I think you've hit the main points of the options. I currently have a single bowl and will be installing a sink with a low divide in my remodel (which may actually be starting soon!)

My current single bowl is only about 3" wider than the new sink large bowl will be, so I am mostly seeing only positive things about the divided sink. I hate my single bowl for several reasons you mentioned. I can't fill a pitcher, pot, etc when there are dishes in the sink. We do not place items directly into dishwasher--they end up in sink first. So having the smaller side open for cleaning veggies, getting water for pots/pitchers seems like a dream come true. Plus, my family has a bad habit of leaving dirty dishes and flatware on the counter next to the sink (to leave sink open for getting water, etc) and it drives me crazy to have dirty dishes on my counters.

Also, I don't have enough room in my kitchen for two sinks (main and prep). So having the low divide will give me two sinks. I did have to give up a bit of counter space since it will be larger than current sink, but not as much as if I had two separate sinks-which wouldn't fit in my plan anyway.

I think it would be just fine cleaning a large cookie sheet (the only thing so far in my kitchen that I've found won't fit in bottom of new sink) by leaning it across the divide. it is still completely contained within the sink so no splashes to the outside. I can live with that!

So I've moved on to the great "which side for the disposal" debate. I thought DH and I were agreed on putting it on the large side, then he asked the GC yesterday for his opinion and he said to put it on the small side. Arghhhh!

cathy75, you'd probably want to keep the disposal on the small side, because I imagine if you put dishes in the sink, or when you might have dishes soaking, you'd want to use the larger bowl. This leaves the small side for activities such as prep, which may entail using the disposal. At least that's my planned use for the low divide I want to get but can't really afford (cause of course I just had to see the Performa low divide...) Argh...

Kathy

I have the Super Single 33x22. I never have pans soaking in the sink when I'm prepping. That happens after the meal. Pans from previous meals get cleaned or put into the DW before prep for the next meal. I don't like to work around a mess.

I'm not an anal housekeeper, but I tend to wash out the sink after loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher. That way, if I need to lay a head of lettuce down after washing, it's not wallowing in filth :) Most of the time, I have a towel on the counter to catch the washed produce before moving to the cutting board.

If I need to get out the dish drainer for hand washing, it goes on the counter. I hate doing dishes so anything that can go in the DW, does.

Our tap water is disgusting, no one uses it for a glass of water. We have a filter pitcher in the fridge. I don't understand how it would be gross, though. It's not like your scooping water from the dirty sink into the glass or food bits are leaping for your cup.

I hate working in double bowls. My gross-out is a basin of water with yuck floating around in it while "trying" to clean the dishes. I never wash like that. I soap a sponge and use most of the water for rinsing. Gah, I'm feeling icky just thinking about putting my hand in dish water. My mom would always let her's go cold, waiting for a stray dish I guess, and I'd have to reach in to release the drain stopper when it was my turn to wash. THAT is gross.

OK, regarding dishes in the sink and getting water, the size of my sink and the height of my faucet allows plenty of room to get the pitcher in there. It's never been a problem and I didn't even think about it until mentioned above.
Also, I have plenty of room on one side to have something soaking or a pile of dishes while leaving the drain side clear.

Dishes go directly into the DW most of the time. The only reason they may collect in the sink is because it hasn't been unloaded yet.

I would not like a smaller sink as much, that is for sure. So when I recommend a single bowl, it's the BIG one.

I hated having my disposal in the smaller half of the sink when I had that arrangement, and couldn't wait to get rid of it. It meant that after washing out pots and pans and dirty stuff that wouldn't go/fit in the DW, I had to pick out the gunky stuff from the big sink's drain. Also, when rinsing off plates, etc. before they went in the DW, there wasn't enough room over the small side and the solids would go in the big sink, and again, have to be fished out by hand. YUCK!

A little OT, but is this debate more for people with only one sink in their kitchens? If one has a prep sink, are single bowls usually the preference for the larger sink?

I would like to keep the discussion as the ONLY sink in the kitchen. Though some have a prep sink, it's still the exception.

Last kit I had a 60/40 with the 60 being large enough for all pans except a cookie sheet. I always had the 40 for prep and the occasional pan or knife that didn't go in the DW. This time I went with a large single, can lay a cookie sheet flat but I really miss having a clean area at all times. I don't bake a lot of cookies but I do a lot of prep of fresh veggie so for my needs the 60/40 worked better.

I have silgranite low divide as my only sink. My kitchen is an L with an island, one leg of the island is the stove, the other the sink, the stove is close to the corner though, only 15" out. The sink is across from the narrow edge of the island. I have the sink oriented with the small side closer to the stove. All dishes go into the DW or the big side. Small bowl is for prep, drying, etc.... Works great for me.
I do not have a disposal, I compost a lot and other stuff goes to rabbit, or chickens. If I had a disposal, I would want it on the big bowl because that is my "dirty" bowl.

We have one large single basin sink, first time users after a lifetime of doubles.

At first, my husband hated it. He wanted to separate out the dirty dishes from an empty sink. I loved it from the start, and devised a system for keeping "stuff" compartmentalized: I use a oblong, small but high plastic container (purchased in a restaurant supply store...don't know what they are called) for dirty utensils and super small stuff waiting to be washed or rinsed for the dishwasher. It sits out of the way from the rest if the sink, and under the sink in storage when not in use. We put our drain on a far side on purpose so we could partition the space out for whatever reasons. If I'm going to wash a small load of dishes, I pull out a little basin for use as I do the silverware. This system helps me always keep a clean basin.

The first time I could clean all my super large items in my sink was the day I knew I made the right choice. If I had a large kitchen, I could see the utility of having a little rinsing side sink with the garbage disposal.

In the end, I've learned that whatever I pick, I learn to maximize its benefits and work around its limits.

Have fun picking.

This post was edited by AnnaA on Sun, Jan 13, 13 at 23:08

Cathy- I have only one sink and it is the Blanco Performa 1-3/4 Medium. I have my garbage disposal in the smaller side. I use a cutting board that fits over the larger side of the sink. When I chop on the board, I can easily sweep the waste from the board right into the garbage disposal in the smaller bowl. My smaller bowl is on the right side. My dishwasher is to the right of the sink. When I clean up I go from left to right. After the food waste goes into the disposal, the dish is moved to the right into the dishwasher. Works great for me. I rarely have big amounts of gunk that needs to be cleaned out of the big side of my sink and put in the disposal so that is not an issue for me as some have mentioned. You need to just think about how you will be working in your kitchen and go with what suits that. Good luck with your decision

Single bowl with removable grid. I am a clean as I go person, but usually the dishes involve a bowl or pot and I will use that to plop/soak utensils and smaller items until I'm ready for final cleanup. I place that on the side of the sink furthest from my prep area. So I prep in the other half, often using a colander to catch odds and ends. The grid keeps everything above the floor of the sink so I can have gunk swirling beneath and out of the way.

I hated my single sink for about a week. Now, when I look at shallower subdivided sinks they just look ridiculous to me. I don't have to soak lasagna pans on the counter anymore, because you can't when they're tilted. I don't even get the point of low divide; it seems neither fish nor fowl.

I used to have a large old cast iron double sink before the kitchen renovation. I now have a large single with a bottom grid and I absolutely love it. Like Linelle, I kind of clean as I go, keeping dirty utensils and such on one side. Roasting pan now fits easily into the sink as do cookie sheets. I missed my double sink for a day or two as I figured out new ways to clean up, but the large single is so much more convenient for me. No garbage disposal and this is my only sink in the kitchen.

I agree with northcarolina on this. I have a 50-50 low divide (Elkay Aquadivide, I think it's about 33"). It's my only sink. I do have to tilt pans sometimes when scrubbing, but it's not a big deal. Most of the pan is within the walls of the sink, no matter how I wash it. Actually, when I scrub a pan with BKF or dish soap, it's usually the part that's out of the water, so a big sink full of water would defeat that purpose. I will admit that my sink is SS, and the center divide does show some scratches from the handles of pans rubbing as I scrubbed. I don't care. It's patina. If I need to soak a big pan, I fill it on the counter next to the sink, and this allows me to use the sink for washing other things. It's also not a big deal to scoop stuff over the divide into the disposal side. I really like my sink, and I find the low divide a big improvement over my old regular 50-50 sink. Having only one sink, I prefer having two sections. Like you, I read a lot about this when I was choosing, and I decided it's really personal preference. You need to think about how you use a sink.

I just went through this dilemma. I've had double sinks for years, not necessarily by choice. But I never felt they were so unlikeable to bother changing out just the sink.

I'm in the midst of a major remodel of my conventional 1970's era 2 story colonial, that included taking down most of the walls and completely reconfiguring the first floor into open space. Thus I had the luxury (challenge/insanity/obsession/2nd full time job - unpaid) of creating the kitchen space from scratch. After many many visits to various Fergusons, big box stores, little box stores, I decided to go single bowl. But I'm going BIG - 36". I wanted a farm sink so ended up choosing the Kohler Whitehaven. I was intrigued by the low divide concept, but didn't go that route simply because I couldn't find one in the look and configuration I wanted.

I spent a lot of time just thinking about how I cook and what my workflow is and will morph into, in the new space. I anticipate that there will be a period of adjustment in how I go about my cooking and sink routine. But I'm pretty excited about getting a 36" sink.

And if all else fails, I can at least use it to bathe the Labrador retrievers. Or perhaps I could pour in soil, vermiculite and vegetable seeds and call it raised bed gardening?

This post was edited by 3blackdogs on Mon, Jan 21, 13 at 23:20

Badgergal--thanks! I'm getting your same sink, so I have to make a decision but still have a few weeks.

My current single sink is not big or deep, so perhaps that's why others seem to have no problem with filling pots/pitchers while there are dishes in the sink. My current sink is about 21"w and 7" deep and I really dislike it.

I also do not want to have to have a plastic tub to put in the sink if I want to wash dishes with a filled tub. It's one more thing to store, and my cabinet space is at a premium. It's just not the way I like to work.

OP as you can see it really depends on how you use your kitchen. I know I will love my performa low divide sink! I can't wait to see it in person! My remodel may actually be starting in the next two weeks!!!

I just went from a double to a single that includes a smaller basin, cutting board and colander. So far I love it. Can't think of a single negative. I have it top mounted but as someone noticed American Standard said it can be undermounted if preferred.
Take a look on Lowe's site. Be sure to watch the video, read reviews and Q & A's.