I saw the Galley sink in a store dislpay and was not impressed. I also thought the photos looked "cool", but actually seeing and touching one in person, had me ruling it out pretty quickly.

Didn't like the idea of the ledge on several of the store displays I saw. It made the sinks too narrow for me.

I ended up ordering sinks from Julien (large single main sink and smaller island sink). No ledge. Most of the accessories sit on the counter edges.

chispa - interesting: I don't find the ledge makes a sink too narrow - our sink is 18" front to back with a 1" ledge, and it has never been a problem. I, too, love the look of the Galley Signature sinks, however we're not the sort of hosts who lay out ingredients in little dishes over the sink for guests to help themselves - ! I met one at a local dealer, and I did like it, but baulked at the price. Did you get your sink from Julien in Quebec? I'm also in Canada, so that's a useful name, thanks! I see our local dealer is Astro Design in Ottawa, who are/were Galley Sink dealers (that's where I "met" one, although it was spectacularly poorly displayed, tucked away low down so there was no way of testing it, sigh).

Sue Mcgrath - thanks! I find the ledge on our sink can get a bit scummy if I don't keep on top of it, and the sink itself ditto, although I think that's because it has an almost flat base, plus a small plug-hole, so it takes too long to drain.

bubbly - I currently have a really deep double bowl sink that I am replacing, so most of the single bowl sinks available are narrower. The ledge just made them a bit more narrow.

Yep! the Galley display I saw was also poorly presented, which certainly didn't help their product. Makes you wonder about the company.

Yes, Julien is in Canada. They have a 6-8 week lead time to get the sinks delivered here in California.

Looks like it could be a nice work station. I personally don't cut up food near the sink. I certainly wouldn't set up a food buffet in it! Geez I don't care how clean one says they are a kitchen sink has more E. coli than a toilet!

I originally saw a galley-style sink at a dealer (don't remember the brand) and felt that the basic idea was sound, but the implementation was seriously lacking.

I completely discounted this type of sink, until I by chance came across Dino Rachiele's website and researched a little more. I still feel the "buffet style" sink has little appeal. But I'm absolutely sold on the "workstation style". So much better use of available space! And so much easier cleanup after prepping.

I guess, as with all appliances, there are models that work really well. And there are those that blindly copy a design without fully understanding the different design trade offs.

Both Rachiele and creategoodsink seem to have quite the happy following on GardenWeb. The Kohler also seems popular, if you want to stay more mainstream.

So, you have quite the choice and can pick which one works well for you and which one fits your budget.

And if your budget allows it, manufacturers like Rachiele will spend a lot of time and effort completely custom designing your sink to fit your very specific requirements.

I LOVE Dino Rachiele's website! He is so generous with his knowledge and expertise. Absolutely love his sinks, too, but sadly they're beyond our budget at this point, unfortunately. I do think they are the best of the smart sinks, however, by a looong shot. He's wonderful on fb, too.

M - not sure what the difference is between the buffet style sinks and the workstation styles?

I have the Stages 45. I have no trouble keeping the ledges clean. The only thing that gets on them is the occasional errant carrot peel or bread crumbs from cutting up french bread. I just run water over the ledges and it falls back into the sink. The corners come clean with just a sponge with some dishsoap.

I use this sink as a workstation. The cutting board stays on the ledges most of the time and that is where I chop vegetables, slice bread, cut meat, etc. For more work intensive projects, like making veg. soup or chopping stuff for stir fry, I actually get out the accessories to move stuff to the various bowls and containers and then to the stove. I don't ever serve food to guests from the sink. It's a serious prep station. If you don't regularly make your meals from scratch, I wouldn't spend the money.

I think the buffet-style sink has a double-ledge and it takes somewhat different accessories. If you need a big colander and if you like presenting your food in the sink, then that makes sense.

Our kitchen layout would not really make that an attractive proposition. On the other hand, the "add-a-bowl" insert with the built-in colander is exactly what we want. So, the workstation sink with the single ledge works great.

Having said that, Dino custom designs the sink exactly to your specs and then builds to order. That's why the sinks are so expensive. But that also means, if you want some funny combination of features, he'll work with you on that. Super happy with the experience

M - I've been chasing you around GW trying to catch you to ask more about your Rachiele sink, lol! Which one did you choose, and why, and how do you like it (I've followed Dino for a couple of years, and there is NO-ONE in the industry who's as helpful or knowledgeable, I reckon - there's more sound sense buried in his website than any amount of flashy slick videos of chefs prepping on the big boys' websites)?
Thanks!

Lol. I'm not that hard to find, am I?

Yes, Dino is amazing, and he outdid even himself on this sink. I had very unusual requirements. I wanted a wide workstation sink, but I only had space for a 36" cabinet.

Turns out, since I'm installing extra tall cabinets (2" extra) and since I actually like top mounted sinks when combined with an apron, there was just enough space to build the world's first drainboard with ledges. As an extra complication for Dino, this leaves me with a very unusual and super stylish half-height apron, so that I can still fit the trash compactor underneath the drainboard.

I have not seen my sink in person just yet. But these are the photos that Dino sent me.

He said it was one of the more complicated sinks he has built. But he loved the challenge.

I don't think there is anybody else out there who could have met our requests as perfectly. Incidentally, we also slightly adjusted the size of the accessories (e.g. narrower add-a-bowl) to meet my specific requests. For a clean look, the add-a-bowl and the sponge caddy can hide under the cutting board when not in use.

I have one of Dino's 42" sinks and I'm very pleased with it. I have both the add-a-bowl and the colander. Which one I use depends on how much I'm preparing. I like that it keeps the mess in the sink rather than on the counter.

M & Jerry, your sinks are magnificent.

M, I can't wait for you to actually get to enjoy your stainless steel sculpture.

Jerry Jorgenson - lovely sink AND lovely countertop! I noticed on another conversation you mentioned you would have gone for the larger Rachiele sink if you'd had space - do you find you're doing all your prep work over the sink now, or are you chopping, etc, to one side of it?

M - that's going to be a wonderful sink you and Mr Rachiele have come up with - you must be SO excited! Is it going to sit on the countertop and stand up a bit, then? Wasn't quite sure from your description. And where's the plug-hole?

Bubblyjock. I do all the prep work right in the sink. The counter stays clean. As you can see from the picture, when the colander or bowl is out, there is not much room left. It's not a big issue because a bit of planning while prepping takes care of it (e.g. first fill the pasta pentola first even though it's not going to be started for some time), but if the sink was larger there wouldn't be a need to plan.

I like undermounted sinks in the middle of the counter top, but I'm not a huge fan of undermounted apron sinks. I feel, no matter what you do, the edge detail is always a little funny.

And with our unusual drainboard, that would IMHO look even more forced.

My ideal design would be flush mount, but apparently that's difficult to reliably water proof. So, instead, we decided on a top mount. It's only 7/16" proud of the counter top. And with such a big sink and apron, I feel that's perfectly OK.

It was also quite expedient as it allows a generous slope for the drainboard even though it needs to be deep enough for ledges.

Because of this decision, we still have about a 4" apron, that clears the trash compactor under the drainboard. An undermount would have a much narrower apron.

And to answer your question, the drain is still in the rear right-hand corner as with most of the Rachiele sinks.

Own the Kohler prolific. Love it!

We are building and we were sold on the galley 5’ work and wash station. Then we saw that there are other less expensive options. Is the Rachiele comparable in price and quality? Is it worthwhile to check out the ruvati sinks? They are priced significantly less.

@Rachiele Custom Sinks are 100% custom built. They are pretty much the gold standard that everybody else is copying. Dino Rachiele developed most of these concepts and is constantly refining them.

The upshot is that it isn't cheap to buy one of his sinks, but IMHO it's worth every cent that we paid for ours. It's impressive to notice just how much attention to detail goes into these appliances.

Now, I can't comment on what your budget is. That's a decision for you to sort out, and it's not really up for discussion. But if a Rachiele sink is within reach, then I can promise that you'll be very happy with it. After all, you'll probably use it many thousands of times each year. Making it your primary work area and designing it for serious usability is going to be something you'll enjoy every day you are in your kitchen.

I recommend reading the background information on the Rachiele website. It goes into a lot of detail what makes a good sink and why.

Thank you for the above comment. I cannot tell who wrote it. @Molly Galetto, feel free to contact us. I am more than glad to offer as much unbiased information regarding all three companies. You can set up a personal phone call with me, Dino Rachiele, here at your convenience.