Main sink in island: does it need to be single basin?

11 years ago

I've always had a 60/40 sink, but every single photo I've saved of islands that have sinks (MAIN sink, not prep sink) shows a single basin, rectangular sink. Do you think this is the way it should be? I guess it would make the granite cuts cleaner if it's a basic rectangle, rather than the way some 60/40 sinks curve slightly at the top. Is it a pain to have one basin, rather than separated sides? I'd love to see your island if your sink is located there! *Ouch - just looked up a stainless, Kohler undermount sink I saw over at Houzz -- it's $1400! I have no idea what sinks cost, but this sounds high! Please advise. Thanks :)

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Comments (8)

breezygirl
11 years ago
Southernmum--You're seeing single bowl sinks in the islands you've been looking at because single bowls have been trending, no matter the sink location--island or perimeter. Many (I daresay most) here prefer the versatility and contiguous space offered from a single.

Is a single right for you? Only you can answer that. Threads about single vs double bowls come up quite often so I'm linking below an Internet search for the forum (most things here are easier to find on an internet search than using the GW search function) in which you will find many, many discussions. Perhaps reading these will help look at the pros and cons of single sinks for you in making your decision. Personally, I couldn't wait to get rid of the old, shallow 50/50 sink in which none of my everyday pans could sit flat for soaking or washing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Internet search for single vs double bowl threads
debrak_2008
11 years ago
Just wanted to add that you don't have to spend that much to get a nice sink.
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Well, your kitchen is not that different in size from mine. I have a slightly smaller window, my sink wall is close to 11 feet and the opposite wall is almost 12. My island is 3x7. I would get the size that suits your needs and balances the use of the rest of the space. Something in the 30-36 inch range would be pretty standard what I consider a mid-sized kitchen. A 30" single bowl will give you good working room and another 6 inches of counter space. There is plenty to be said for that, but you sink wall is the longer one and you may feel you have the room to go larger with your sink. While I can lay two cookie sheets on either side or one on one side and a large pot on the other, that's not something you really need to do that often. I would make the decision based on the counter space. I would be happy either way.
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I have the same dilemma for the exact same reasons. I'm putting my foot down and making the final decision on this one because I do the vast majority of cooking and cleaning. Well along with our housekeeper, but she'll clean up my way without a grumble, unlike my husband. ;) I'm also considering the Blanco Performa along with a few others. I really like the look of a sink + drainboard but I'm still not sure if it's practical use of counter space. We used to have one large single basin and I loved it (Ikea apron front single bowl), now we have 2 equal bowls and I'm looking forward to going back to a larger single again. The second bowl just gets grungy and piles up with stuff that never gets put away. I like the extra elbow room a large sink provides, being able to put cookie sheets in flat, not always bumping pots into the faucet, etc. And you can get far more sink in a smaller cabinet with a single. Going with a 33" cabinet instead of 36" doesn't seem like much but it makes a big difference in my kitchen layout and that seals the deal. Tell your husband that in a large sink, you simply don't fill it as deep. There's no need for more than a few inches and he'll still have plenty of water to work with. For this reason, I actually prefer shallower sinks but they are hard to find, the trend being towards back-aching depth these days. I have one of the touch/motion sensing faucets and I absolutely love it for rinsing. Just a quick wave of the item in front of the sensor gives a jet of water just long enough to rinse. It amounts to far less water than filling a second sink just for rinsing. The faucet is the only thing I'm keeping when we gut the kitchen.
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You won't know until the new sink is installed, but I'll bet the disposal will connect to the right side with a simple trap extension and the left will be cut and capped with .89 worth of PVC. No way would I hack that out before verifying.
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We switched to a 30" single bowl sink (It's the Kohler Whitehaven Apron Front) and I was surprised by how absolutely huge it felt! I almost can't imagine a 36" single bowl. lol. I chose that size to save inches when building our island. Since my husband was custom building the cabinets we were able to build the sink base to fit the sink exactly, otherwise with pre-built cabinets you might have to use a slightly bigger sink base, so that's something to keep in mind. We didn't have room for a prep sink, though it would be nice sometimes, mostly when I need to grab some water from the faucet real quick and someone is at the sink, otherwise its not really an issue. I don't see why you would really need a big prep sink. Honestly, when I'm using a sink for cooking, I'm rinsing a vegetable, washing my hands and filling a pot with water, you don't need a lot of sink real estate for that and once again, because of the location of our sink to our range any "need" for a prep sink comes when there is a conflict between the cook and someone else in the kitchen, not because the main sink doesn't work perfectly for those applications. So perhaps part of the decision would be how far the main sink would be from the cooking area in case you needed a bigger sink. I keep a wash tub under the sink for those times we've been lazy and didn't get the clean dishes out of the DW and dirty are collecting in the sink. That actually doesn't happen often, but when it does I put them in the wash tub (the temporary "second bowl") and can get them out of the way quick if I need the whole sink for prep. Oh yeah, we're on a septic too but I put in a garbage disposable because of that, so I could grind up stuff that escapes down the drain. We don't put things in there intentionally but I always felt like so much gets down anyway it made me feel better to know I could at least grind up anything that did. I didn't bother with a special septic one.
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taggie
11 years ago
Double sink (65/35) here. Very happy with it.
boymom23
Original Author
11 years ago
Breezygirl, thanks for the link! I will check it out! So, single basin sinks are trending right now? That explains it..! :) Debrak, that's good to know that they're not all that pricey -- that's a lot out of my kitchen budget! Taggie, your kitchen is so pretty! I love the nice contrast of the white cabinets and the wood island! Thanks, Ladies!
badgergal
11 years ago
My main / only sink is divided and located in my island. My sink doesn't have curves but my island does. Granite cuts shouldn't be a problem if you have a good fabricator. As the others have said you can get a sink for much less than 1,400. I'm very happy with my divided sink. It's Blanco's Performa Medium 1-3/4.
{{gwi:1567049}}
Bunny
11 years ago
My 30" single bowl SS sink cost $300. It's 18-gauge, but I don't find it noisy at all. I spent a few weeks wondering if I should have stayed with a two-bowl sink. Now, not at all. If you want another bowl, you can literally use a bowl or large pot. I honestly don't know how I functioned with my old shallow divided sink.
boymom23
Original Author
11 years ago
Badgergal, love your cool island! Linelle, glad to hear you like your single basin sink. Thanks, ladies! :)
drybean
11 years ago
My sink will be in island and I ordered a 60/40 sink. In ths island, I prefer to have a smaller side for drying dishes so that I don't have to have a dish rack sitting on the island, in the middle of my kitchen.

If my sink was on perimeter, I might have opted for a single bowl since a dishrack is less conspicuous there, IMO.

Just a consideration that you may want to think about. We hand wash pots, pans, wooden cutting boards, and wine glasses, so the drying area is a necessity for us.

I ordered a ticor sink, highly recommended here. I got a 33" sink for about $500, IIRC.

Main sink in island: does it need to be single basin?

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breezygirl

debrak_2008

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Main sink in island: does it need to be single basin?

Comments (8)

breezygirl

debrak_2008

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