If cleanup sink in island--too messy?

15 years ago

I'm considering a layout in which I convert a 2-level peninsula to an island (to change U-shape kitchen to more open plan). The kitchen is open to the family room.

Currently that's where the main sink and DW are located, and I like the location because cleaning up is more fun facing outward to the FR. The current bi-level design sort of hides stuff, but since you walk past the area all the time, it really isn't "hidden".

I don't really want to flip the cooking area with the cleanup area due to expected costs of moving plumbing, etc, but could consider that. A further problem would be that if I put the range in the island, I would want a range hood, and that would have to be installed in the ceiling and tend to block vision into the FR. Also, as I said, I think I spend more time at the sink, either for cleanup or for food prep or for things needed during actual cooking time than I do at the stove itself, so I like the orientation.

I'm also more in favor of one-level island at counter height so that it can in fact be easily accessed and used from all sides (which is the whole point, to allow circulation through the kitchen area instead of the current claustrophobic U . I found the higher level "bar" was never used as we thought it might be. I think I will find the single-level much more friendly and gives more usable surface area. At this point in family life, I need only have space for one or maybe 2 people to perch at the island (allow an older relative to sit while helping with food prep, or one spouse or kid to sit and chat--don't need to use it for eating or seating a large group as the breakfast/dining table is just a few steps away, as is the upholstered seating in the FR)so I can have just part of it done with overhang.

Currently I have a divided sink, and have not found that helpful--it just breaks up the space in which you could place dishes or pots and so is not as good use of space. In my new plan, I would have a large single-bowl sink. My "hope" would be that we would be able to place all dirty dishes in the sink, if not in the empty dishwasher, so the island wouldn't be a total disaster.

My kitchen counters and sink area are now pretty cluttered so that I don't see how it could look any worse, but...

What has been your experience with having the cleanup center in the island, in terms of fighting dishes and clutter on the island?

Featured Answer

boysrus2

15 years ago

I have one sink in my kitchen and it's in the island along with the dishwasher and I'm pleased with this set-up. I can look out to my family room and also watch t.v. if I desire while washing dishes. I have a 10" deep single bowl sink. I chose a Franke Orca because of the optional ss shelf grid for drying dishes. The shelf grid rests half way down the sink on the right side. Even with dishes drying on the grid, most are still sitting below countertop level and not unsightly. Anything not hand washed and on the shelf grid goes immediately in the dishwasher.

The only suggestion I would make is have countertop on both sides of your sink if your island size will accommodate it. Mine is installed almost flush to the left side of my island and occasionally I splash water on the floor. I couldn't fit my layout any other way.

Here's a partial picture of the kitchen which shows the island.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

nuccia
15 years ago
My clean-up sink is not in my island, but what I can contribute is that a large, deep sink hides a lot of "sins." I have a 21x18 D shape 10 inch deep Elkay sink that is large enough to hold my frying pans, and half sheet cookie pans flat. The sink depth hides the mess until I can get to it. The 10" depth may give you back problems if you are tall; I'm 5'6" and it sometimes bothers me.

You might consider also a 4-6 inch high raised section, with just enough overlap to visually block most of the rest of the mess. Power outlets or plugmold could be incorporated into it.
gw_monkeyjac
15 years ago
My main sink and dishwasher are in my island. I have a large deep single bowl sink and it holds a huge amount of dirty dishes and pans. The sink is deep enough that you don't even see them in there when sitting at the island. I don't have any trouble with clutter at all. I can clean up while facing guests sitting at the island and I can view the TV in the FR while at the sink. I love having the clean up sink in the island.
Related Discussions
Mesquite bean/pod cleanup - tips or tricks?
Q
Comments (22)
I know this post is old but I am new to the forum and rooting around for tips and tricks myself for various things so I thought I'd chime in. We just spent the ENTIRE morning raking and hand picking mesquite seed pods up off the ground in our front yard. Now my husband is attempting to get the rest with our leaf blower. I am with the fellow who first responded - I should have just spent five minutes every day picking up what dropped. I would love to have spent my Saturday morning doing something else! Love the shade the tree provides my yard and home here in Phoenix though. Oh, and we also have a mesquite AND palo verde that some previous owner thought would be awesome to plant by our pool. Ugh...
...See More
Cleanup during and after construction - what is reasonable?
Q
Comments (21)
I'll have to say my GC and all the subs were very good about cleaning up each day. I had asked my GC during the bid if I could save money by doing the clean-up myself but he said not really. The job took much longer than the hours it was bid at and we didn't pay a dime extra. They just worked until it was done to our satifaction. We paid $300 (in our contract) for a dumpster that was in our driveway for 6 weeks and he even asked if we were done with it before having it removed. I provided drinks, snacks and cookies for all the workers and they never left their debris anywhere. All smoking was done outside in the drive and they always put the butts in the dumpster. They would even ask my permission before using a trash can or my shop vac if they forgot theirs. I was very pleased with how the work site was left every day since we obviously live here, too. After reading this, I guess I should feel equally blessed at how neat they were!! This GC had done our roof and gutters 3 yrs before and I remember one of the workers crawling around the house picking up nails :) BTW, I'm in Indy if anyone needs a referral for a GC!!
...See More
Getting the clean-up zone right: please help place 2 Dishwashers
Q
Comments (28)
Carol, What I was trying to say is that there maybe different ways of 'centeralizing' the sink if that is a desired feature to make things look right for you. I gave three different ways just as examples. First one is to look at the sink and the two DWs as a whole, then the tendency is to put the sink in the middle and one DW on eitheir side. The backsplashed section reinforced this idea somewhat. Second one is to align the sink with the island. Aligning central line of sink with that of the island may not be feasible. But the option B has the sink right edge aligned with that of the island pretty well. Third one is to take that whole wall including the corner section as a reference (which I estimated to be about 9ft wide). Then I realized that the sink in option A is already at center position. To pursue that idea, you may need to consider how to place the high cabinets to make it look right. I think there may be a good opportunity there as there is a large window there. If you can expose the front side of the corner and tie it to the rest of the wall, i.e., the corner food storage cabinet opens downward, and there is no ceiling height high cabinet between the window and the food storage, it may work out OK. I am not very clear about the vertical arrangement of the cabinets and what is why I said 3D arrangement of the cabibnets to acheive the concept and 3D rendering to examine how it look like would be helpful if you like to see more in the line of ahieving Option A DWs side by side with sink still being at a central location. Hope that explains what I meant better. Sorry for writing so long but I don't know how to describe it concisely. JF
...See More
Kitchen Island too big?
Q
Comments (20)
The minimum recommended overhang for seating: Table-height (30" off the floor) - 18" Counter-height (36" off the floor) - 15" (no, not 10" or even 12") Bar-height (42" off the floor) - 12" (but with an 18-inch surface to minimize knocking things off the surface and down to the lower counter or floor) Overhang means "clear leg/knee space" -- after accounting for cabinets and decorative doors/end panels on the cabinets The only time less might be OK is if you and your entire family are very short and have short legs. The minimum is for average height. In fact, if anyone is tall in your family or has long legs, deeper is better. With an island 48" deep, you should have room for at least 15" of overhang. Don't skimp! (Skimping does not "save" aisle space, people just stick out into the aisle farther and they're uncomfortable if they are seated for more than a few short minutes.) For seating, keep in mind that you need at least 2 linear feet (or 24 linear inches) for each seat. If you want 4 seats, that means 8' (96"). Another consideration...your Cleanup Zone is in your island. That means dirty dishes will be "in the face" of anyone sitting at the island. If you reduce it to only 3' deep, it will be even worse. Prep Zone...your Prep Zone is in the island, on the non-DW side of the sink. You don't have very much workspace as it is. Reducing the island to 7' will make it even worse. Finally, with the small amount of prep space you have, you don't want to be juggling prep dishes/tools while trying to prepare a meal, which may very well happen if you reduce the island to only 36" deep. Bottom line: I recommend sticking with the 4' x 8' island size. You appear to have enough space for a 4' depth and still have room around the island for 48" aisles, so leave it as-is. Regarding the aisle between the island and range wall...because you have the range and DW overlapping and the sink across from the range, you should have at least a 48-inch aisle between the range handles and the island counter edge. That will help minimize the conflict with the DW and range and, hopefully, minimize accidents when trying to use the range while the DW is open as well as minimize collisions when someone is working at the sink while someone else is working at the range. Speaking of aisles, aisles are measured to/from the items sticking out the farthest -- appliance handles, counter edges, etc. They are NOT measured to/from cabinets. The 24" depth for a cabinet only includes the box -- it does not include door/drawer fronts, counter overhangs (~1.5"), appliances, etc. This means the aisles are incorrectly measured if they are measured to/from cabinets, as appears to be the case for you. If that's the case, then in reality, your aisles are at least 3" narrower than shown. So, that 48" aisle is really only 43.5", too narrow with the range and DW overlapping and the sink across from the range. (48" - 1.5" island overhang - 1.5" perimeter counter overhang - another 1.5" or so for the range's handle that sticks out past the counters = 43.5" (if the handles stick out farther, then the aisle will be even narrower).) I'm assuming the layout is finalized and cannot be changed with regards to cabinetry, fixtures (sink), and appliances. Is that really a 24" wide range? Is the refrigerator a built-in refrigerator as opposed to a counter-depth?
...See More
Frankie_in_zone_7
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you, nuccia and monkeyjac! I was hoping that sink size and style would in fact be part of the solution.

Also, we are getting to be sort of empty-nesters, so that DH and I will be more "in control" of the flow of stuff in the kitchen, compared to having teenagers and constant after-school/late night snacks, school supplies everywhere (until grandkids, maybe!). That doesn't mean the layout should not be functional, but just that our daily routines are changing to where things sometimes stay cleaned up for a while and we think we might enjoy the more open plan.
Buehl
15 years ago
If you have to have either a sink or cooktop/range in the island, then the sink is the better choice...

W/the range/cooktop you already mentioned the hood issue, but there's also the safety issue w/splattering grease, hot water/steam, smoke, etc. only inches from the person sitting at the island (or walking by the island).

As the others did, I also recommend getting a deep bowl sink...but be sure it's not too deep for you. If it's too deep it can cause back problems from having to lean too far over and down. This is one case where the taller you are the bigger the issue (farther to lean down)!

I think you're asking the right questions and you seem to be solving them to meet your needs/desires.

Good luck!
chinchette
15 years ago
We have an island clean-up sink. Its one level. What *really* helps is that we have FP dish drawers, so the loads are staggered and there in not much sitting in the sink. Its made cleaning so much easier!

I do get clutter on the island but that is the fault of the humans, not the fault of the island. Its mostly the mail. I process that and take it to my home office. There is not much dish clutter ever, due to the dishdrawers. There might be a football on there from time to time, etc. But not many dirty dishes. The dish drawers have also improved my discipline, because they are so easy to use.
Frankie_in_zone_7
Original Author
15 years ago
Wow--love the tones and colors in your kitchen, boysrus2. Yes, the island that would replace the current counter would be rectangular and the sink would be situated fairly well in the middle.

I have considered the dishdrawers, especially for just the 2 of us--though right now we're okay with just cranking the regular DW for small loads, we do face the must unload before re-load issue, whereas again, with just 2 of us most of the time, we'd be happy pulling out tonight's dishes directly. We tend to use the same things over and over and it is a bit funny how every day you take them out, put them in the cabinets, and start over again.

Reminds me of what I dislike about grocery shopping--in my ideal world, we would go shopping with "containers" that we would fill and insert as-is directly in the pantry somehow. I could do without the cart-to bag-to car-to counter-to wherever routine! (Actually in my ideal world, fresh groceries would miraculously appear on my shelves and in my frig).

If cleanup sink in island--too messy?

boysrus2

Comments (7)

nuccia

gw_monkeyjac

Related Discussions

Frankie_in_zone_7
Original Author

Buehl

chinchette

Frankie_in_zone_7
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

If cleanup sink in island--too messy?

boysrus2

Comments (7)

nuccia

gw_monkeyjac

Related Discussions

Frankie_in_zone_7Original Author

Buehl

chinchette

Frankie_in_zone_7Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Frankie_in_zone_7
Original Author

Frankie_in_zone_7
Original Author