When most people think of double-bowl sinks they think of the ones with both bowls the same size...and I have to agree that those aren't that useful (unless both bowls are really big...but that would mean a 48" sink base or so!) However, today there are a lot of other options for double-bowl sinks. Most of us who still prefer a double-bowl sink have unequal sized bowls. My sink, for example, has one bowl 21-3/8" x 18-3/4" x 9" and the other bowl is 10-1/2" x 15-7/8" x 7". I can fit my largest cookie sheet, my largest frying pan + handle, roasting pans/racks, refrigerator bins, and refrigerator shelves in my large bowl. I don't hand wash oven racks so they're not an issue. Whether a double- or single-bowl sink is right for you depends on how you use your sink. Do you cleanup as you go along so there are never any dirty dishes in the sink so you would not have an issue with trying to prep in a sink full of dirty dishes? Does only one person usually use the kitchen at a time so there's no competition for a sink? Do you have a separate prep sink? Do you only have room for a small sink base in your kitchen (generally If yes to all of the above, then you may very well be fine with a single-bowl sink. However, if you frequently have a sink full of dirty dishes or if more than one of you work in the kitchen at the same time (especially if one is cleaning up while the other preps or cooks) and you only have one sink in the kitchen, then think carefully about single- vs double-bowl sinks. Yes, you can put a dishpan in a single bowl sink, but then you have to find a place to store that dish pan when not in use...and they're not small. You also have to make room in the sink for the pan when it comes time to use it. If you leave it in the sink all the time...then maybe there's a reason (perhaps you really do need a small bowl on a regular basis). In our home, we frequently have 2 or more people working in the kitchen at one time. We do have a prep sink, so to some degree that issue is taken care of. However, then we analyzed how we did the dishes (or, should I say, how my DH does the dishes!). We realized that he likes to have one bowl to stack dirty dishes and/or soak pans and still have a bowl open for other uses like washing hands, soaking utensils, etc. It made sense to us to stick w/a double-bowl sink. In particular, my DH didn't want to have to find room in a sink for a dishpan once dirty dishes started stacking up (there's no way asking everyone to corral dirty dishes in only one part of a single-bowl would work) and he didn't want to have to deal with emptying it...it's a lot easier to just pull out a strainer. In the end, it's really how you use your sink. I will say this, if you cannot fit at least a 33" sink base in your kitchen, then I think a single-bowl is probably better since even the larger of unequal sized bowls in a smaller sink base probably won't be big enough. I would aim for at least one bowl to be around 20" wide (or greater). But, you don't want the small bowl to be so small that it's useless. I wouldn't go for anything less than 10" or so. HTH & good luck!

I have a Franke VNX160. It fits a 36in cabinet and has 2 bowls in a 2/3-1/3 configuration. The big side is large enough to soak the grates from the cooktop. The small side is large enough to rinse veggies, drain pasta and the like. My old double bowl was a PITA. It was about the same size as the Franke but had 2 equal bowls. Neither was big enough to soak anything large. I think there are 2 factors to consider. The first is how wide a sink can your space accommodate. If the sink base cabinet is less than 30in, you should probably go with a single bowl. The bowls in a double bowl will likely be too small. If the sink base is 33in or larger, you might want to consider a double bowl with the 2/3-1/3 arrangement. Take your casserole to the store to see if it fits. But when push comes to shove, just choose what *you* want since *you* have to live and work with it.

We're pre-reno so we handwash everything right now with a small single-bowl sink, but I imagine our system will stay roughly the same with the new bigger sink and d/w (except less washing, yay!) - Dirty dishes on counter to left of sink; drainer to right, and always out. I really don't mind having a dish drainer out---they make some teeny tiny fold-up ones now!---but with a bigger sink it would be easy enough to put it in there, too. - Sponge and brushes on little plastic tray-thingy sitting behind sink (but likely switching to an in-sink solution once we have a bigger sink---lots of handy ones out there). - To wash dishes, we wet a sponge and add a little soap; wash dish; place in bottom of sink and repeat until there are enough clean soapy dishes in sink to rinse. Rinse and put in drying rack. For a lot of dishes (dinner party, etc.) it's basically the same process, but with someone drying or with a towel laid out on clean counter to add extra drying space. Main disadvantage: Dirty dishes pile up on counter if no one's washed recently. (We tend to wash either just after dinner or before breakfast, so if we miss a day we end up with extra dishes.) Dishwasher and a bigger sink would probably solve this, though. Also recently saw a wall-mounted dish drainer from IKEA at some friends' home. Very awesome---just folds up flat against the wall when it's not in use. I'm going to explore this as a solution post-reno (although you would still need an area of counter underneath it that could take some drips).

This topic of single vs. double bowl has been discussed A LOT on this forum. Do a search for threads, and you'll be reading for quite some time. I've linked one below. There's no right or wrong answer, it's just a matter of personal cooking style. I myself have a large rectangular single bowl, and wouldn't do anything else, but I know there are plenty of people who wouldn't have anything but a double-bowl. As to the drain, just make sure to get a sink with an "offset drain", which comes in both single and double bowl styles. An offset drain is set to the back or to the rear corner (rather than the center), so that you can set pans down without covering the drain. It also gives you more room under the sink for storage, especially if you have a disposal. If the drain is offset, you won't have the plumbing and disposal right in the middle of your base cabinet interfering with your storage. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Single vs. Double Bowl Sink