I would think with 4 you'd have some pretty big pots and pans to wash, cookie sheets, etc. Those things are much easier to wash in a big single. Since you have the prep sink, you can stash dirties easily in the big deep single until the dishwasher is free again. I have 2 children and we run the dishwasher every day. I would imagine you'll have days where it runs 2x.

Double sinks were designed for hand washing by closing both, and filling one with suds and the other with clear rinse water. You can easily do this in a big, single sink with a dish pan or two. I hand washed almost all the dishes and pots that went back in my kitchen after the remodel because I had dishwasher issues and a deadline to get unpacked. The dishpan method works really well!

Many of our members have double dishwashers. That's also something to consider. Or maybe a full sized dishwasher and an additional single drawer dishwasher. That also gives you a working one for when the other needs a repair. :)

One more thing to consider is if you'd like a European style dishwasher, or one of the many American ones that has a convection dry setting. The Euro drying is for saving energy. It uses the mass of the steel tub, ceramics and metals to retain the heat of the water and dry the dishes, sometimes with the assistance of a fan, or even a heated fan. Without a heated coil in the bottom of the tub, or with a setting that doesn't turn it on, you can put plastics in the lower rack. The only thing is that in order to dry well, you still need a lot of mass. If you have room for a few more sippy cups in the bottom, however, but the top is full, that might be an option for you as well.

marcydc: So glad you pointed out the larger pots and pans; you are spot on with that reasoning!

plllog: We do not have space for a second dw but possibly a drawer, as I know dw's use less water than handwashing. We are definitely going to find a dw that air dries if you will, as this is what we had in Europe and we sure did like it.

Overall, I am pleased to know the single will work for our family dynamic! We have a double right now and I am so tired of bumping the middle piece. I've been wondering if the grass is greener on the other side...LOL!

I was just talking with a friend who has a big single sink about how she hand-washes her dishes, which she does all the time as she has no dishwasher. Her sink is very deep so she doesn't have to fill it all the way with dishwater. She washes the dishes and then rinses them under the faucet/sprayer as she removes them to the counter. If the sink gets too full she just lets a little water out. I'll admit she doesn't have huge loads of dishes, as she lives alone, but it works for her.

Personally I prefer washing in a sink to a dishpan because you have to wash and dry the dishpan when you're finished because it gets so oily, then have a place to keep it.

I'm still struggling with whether to get a single or double bowl. Last house I chose double bowl one a lot larger than the other. That worked pretty well, sort of the best of both worlds.

Good point about the plastics, pllog. I forget that you can't put them in the bottom of some dw's. I melted a few things at a rental vacation home :(

I have the grid in my big single. When i wash something by hand, I tend to use a soapy sponge and then set it on the grid on the left (my faucet and drain hole are in the back right corner). Once there is enough there, i use the sprayer and just set them on a towel for the kids to dry.

I really like the drain hole in the back corner. It's never blocked by whatever has been stashed in the sink.

I think this is the coolest sink.... both a single and double. A bit pricey... retail over $900, but saw it on the net for a little over $600.

sink by dawn

The large deep single sink is a winner. I have the Franke stainless with the drain in the fr right back corner--the sink bottom slopes slightly to the drain. I have 6 adults currently in residents (adult children sojourning here with spouse and fiancee). We have staggered schedules and many meals, dishes, pots and pans. Nothing beats the deep sink for keeping dirties soaking and out of sight while DW is in cycle. Imagaine--we all have friends to meals, too, so the kitchen gets HEAVY use. I love the single deep sink with a high faucet that has a pull-out sprayer.

I love my Blanco Silgranit Supersingle. I also have a prep sink, which is useful when the 'main sink' is full of dishes stashed and waiting to be loaded. If I want to do some hand washing I use a dishpan, because it would take forever to fill that thing with water. LOL. I had a double for 16 years here and would never go back. I wish I'd had it when the kids were little and we were still dealing with all the plastic.

cj

I seriously considered the Dawn sink. Then I went and read their product information and they said straight up that they get leakage between the two sides and recommended a max (80 percent) on how full to fill either side. That spooked me-- if they say that the new sink is leaking, how much more might it leak with time? So we went with a traditional sink. But I loved the concept.

I use jelly rolls (cookie sheets with a lip around) two or three times a week to roast vegies and such. The only way to clean these is to soak it in the large single sink while we are eating dinner and wash by hand. They are too big for the DW.
I also use many large pots and pans that do not fit or can go in the DW, ie LeCrueset. These often need to be soaked. I would NOT want to soak these on the countertop. Just my thing.

So even if you wanted to have a double sink, I would make sure that there is at least one sink that you can soak your pots and pans that you use regularly.

I think double sinks that are divided to have one large and one tiny can be a reasonable compromise, especially if yo use the disposal quite a bit AND you do not have a separate prep sink. I do not use the disposal. I put everything in the compost. So this is not a necessity for me.

I have never washed dishes by "soaking" the dishes in water. I just turn the water on and off as I need it. For example, I squirt the soap on the sponge, scrub what I need to wash, then turn on the water and rinse. For this reason, one handle faucet is a must for me. I could NOT use two handled faucets. They are too disfunctional for the way I do the dishes. I tried the dishpan for a few days. I did not know how I would store the darn thing. (storing it in the sink defeated the purpose of having a large sink!) I tossed it. If I ever need to soak something, I fill a large pot that is dirty (or just get it out) and put other smaller things in there. This is a rare event.

I think you have to figure out how you work and create the equipment that works best for you.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the single vs double, again. I will go with my gut and we'll have a single installed!