No regrets. At. All. Love the single, but I think I love undermounting even better.

I adore our single bowl sink, but then again, I've always despised every double bowl sink I've ever had. I simply never used one half of the sink. Ever. So I essentially have been living with a 15" sink and just graduated to a 36". I'm a happy, happy girl now. I think I actually giggled the first time I set down a roasting pan to soak and it actually fit in the sink.

1908, just went from a double to a single bowl sink. The jury's still out for me. I figure I will get used to it and love it. Maybe. It just seems so cavernous (even at a mere 30") and deep. It feels like a stadium. I think the deepness is what I find awkward. That and splashing. But I do love the undermount.

Much as I love the look of a large single bowl, I went with a Rohl Allia 1/3 2/3 sink. The large side is big enough to accommodate my largest pan or cookie sheet. The smaller side is perfect for washing vegetables, submerging spinach and strawberries or washing something small. We live in an area where water shortages are common and I couldn't live with the idea of putting 3-4 inches of water in a large single bowl sink to clean produce. So chose the double and still like it. Wish I had not bought the drainer... got carried away. It was a waste of money. But the cutting board is very useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: My double bowl sink

Changing from a double bowl sink to a single bowls was easily the most difficult decision I made in my remodel. I spoke at length with Dino Rachiele, owner of a custom sink company in Florida, several times. He has studied the ergonomics of kitchen sinks for years. His explanations were compelling enough for me to take the plunge. Now that I have my beautiful, and functional, single bowl sink, I am so glad. It turned out to be the best part of the kitchen remodel. I suggest you call him and discuss the option. He is easy to talk to and not pushy, however he is quite opinionated. He seems more interested in sharing design ideas than he is in selling a sink. With all that said, the actual usability of the sink is far better than any explanation could be. I can now do all my food prep inside the sink instead of next to the sink. I got one of their "Smarter" sinks. It has interior ledges which allow me to place a copper drain grid and my cutting board inside the sink to use as additional work space. My counters stay clean and all the mess stays in the sink. Our sink gas a right rear drain so I can wash all those cookie sheets inside the sink without covering the drain. That is a first! Here is the best part. My husband and my kids actually enjoy doing the dishes. Hard to believe a sink could change the dynamics of our kitchen so much. Also, I live on the East coast and called one evening around 9pm to leave a message. He called back in 5 minutes. Fear not. A single bowl sink can be a great adventure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Single bowl sinks

I am going in baby steps. I am getting the Blanco cascade - so one drain but a slightly higher ledge - so I can do some prep on the ledge, but when I need a full-size sink, I can fill it a couple inches and use the whole thing.
If I had room for a prep sink, I would have gone with one bowl, but unfortunately, just not enough space....
It will take some getting used to it - realizing that I only have one hole and need to plan a bit in advance... but I am betting you can teach this "old" dog, some new tricks! Good luck.

Had a variety of double sinks my entire life till now. We went to a 36" single bowl. I will never ever have anything but a single bowl again. First, cause I don't plan on ever moving!...but if we did do another kitchen; a single bowl it will be.

I have had single, double and triple bowls throughout my kitchen experience and for me, nothing beats a single bowl.

I've just begun my third kitchen reno and I'll be putting in a single bowl, right rear drain soapstone sink to replace the triple bowl POS Kohler that currently destroys any semblance of cleanup and washing function.

A single allows you to easily wash half-sheet baking trays, turkey platters and the grandkids.

I will not gladly work in a kitchen without one.

I wanted doubles but ended up buying places with singles. I'm not fond of them, but they are necessary if you don't have a lot of room.

In a single sink, you always end up prepping on top of dirty dishes. And you can't hand wash properly. I'm not persuaded by the arguments for a single, since I could wash cookie sheets and baking pans just fine without one.

Single bowl is so much better than the old double. We replaced a large porcelain-iron double with a Shaw's single 30. Even my DH who had not liked the idea of going from the double to the single has said that the single is so much better.

Only wish had gone with the 36 instead of the 30. But the 30 is fine.

Yes, I'm also a dissenter.

I tend to stack dishes in the sink to do when I'm finished. I can't prep in there.
Plus, I've always found things stacked in the sink tended to slide towards the drain, so I was always pushing them back.

I know my habits, so I'm pleased with my Kohler, 'Hawthorne' double bowl, undermount (LOVE THAT) apron sink. Just wish the bowls were deeper and wider for pans. Didn't know to look at that when I bought it.

I'm learning with sinks? bigger is better.

marcolo, I tend to agree with you. I had a (relatively) shallow double bowl sink and managed to wash cookie sheets (which never need more than a rinse) and lasagna pans without reducing me to tears. Yes, they got washed at an angle, then flipped to do the other end. If anything needed a soak, it was on the counter. Unsightly, yes, for a minute or two.

sayde, if 30" seems enormous to me now, I can't imagine the vastness of 36". :) Anyway, the jury's out for me. I'm in a finding-fault mode with everything new in my kitchen. I'm hoping it's just a natural reaction to change and I will snap out of it. While I think a deep single bowl sink is sexy, I'm not convinced it's as functional as my old twin bowl.

we did the reverse. went from a single bowl to a double bowl (low divide). and we love it! it was the right choice for us b/c we hand wash all of our dishes. so we desperately needed the other bowl to rinse the dishes. the low divide allows us to wash cookies sheet and large pans with no problem.

Wow, great input. I'm glad I'm thinking about this now, don't like change so this gives me time to adjust if we do decide to switch.
It sounds like more people like the single bowl, although the folks who like the double bowl like it for the same reasons I like mine. Lots to think about.
This forum is great!!!
(lol, wash the grandkids)

LOVE my single bowl. I had always had a double bowl but both sides were always filled with dishes and I was always trying to train the DH to put dirty dishes on the side without the disposal so I could still wash off dishes.

I am SOOOOO happy with the single bowl. It can fit two days worth of dishes. I have a grate so no worries about running stuff down the drain with a sink full of dishes. We also have a pull down spray faucet which I think is a must have with the single bowl so you can easily clean it and reach every corner. I have the 36'' and would not want anything smaller. I can fit my crock pot, cookie sheets and anything else I want to in it. IMO a double bowl is useless.

I guess I am also a dissenter. Six yrs ago we built this house (i was here) and I used the Shaw 36". There are times when I want to have a sink full of sudsy water and it takes forever to fill up this sink. It is beautiful, and I do love being able to sit any sort of dirty cooking vessel in it to soak. But, this sink frustrates me. For me, it's too big. Do love the under mount.

We are building again. This time I've got my eye on the Shaw 40" double bowl, with a 24" large side. It is not as pretty, but still big enough to bathe grand babies in.

I think our kitchen habits play a huge part in our preferences. jamiecrok likes that two days' worth of dishes will fit in the sink. Holy carp! I can barely tolerate two dishes sitting there for 5 minutes. They either get washed immediately or put in the DW. I'm not a particularly fastidious person EXCEPT in the kitchen (recovering slob). So I don't need the sink to hide things. Also, I have two very naughty kittens who would be in the sink eating food residue.

I see a plastic bowl in my future.

I went from top mount to undermount and love the change. I find it very easy to clean around the sink area. Being short the extra depth is great and not a back killer. I opted for sink grids and didn't realize how much all of us, including DH, would love them. Also, will you have a prep sink? If so, I think a single bowl clean up works well. I went with a 60/40 double b/c I'd never had a prep sink. Knowing what I know now I would have done a 33" cabinet (instead of 36") with a single bowl clean up sink. The extra three inches for my dish drawers or vertical storage would have been welcomed.

Think about your sink usage and figure out what works best for you. A 70/30 split might be a nice compromise if it's your only sink. If you go with 2 bowls you'll have to figure out where the disposal will work best for you. I've always had it in the big bowl but I know other GW folks prefer it in the smaller bowl.

Linelle, I found myself agreeing with your initial post about having the double sink and not having a problem washing cookie sheets and the like. Then I got to your second post, and was agreeing again! I have no idea what size my sink is (original to the house, builder-grade double sink) but the bowls are equal in size. Dishes go in the dishwasher as soon as we use them and on rare occasion, something might sit in the sink to soak. I actually use one side of my sink as a dish drainer for things that don't go in the dishwasher. I prefer not to have a real dish drainer for two reasons, I don't really have room on my counter and I prefer not to have to see the drying pots/pans anyway (I suppose I could dry them with a towel, but usually I don't and put them away later). I also use that side for defrosting meats - fill it with water for quick defrosting of meats. The other side has the disposal, so I use that side for food prep and clean up.

I'm also a clean up as you go type of person, and can't stand when dh is cooking and he has a mess of dirty dishes everywhere if I'm trying to help. If we didn't have that second bowl to place his dirty stuff while I'm prepping something else, it would drive me berserk. Not enough room on our counters to store the dirty stuff while also trying to cook/prep.

My parents have a deep large single bowl sink and it drives me nuts. It's too deep for me (I'm short, though my mom is only 4'11" so I don't know how she stands it). Plus if something is soaking, it gets in the way - water splashing out of it - when trying to use the sink for other stuff. Food bits that are meant to go down the disposal get stuck on the outer corners of the sink.

So true that it's all in what we are used to. When we redo our kitchen, I plan on having a double sink again, though I'll be looking for something that is a little deeper and has the low divide. I'd love to have a second sink for prepping, but don't think our kitchen is big enough to accommodate that. My mom, however, thinks I'm crazy to want another double sink. She hates mine b/c she can't seem to figure out how to wash a cookie sheet (really not that difficult, Mom!).

fourkids4us, we're def. in agreement on this. I also clean as I go. My mother is somewhere smiling and saying, see, I trained you well.

I usually wash pots and pans by hand, plus the odd dish or two, and let them drain on a rack on the counter. I thought I'd use one side of the sink for that, thanks to the grid (still deciding whether I love it or hate it). But, due to lack of separation between sides, every time I use the splashy faucet, the dishes drying get wet.

Another First World problem. :)

Count me in as a double bowl lover. We have a very small kitchen w/ limited counter space. We are a clean-up as you go house-hold due to that lack of countertop real estate. The dish drainer lives full time in the second bowl. This allows me to prep or wash in the open side and use the protected side at the same time. If we went to a single bowl � sure, I�d have a few more inches of counter space � but those inches and more would be taken up by a drain towel or dish drainer. And then I�d have to find space for the drainer, too! I cook twice a day (we work from home) from scratch and don�t use the dishwasher for pots, pans or bake ware. There is always something getting rinsed all day long � so there would always be draining items on the counter.

We�ve rented vacation houses w/ single bowl kitchens and that is what has confirmed our opinion that one just wouldn�t work for us. I never have problems washing the broiler pan or cookie sheets in our smaller double bowl. Oh � and we don�t have a garbage disposal � we have a compost heap.

You'll always get conflicting opinions on this matter - so just go w/ what you think you'll be most comfortable with. If I had a larger kitchen w/ more counter space - I'd still go w/ a double bowl. It would just be a much larger double bowl! ;)

Glad I found this discussion as DH and I are of different opinions as which sink is best. He insists we have a double bowl as we wash most of our dishes by hand and will only use the dishwasher for large loads ( didn't have one in our last house) but will in the new one we are going to build. I really wanted a 30" single bowl fireclay or cast iron apron front sink. He wants a double stainless which I think will look out of place in our house which I am leaning towards country or farmhouse as it is in the country. Does anyone have a stainless 60/40 or 70/30 apron front sink they can show me pictures of? Do you like it? Also Funnysunny where did you find your sink with the low divide and what size is it? Also Owls4me what are sink grids and can you tell me what sink you have that is 60/40? Thanks

Speaking of grandkids and single-bowl sinks...

I really like the large single-bowl sink (as I've said several times lately, lol). I hand wash most of my large items--baking pans, mixing bowls, and cooking pots, and to conserve water, I just fill the largest pot with sudsy water, then work my way down. (Mixing bowl with dirty wash-water in sink, sorry.) I use a plastic container to 'boost' the utensil a couple of inches, for my back's sake.

My old dish drainer fits in one side of the sink, and a cutting board rests easily on the back reveal and front edge, for prepping or providing more counter space.

I don't have a lot of splashing--I made sure that the faucet reach lined up with the drain. SS does show spots, but that doesn't bother me . . . much. :)

Love our new single bowl. Much better than the old double, for us. However, I wish I could have chosen one that slopes toward the drain. Ours is practically flat (had few choices as we were replacing a previous sink but needed to use the same cut-out). I have and like the sink grid. Because the sink is so large and flat, it takes quite a bit of spraying (or lifting out the grid and wiping) to get bits of food to go down the drain. Our sink looks messy without frequent clean-up.

1908- sorry for the slight hi-jack.
kwarner16- I've attached the info from my sink below. It's not a farmhouse sink. You can also see the grids in this picture. I just load them into the DW each time I run it. I'm a customer of this website, nothing more.

Here is a link that might be useful: sink link

Currently have a 60/40 double bowl which drives me bananas...but am looking forward to my new 35" kohler vault series apron front, undermount, low divide sink! Best of both worlds for us and our cleaning style.

@kwarner16: we went the low divide from mr direct. I've linked the website. It's 33.5 inches wide and 50/50. Ticor, blanco & kohler also make low divides. we were leaning towards the ticor bc we liked the height of their divide, but it was out of stock. In the end, we are very pleased w our choice. No complaints.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mr Direct low divide sink

I don't regret it for a second. I will NEVER GO BACK unless I can have two full size sinks.

1908 Sorry for the slight Hi-Jack. Thanks Owls4me and Funnysunny. I will post it over on it's own.

I just got a stainless single bowl (I think 30 in.). The jury is still out, but I definitely didn't enjoy washing large items in the old double bowl. A low divide would probably be a good compromise, but I couldn't find one to see in person. Anyway, the undermount is great! It actually gives me an extra inch or two of counterspace that the drop-in sink used to take up. I do worry about the soapstone around the sink and potentially messing it up by knocking against it.

It's not really hijacking, all of this is great info!
I have my disposal in the small side, so have been worried that I'll accidentally have a small utensil fall in if it's in the single bowl - but the idea of a basket or some container for utensils would be fine.
It does sound about even, people who love the single and who love the double. Ponder time. I don't think any of my friends have a single bowl to try out!!
*love the grandchild in the sink!

I struggled with the change, too, but I will never go back to a double sink again. Never, never, never.

linelle I can barely tolerate two dishes sitting there for 5 minutes. They either get washed immediately or put in the DW.

I am the same way and for the same reasons. Hi five!

I am strongly considering the Blanco 60/40 low divide granite composite sink. Anyone have one? Any regrets, or do you love it?

So much depends on how you use a sink.

For me, a big single sink has effectively doubled the workspace available. The combination of a good sprayer faucet and the big grid that sits an inch above the sink base makes it easy to do things there at once without mess.

I should say that there's no garbage disposal here. We're in the country, and compost (non-meat) food scraps.

Dishes and glasses go in the dishwasher; the main things cleaned in the sink are pots and pans.

I have a 60/40 double sink, and a 24" single sink. They are both great for different reasons. If I could only have one, I'd go with the double for the same reasons others have given, as well as the fact that with DH in the kitchen so much, it would never work without a side of the double for each of us to use.

Anne

We went from equal-size doubles which we loathed, to a Blanco Silgranit Diamond Supersingle (with the right-side drain), which we LOVE (probably my favorite part of the kitchen.) We considered a 1/3 2/3 split double, with the garbage disposal in the small (prep) side, but my husband pointed out that, whichever side the disposal was in, our boys would end up dumping stuff in the wrong side and we'd be scooping the strainer out all the time. Ok, that's a teenager-training issue, but I pick my battles. I also like that the sink hides dishes -- when we're running out the door to school and work in the morning, I don't have time to wash every breakfast dish, so in they go. It is, ultimately, a matter of how your family uses a sink, but we will NEVER go back to a double. HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: Blanco Diamond Supersingle

I would love to see pics of a sink with one really large side and one smaller side, if anyone has that.

Jgs-- your sink looks cool too. Can you post a pic?

Thanks.

red lover, I bought the blancowave sink in the link for my pending remodel. Got a deal on ebay, so went ahead and bought it. After just looking at it lying there in the box for a few weeks whispering to me how much I would like to be using it, I finally caved and jerry-rigged an installation in the non-remodeled kitchen over the weekend. (It is an undermount sink, I have laminate counters, it is supposed to need a 42" sink base, I have 36 inches, the hole in the counter for the existing sink was totally the wrong size and shape, blah blah whatever. watch me make it work anyway). So far, I love it. The large side is big enough to hold my largest baking sheet, roasting pan, or largest skillet with handle; the small side is still big enough for a colander or stockpot. This is what I was doing with it Sunday.
{{!gwi}}From January 26, 2012

Here is a link that might be useful: blancowave 42 double