I think a 25" to 26" cabinet - to house a single-bowl, 24" wide (interior) sink - should be fine.

In a small kitchen a huge sink isn't usually required. I have a double-bowl sink in my kitchen and the larger bowl is 21.5" wide (interior). It fits just about everything (all except the 33" or so wide full-width refrigerator shelf). All my pots & pans (w/handles), longest cookie sheet, casserole dishes, refrigerator bins and shelves (with that one exception), and the "guts" of my Vent-A-Hood (that I clean by hand periodically) fit in that bowl. Granted, not all at once! :-)

That bowl also fits a lot of dirty dishes! (I have a picture if you'd like to see it...)

Prep space/counterspace in a small kitchen is precious - so those additional 3 or 4 inches you'll gain getting a narrower sink base will probably be golden!

There are plenty of decently sized sinks that will go into a 24" cabinet.

My sink base is 28 inches. I was shocked when it first went in--it looked like a play kitchen. It was smaller than my bath vanity. I would not go smaller.

My Blanco Vision single-bowl sink is 24 x 18 x 8. It's plenty big for washing dishes, but it gets a little tight when I'm cooking and the pots and pans and colanders and plates are flying. You can get a D sink, but they are usually 10 inches deep and people have complained of back aches. Also bear in mind that you may need to find a lower profile faucet so it doesn't overwhelm the sink. Not so easy to find in a pull-down.

Forgot. Here's a link to the single bowl version of buehl's sink, and if you look at her photos, it holds a ton of stuff:

Here is a link that might be useful: ticor s405 at galaxy

Thanks everyone,

Brooklyngalley- how big is your sink and what brand is it?

Another beautiful large sink for a 24" base is the single domsjo from ikea. (I don't understand the posts that say that a smaller sink looks weird with a normal faucet, incidentally).

{{!gwi}}

This is what fits in a 21.5" wide sink...

BTW...when it comes to dirty dishes, we rarely use the smaller bowl - my DH likes to soak silverware so the smaller bowl is not used for much else other than for filling pots...which could be done on the counter as well b/c we have a pull down faucet (a pullout faucet would work just as well).

Most of us here have medium to large kitchens, so a larger sink is OK, even desirable. With a small kitchen, though, compromises are needed. As you can see from the picture above, even a 21.5" wide sink will fit a lot!

This my opinion...saying an "over-the-sink cutting board and/or colander" will free up counterspace is all well and good - as long as you don't have dirty dishes that prevent you from using that cutting board. Also, those "over-the-sink cutting board[s]" can actually get in the way of using the faucet (that's been my personal experience anyway...I have to take the cutting board off the sink in order to use the water...and if you're short on counterspace already, it's not going to be easy finding room to put that cutting board while you use the sink.)

I also don't understand the comment that a "normal faucet" would look weird...I think they look fine.

We have a 23 inch Elkay - could have gone bigger but we wanted counter. I should also mention that we wanted storage (tilt tray and door rack) and both paper and plastic/glass recycling under our sink so the 30 inch base was perfect.

I should also note that our sink is 9 inches deep (including countertop) so the over the sink items still work over our dirty dishes!

Here is a link that might be useful: Our galley kitchen

Thanks Brooklygalley, I 've seem your kitchen before and really love it! I'm debating the 18 "Bosch as well... We are a family of 5 though so maybe the 24 would be better and it could compensate for the smaller sink.

How big a cabinet do you need for a 23" sink?

You will find recommendations for cabinet size in the specs for many sinks at the sink mfg site. If you are willing to cut down the top sides of the cabinet you can usually fit a sink that is about 2-3" less than the cabinet width DEPENDING ON CABINET CONSTRUCTION>
I try not to put in less than a 27" and use them often with D sinks. NOTE D SINKS are available shallower than 10" Franke makes a 7 5/16 AND a 9" deep.
Before you shrink the cabinet be sure you are actually gaining something in the adjacent cabinets.

Alternatives in small kitchens-
-if using framed cabinets is combining cabinets which saves a minimum of 1 1/2" per cabinet combined- sometimes more in sinks.
-Using a very wide blind corner with a mechanism like the Hafele Lemans with the sink in the same cabinet. Blinds often (almost always) increase total usable storage in small kitchen over susans and the mechanism serves the same purpose and allows the otpion of gaining back a drawer.
-Recessed corner sink base (if available) works in many small kitchens, you are still standing at the window just not right in front of it AND more time is spent prepping than it is washing dishes with a dishwasher.
-Occasionally overlapping the sink into the corner, not my favorite but once in a while....
And another small kitchen tip is to use your dishwasher as a drying rack.

One other thing, since you already have a KD why not ask him (if you haven't already) ask them to lay out the kitchen with maximum storage and counter and ignore both tradition and whatever you already told them you wanted. I'd do that as a matter of course while still showing you what you asked for but many KD's are hesitant to offer options that are too far from what you tell us, particularly if you have a "list", or are a little quirky.

Family of 5? We are a family of 2 getting by with the small sink. Everything goes into the DW ASAP.

Here's my normal faucet with my 24 inch sink. I personally would have liked something with a smaller profile.

Front view.

Did you see Kevin's kitchen? He has a very small sink base with a single door.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg102039226659.html?23

Jakuvall the KD put in a 29 in sink base. The DW is right beside the sink then it leads to a corner cabinet. The kitchen is a very small "L"...

May flowers- love your kitchen. I am planning on pretty much also just using the DW as I hate doing dishes!

I have a really small kitchen, about 120 sq ft. It is going to be galley style. We decided to use the 24 in Ikea single farmhouse sink in a 24 in base.

> I am planning on pretty much also just using the DW as I hate doing dishes!

Then the last thing I would do is sacrifice DW size for a larger sink. Go with a full-sized DW, for sure.

Wow, I love seeing pics of other smaller kitchens!

I think our sink required a 27" base - again, we went with a bigger base for the storage. Consult with your contractor if possible - they would know best about what they can install.

Since you have an L kitchen, I too recommend looking in to corner sinks. I so badly wanted to make one work, but our galley remains a galley because it was just too tight and I couldn't fit all the appliances on one wall with ease. Do a google search and you will see some great corner sinks - also on ApartmentTherapy.com.

As for the DW, we have three in our family and fill the 18" daily. With 5 in the family I would probably size up - especially if you dislike doing dishes!

I don't know whether this is any help or not in your situation, but here's a larger sink in a blind corner cabinet base in a small kitchen:

{{!gwi}}

Complete kitchen is here:

Here is a link that might be useful: miami beach kitchen

WritersBlock - that's a great idea for a single-person (or quite small) kitchen! It combines two cabinets that have notoriously poor storage options (blind corner & sink base) into one, freeing up more space for useful cabinetry!

It also allows you to stack dirty dishes in the corner, a place that usually isn't as useful for prepping.

The larger bowl is right where you need it for prepping - in front of the counter frontage.

We're putting in this sink in a 24" cabinet:
http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/CTS2300.html

I know I am bumping an older thread. Researching design options for my small kitchen renovation, and this is one of the threads I encountered.

jakuvall listed some considerations for small kitchens. One specifically I do not understand.

-Using a very wide blind corner with a mechanism like the Hafele Lemans with the sink in the same cabinet. Blinds often (almost always) increase total usable storage in small kitchen over susans and the mechanism serves the same purpose and allows the otpion of gaining back a drawer.

I cannot understand this. So, you would use a large blind in a corner, but use the portion > ~24â from the wall (~24 ��" 27â depending on cab length) for the sink location, possibly extending the sink back towards the wall, into the corner (overlapping) a bit? I do not understand how this gains you a drawer, though, unless you consider the Hafele mechanism a âÂÂdrawerâÂÂ.

I emailed jackuvall asking for a reply in this thread, but anyone feel free to comment.

Thanks.

Say you have 48 for a blind and want to add a D sink which needs a minimum 24" cabinet. Part of that 24" is clearnce for the sink lip and the clips to inastall it.
Instead use a wider blind or a "combined" cabinet. Instead of using 72" of wall space you can easily shave off 3" and as much as 6 from the total run. To do that you have to be in a line that allows you to combine cabinets or relocate intermediate rails. There are semi custom brands that do that.
You also have to carefully work out the details.

Excellent. I will investigate this option for my kitchen. Thanks.