing and at final. A waterfall island then needs its plumbing and electrical run through the floor. See removing a load-bearing wall, the kitchen remodel permit guide, our Sherman Oaks page and kitchen remodeling.
Questions about countertops and islands
Where will the seams be?
Ask before you buy, not after. A good fabricator will show you the seam layout on a photograph of your actual slab. Seams are unavoidable beyond a certain size — what is avoidable is a seam in the middle of the most visible run, or one that interrupts a distinctive vein.
Can I have a waterfall on an existing island?
Only with new stone. The waterfall leg must come from the same slab as the top for the veining and the mitre to work, so it is not something to add to a top you already own.
How long between cabinets and countertops?
Typically one to two weeks. The fabricator templates once the cabinets are in and level, then cuts and polishes, then returns to install. It is a genuine gap in the middle of the job, and it is why the sink and hob cannot go in earlier — their cutouts are made from the template.
Is quartz better than natural stone?
Different, not better. Quartz is more predictable and needs no sealing, which suits most households. Natural stone has depth and variation that engineered material approximates but does not match, and it asks more of you in care. Choose for how you actually use a kitchen.
More kitchen remodeling work and our Sherman Oaks service area page.
Thinking about a similar project?
Want a waterfall island or a bigger window in your kitchen? Both are easier than most homeowners expect. Tell us about your kitchen. Green Design and Build is a licensed residential general contractor (CSLB #1110975) based in Van Nuys. We reply within one business day. Read our guide to kitchen remodeling in Sherman Oaks for local costs, permits and timelines.