Single bowl sinks are not for me. I have a 60/40 double sink and I love it! There is always one side clean and I do not have to wash dishes right away. I have the insinkerator 1 hp on the smaller side.

I've had a hard time with this decision also. Guess I still haven't really decided since I haven't pushed the 'order' button, but I did give measurements of a Kohler Smart Divide sink (3/4 + 1/4) to my cabinet guy.

I was leaning towards a single, but what clinched it for me was the double casement window I just installed above where the sink will go. If I had a single sink, I would be standing at the center of the window and staring at the center bar. Getting a double will be enough to offset my line of sight to a clear view. Dumb, I know. But the old double-hung had a bar in my line of sight and it drove me absolutely batty!

I compost all my scraps, so I can't help with your usage question. I have seen some people comment that they really like the grates because they "shorten" the bowl and don't have to lean over so much.

I have always had a double sink, either the equal bowls or the 3/4 + 1/4. We are a family of 6 so when I make a meal we always overflowed one side of the sink with dishes and pots or I'd have no place to put my skillets and pans so they'd line up on the counter. Both sides usually had dirty dishes in them.

With the remodel I decided to go with a large single basin and a right side drain (blanco diamond silgranite super single) and I am really, really loving the set up! I don't use a sink grate but we do have a disposal. I just stack dishes on the left in the sink and scrape/rinse into the drain on the right.

If I have a large item it fits in there as well and I just pull those out first to load into the dishwasher, that frees up the drain for the disposal. I love not having to stack my larger pots and pans on the counter in order to wash them. Even my biggest skillet fits in the sink FLAT and out of sight so I can soak it if need be.

I'm a double-bowl person. In our old kitchen, we had the standard 2-bowl, equal-sized sinks and I didn't like that either...they were too big to soak just silverware and too small for larger pans.

We now have the Ticor S405D with a large bowl (much larger than our old sink bowls) + 1 small bowl that's perfect for soaking silverware, etc.

I used it to it's full capacity last Saturday and discovered just how versatile it really is.

See the thread linked below for my "critique" of my sink!

HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: First Use of Baking Center & Marathon Baking Session!

Ma-bookreader--If you decide on a double bowl sink & can spare a couple more inches, you might want to step up to the Ticor S105-8. The large side is the same as the S105 but you get a larger 'small' sink with the S105-8.

I too am a double bowl person. I am going with the smaller sink on the left side with the disposal and the larger sink on the right. My window is off center from my sink and the smaller bowl on the left will help line up the faucet so it looks center. Does that make sense? I can relate to your situation.

Back to the bowls. I get a big box of produce and fruit each week because I am a member of community supported agriculture (CSA's--check them out they are great!). I put my dirty veggies on one side of the sink and the clean lettuce, etc., on the other side. Keeps my counters freed up so they are not soaked with water.

I also can put dirty dishes, pots, etc., on one side and still have the other side free. Also, if I have to put in water to soak something, I am not wasting water by filling up an entire big bowl. Even if I used another tub to soak things in, then where do I store it when not in use? I have "baby" kitchen. It is tiny and storage space is at a premium. If I have to use another container to soak things, I may as well have a divided sink!

I love, love, love the look of the single sinks, however, I know I am a double sink person.

I also have a double sink and would prefer a the look of a single in the remodel but really need the double. Example -- we have salads nearly every day. I put the large spinner in one side and fill it with water and let the greens get crisp. Meanwhile I have the other side to prep in. It's more convenient to leave filled spinner in the sink than to lift it out when filled. I keep wanting a big single but keep getting stopped as I watch myself prepare meals and clean up. I have a 32 inch porcelain coated iron sink installed in the 70's -- white -- and am thinking of keeping it in the remodel! I'm wondering if the current craze for apron sinks will abate and my "ugly" drop in white sink will come back in style. (?)

I went from a three-bowl sink to a single bowl, so I expected some difficulty getting used to it. There has been none. In fact, it is much more intuitive to use than my previous sink. I love my single bowl (I have the Ticor you're considering) and I have plenty of room for all the activities you describe. I don't need to remove the sink grate to dump things into the disposal because the hole in the grid is big enough to accommodate the scraps.

I will admit that I might not be as enthusiastic about the single bowl if I did not have a prep sink. With the prep sink, even if the main sink is loaded to the brim with dirty dishes, I still have a place to work. If you are going to have a prep sink, I would not hesitate to get the single bowl.

We went from a double to a large deep single and have not regretted it at all. The large single seems to hold so much more. We do not have a disposal though.

I love my new single bowl from mrdirectint. And, it cost only $109! Grate was a few $$ extra...maybe $20. (nice customer service and easy to work with...QUICK, too!) We also have an insinkerator. I use my largest pan or bowl for soap and water to wash everything else. The table scraps are a non-issue as everything wipes up with that last dish. IMO I think the benefits of a large single bowl outweigh the double bowl.

Here is a link that might be useful: MR Direct International

A big thank you to each of you who posted!

Buehl,
I checked out the sink you have and it's wider than my sink cabinet, so that one won't work for me. :-( I read about your baking marathon session. My new stove also has the option of convection baking and that is something else I need to learn about. It was good to read about your experience.

cilantro,
the sink you mention is also too big for my sink cabinet. I think that the S105 is the largest I can go, but I will be confirming this with my KD next week.

Mustbnuts
We were part of a CSA for several years and loved it also. We didn't renew this year because there we so many veggies that were part of the share that we were not eating (too many green leafy things for us). But I will really miss the Jersey tomatoes! I did wash my veggies in one side/bowl in my double sink. That feature is handy.

holligator,
thanks for giving my your thoughts on your sink grate. I keep wondering if I will be constantly having to lift it out of the way when I need to clean up the sink/rinse the kitchen scraps into the insinkerator.

Old1880home,
Your sink looks lovely. I went to the site you posted and I did run into a problem. Several of the sinks I clicked on could not be shown. Even your sink I could not get to on that site.

Thanks again everyone! Decision #562!

This has been discussed over and over and over again on this forum so I'll just remind you that you can always make a single sink into a double with a basin, but you can't make a double into a single. Obviously, I have a single...put it in last year and I'd never had a single sink before. I would NOT go back to a double...EVER. I have 3 kids and there are always dishes to be washed but I've not had any trouble at all with having a single sink. LOVE it.

I prefer the big single. Especially when dismantling the fridge and rangetop for cleaning. Those big chunks o' appliance just can't fit into a double. Or be rinsed without a flood. (I am the only one who ever says this. Don't others swamp their kitchen everytime they wash out a fridge vegetable drawer in a double sink? Maybe I'm just klutzy..)

I also do not AT ALL miss herding the garbage scraps from one side to the other endlessly. And the water spashing back up from hitting that sink divider? Don't get me started... I hated that double. Hated it.

rmlanza,
I also have not had a single sink and so I'm having trouble imagining exactly how it will work out for me. I've only ever had those horrible double sinks (both sides of equal sizes) and I know that I don't want another one.

celticmoon,
Excellent point about how a single sink can fit large items. I do need to clean my new stove grates and they are quite big (each one covers two burners - and I have a 5 burner stove).

Thanks again.

I don't know how I forgot about cleaning the fridge! OMG, yes I HATED that task too because I'd have water all over my counters. No matter how careful I was it just seemed to flood!

Funny, I just cleaned my fridge yesterday, while scrubbing/soaking/rinsing the parts in my large single bowl sink, Ikept thinking to myself, "I'll have to post about this on GW when people ask about single vs. double bowls...nobody ever mentions cleaning the fridge!" :-) And now I've been beaten to the punch line.

My husband also brings his grill racks from his assorted grills (gas grill, charcoal Weber, and Brinkman smoker) into the house to clean. THAT is a messy big bowl job, and it's annoying when I'm trying to prep fruits/vegs at the same time. (I should tell him to take them down to the laundry sink; those grates are so gross and messy!).

One of my biggest kitchen pet peeves is sinks w/out a disposal. Yikes, I hate cleaning out the leftover food scraps out of the drain side of a double bowl sink...ick! I think we're going to go w/ a big single in the remodel, and I'm going to try to add a prep sink (also w/ a disposal). We compost and so I don't put much down the disposal, but it's just nice not to have to clean out the gucky wet old food from that drain.

Thanks chrissiemw and scootermom for the validation on washing fridge chunks. Seriously, every other time I've said that, it's been met with a big honking nada.

Left me thinking I was some kind of clean freak for washing fridge chunks. Or, that I need to have a LOT more money and leave that task to a cleaning service, LOL.

We put in granite countertops and a new sink about a month ago. We bought the sink from the granite place, so I have no idea of its make. Can the grates be bought from a place like Lowe's or Home Depot? Is the grate supposed to help keep the bottom of the sink from getting scratched?