We have a window over our sink with a bump-out about the size you describe (ours might be a tad larger). I really like it. It's a great place to put the dish soap & hand soap (in attractive bottles) and a rosemary plant. Our kitchen faces south so herbs like it there. Are you looking at casement, awning, or double hung for the sides that open? Casement might be easier to crank out as opposed to leaning out to lift a lower sash. I love double hung windows but just think that arrangement would be likely to piss off my back, and it gets vengeful too easily.

I was in Klaff's today -- a very pricey showroom with beautiful stuff -- and I noticed that sinks with lights under the upper cabinets above the sink make it very bright and cheerful. I don't think I'd miss a window if the lighting were bright enough. I've also seen plate racks over sinks that are functional as well as nice-looking. I'm having a really hard time centering my sink and windows because of my layout and was thinking that having to have your sink centered there really removes a lot of flexibility in your planning. As someone mentioned above, putting a prep area under the window might be nicer. Do you really look out the window when you're cleaning up?

Thanks for the comments. nutbunch - our countertops are 3 cm thick. I haven't thought of laminate. Will look into that. petra_granite - in retrospect I would have loved to use the contertop granite on the bay window area. We even had it measured at the time, but it would have raised the base of the bay window too high making it impossible to turn the handle of the window to open it. remodelfla - I like the idea of glass inserts with ceramic tile. But it is still hard for me to visualize the front edge of the bay window as it turns down to the wall behind the sink. The contrasting color I'd like to bring out from the granite is the deep red or brown. bill_vincent - very nice picture. Hadn't thought of that contrast idea. My window is lower down that the one pictured - mine is about 5 inches up from the countertop. Do you think if I framed the bottom window with wood trim molding that it would get too wet from water at the sink? I know I could put lots of coats of paint, but is that enough protection? Is there another material to use to frame a window when there is a water source nearby? Thank you.

Joseph - please elaborate on your comment. Mrs. S - the casing in the middle of the prep area seems like it would be nice to avoid, but not mandatory. Instead of the 2 sliders you mentioned, I did it up (computer) with three 42" windows. Slightly smaller than my original, but everything would line up. There would be approx 18" on the ends (where I'd rarely be at) without a window which would work for me. I had tried 48" windows long before but didn't like it, but the 42" works for me. I was thinking casements would be better than sliders but I'm not really sure how much I'd be opening these windows up anyway. Cpartist - I'm hearing a strong concensus that the other windows don't really matter. Having the windows somewhat cohesive seemed needed since the area would be completely open. Sounds like I'm in the minority there.