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srlaufer

Farmhouse sink sizes

srlaufer
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Looking at Rohl apron sinks and cannot decide on 30”(seems small), 33”(not available locally to see in person), or 36”(is this too big). I welcome all your comments and reviews.

Comments (29)

  • Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
    5 years ago

    PS It did look like a bathtub when it arrived though.

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  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    5 years ago
    Do you bake a lot and use large cookie sheets? If so, go big. So measure items you would need to lay in sink and go from there. It will effect your base cabinet sizing. So keep cabinet sizing in mind. That could drive your decision-making.
  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Thank you for your comments.
    Any thoughts on considering a curved front 30” Rohl farmhouse sink vs a 33” or 36” straight style front apron?
  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    5 years ago
    I think the straight fronts are easier to work at. I have two clients who chose the straight fronts and are quite happy with them.
  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Once again, thank you, I appreciate your feedback. I do enjoy baking and will speak with cabinet designer to determine if we can fit a 36”, although concerned about cabinet space. Have you ever seen in person a 33” as in my area it is a special order?
  • User
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Just be aware that the sink itself is not the only upgrade expense. You have to have a specialty cabinet for proper support. And you have to pay your installer a hefty upcharge to scribe the wonky non standard sink to that sink cabinet. Those things add st least another thousand to the project.

    Another reason the Kohler Whitehaven is the better option.

  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Interesting details that will definitely be considered.
    I understand that Kohler had a major fire months ago and factory has closed for quite a duration. Showrooms are not suggesting Kohler for this reason as they cannot be certain of delivery dates at this time. Unfortunately I do have to make a decision as cabinets are to be ordered in next 2 weeks.
  • Mrs Pete
    5 years ago

    Looking at Rohl apron sinks and cannot decide on 30”(seems small),
    33”(not available locally to see in person), or 36”(is this too big). I
    welcome all your comments and reviews.

    Definitely 36" ... unless you have space for the 45". Seriously, the sink is the single most-used item in your kitchen, and it's a place to splurge.

    Just be aware that the sink itself is
    not the only upgrade expense. You have to have a specialty cabinet for
    proper support. And you have to pay your installer a hefty upcharge to
    scribe the wonky non standard sink to that sink cabinet. Those things
    add st least another thousand to the project.

    Yes, a farmhouse sink is a more expensive install, but I think you're estimating high. To add to your list of woes, you're also committed to a farmhouse once your cabinet is cut. Still, it's something I keep coming back to ... it works well for short people, and it allows more space for cleaning around the faucet.

    Another reason the Kohler Whitehaven is the better option.

    I've looked at the Kohler Whitehaven, and it is beautiful ... but I've always had stainless steel, and I am afraid of scratches and chips on that white enamel.

    I understand that Kohler had a major fire months ago and factory has
    closed for quite a duration. Showrooms are not suggesting Kohler for
    this reason as they cannot be certain of delivery dates at this time.
    Unfortunately I do have to make a decision as cabinets are to be ordered
    in next 2 weeks.

    I'm surprised that a company as big as Kohler has only one factory!

    Lowes does carry Kohler sinks. I don't know whether they keep them in stock or order them.

  • jhmarie
    5 years ago

    I do really like my 36" Whitehaven. As Joe, our countertop guy says, no one ever said my sink is too big:)

    Rita is right - when the delivery people called, they said my bathtub had arrived:)

    That said, the sink is very spacious and a 33" would probably work as well.

  • M
    5 years ago

    I'd strongly encourage you to look at some type of ledge sink. There are lots of options that are much more functional than a plain apron sink. At the high-end, there are custom-build Rachiele sinks. Well worth it, if it's in your budget (and Dino Rachiele does have sales every so often; so, please check). But there also are much cheaper off-the-shelf alternatives.

    No matter which sink you decide on, I'd encourage you review the www.rachiele.com website, though. Dino does the community a great service by having very detailed informational material on what to look for in a great sink. In the end, you still have to decide for yourself. But at least you can get a better idea of whether a wider or a narrower sink is what you need.

    And just for the record, yes, 36" is awesome; especially when talking about a well-equipped ledge workstation-sink. But even if you only had 24", you could make it work (there is a post in the archives showing something exactly like that).

  • backyardfeast
    5 years ago

    Ok, I'll be the dissenting voice. ;) We went with a 30" and it is more than big enough. I was worried and everyone here raves about their 36"s, so I measured all of our biggest cookie sheets, cutting boards, pots, etc. In a standard oven, your sheets and pans can only get so big anyway, and I found the 30"s interior dimensions would work, and they do. You haven't said anything about the rest of your kitchen.

    It's true that a 45" stages sink would be an amazing workhorse and that sinks are heavily used. But our Whitehaven is our clean-up sink and we also have a large prep sink, so that use gets split between the two. We definitely haven't missed having more sink space, and love having all the counter space we do. And our cabinet maker was puzzled enough with the weight and trimming out if the 30--the 36 would have made that even more complicated.

    Anyway, that's not to discourage you from bigger than 30, just a reminder to make the decision based on your own needs and layout. A 30" single bowl is massive compared to the 27 or so double stainless bowls that most of us are used to! :)

  • M
    5 years ago

    Yes, if it's for clean-up only, then even 30" is quite generous. A single-bowl sink with rectangular corners holds a lot of dirty dishes. Much much more than inefficient double bowl sinks with rounded corners. Even a full-size cookie sheet isn't bigger than 26"×18". And that's absolutely the biggest thing any residential kitchen will even have to work with (and most of us never do; half sheets are so much more common).

    But if you have a workstation sink, then the sink becomes your preferred working area, and you don't really lose counter top area. You simply transform the counter top into an area that is easy to clean up. That's when going bigger becomes a more viable option.

  • 2ManyDiversions
    5 years ago

    Whew, thank goodness for those 30" cleanup sink comments! I'd read over and over that the bigger the better, but space is an issue for us, and yes, we'll also have a 24" prep as well. I, too, measured everything, huge cookie sheets, etc. and decided 30" would be plenty big. We are sticking with the 30" cleanup sink : )

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    5 years ago

    30" will be plenty IMO. Enjoy!

  • Katie S.
    5 years ago
    I have a 33 inch Rohl. It went in a 36 inch cabinet. It looks more like the 36 inch than 30 inch when I look at pics online.
  • Katie S.
    5 years ago
    Here is a (very messy) picture. You can see they messed up install and had to put trim pieces around it. Very irritating. I don’t know if the cab was too big or if they cut wrong. There was so much else going on at the time we didn’t even bother with it. But be careful with the cabinet and install, for sure! That said, I love the look, it holds a ton, and my name is Shaw and we live on a hobby farm so it fit the house just right.
  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Thank you All for your detailed comments and valuable information.
    “I'd read over and over that the bigger the better, but space is an issue for us”...space is important for us too and I don’t believe I want to sacrifice base drawer width dimensions and roll out cabinets sizes for a 36” sink where only the left to right dimension of the sink is larger but front to back is still only 15+ inches.
    With that said I’m strongly considering the 30” Rohl curved front as front to back is 3” bigger and that (I think) makes a huge difference when soaking a
    wider/deeper pans. I also want to mention that in the design the sink is underneath a 48” curved top window and the sink is flanked by 5” pull out balusters on each side for a total of 40+” under the window that is ‘proud’ of the remainder of the base cabinets and countertop.
    Does anyone have a
    30” Rohl curved front sink? Any positive/negative experiences?
    If we go for the curved front sink we will have 39” where sink curves out in the center between island and perimeter.
    I do welcome your continued comments, feedback and experience. Thank you all!
  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Thank you Katie for including the picture of your sink. Looks like such fun decorating cupcakes!
  • Helen
    5 years ago

    I have a small galley kitchen but I went with a 36" apron sink.

    It has a ledge and I got the accessories - cutting board, grid and sponge shelf. These will enable me to use it for prep and the grid can be used to keep messy stuff like chickens, wet stuff like veggies as well as those items which I need to hand wash.

    For me, having this functionality ABOVE the sink is far better than having to contaminate the counter if I were cutting chicken on a board on the counter or having to figure out a place to put hand washed items to dry.

    My sink also has a rear drain on the left which will enable me to have more real estate below the sink so that I can fit a full size trash pullout - this is critical for me because there really is no other place for a trash container in a galley kitchen and the small size that fit under my smaller sink cabinet turned out to be useless so I had a trash can which had to be moved when I needed to access the cabinets it was in front of.

  • Helen
    5 years ago

    As others have posted, the problem with the rolled front is that it puts you further away from the basin - which can be uncomfortable depending on your height and how you utilize the sink. Also, many farm house sinks are also quite deep so that coupled with being further away from the basin could be uncomfortable.

    If possible I would see how it felt to "wash" items in a sink with a curved front.

    FWIW, I went with a flat front for that reason with an 8" depth versus 9" or 10". However, my sink is copper so it makes enough of a statement - there are copper and stainless sinks which have the a trapezoidal front which would potentially present the same ergonomic issues.

  • Nidnay
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    We installed the Rohl 30” curved sink. We have not moved in yet, but the many times I have used it while at the house I have discovered a couple of things I really don’t like about it. It’s plenty big, and functionally, I really, really like the curve. Very easy to work at (kinda feels like you’re IN the sink). But aesthetically, I’m not all that fond of the curve. To my eyes, it reminds me of an old fashioned hospital basin (don’t ask me why). So it looks somewhat clinical to me. And the other much more annoying thing is that it drains extremely slowly. It’s an effort to get the water to flow towards the drain (I use a sponge to “sweep” all the water in that direction, but it tends to puddle in the four corners, especially the front right and left corners. I have read other complaints about the poor drainage. If I had to choose all over again, I would definetly get a different sink.

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    10 - New Build - Kitchen · More Info

  • 2ManyDiversions
    5 years ago

    nidnay, gorgeous kitchen! Quite a few lovely choices you've made. I do think your sink works, and while I'm typically not a fan of over-sized faucets (though functionally they are wonderful) yours is perfect with the Rohl you chose and the tall windows : )

    I'd read the Rohl's have a tendency to need help draining and I didn't want to fool with puddles and unevenness, so I should add we are going with Kohler Whitehaven's for both our sinks, which is a different animal altogether, but with similar looks and easier install.

  • Nidnay
    5 years ago

    Thanks 2ManyDiversions. That faucet is not for everyone, but in person it’s an amazing hunk of plumbing :)

    I was ready to blame my countertop guys (they put the sink in) because I thought the draining problem was due to the install not being level or something, but it turns out it’s perfectly level...it’s the darned sink. Then when I looked online I saw others had problems with it. I think the Whitehaven is a wise decision.

  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Nidnay you have a beautiful, elegant kitchen. I do like the way the curved apron sink looks and am pleased to hear that it’s big enough and that functionally you have no issue with comfort when you’ve used it. However It’s a shame that the drainage is off especially for the price these Rohl sinks command.
    I looked at Rohl’s spec sheet which recommended to check the sink’s drainage as well as the finish. Have you brought this issue up to Rohl?
    I would think they should stand by their product.
    Has anyone else experienced poor drainage and puddling with their straight front sinks or is it only an issue with Rohl’s curved front sink? Can anyone comment if an offset drain is more reliable than a center drain in these hand cast sinks?

    Awesome faucet,Nidnay, is it Waterstone? I love their designs and hope to include 2 of their faucets in my kitchen.
    Your wall paint color complements the cabinets well. My cabinets will be painted similarly. Do you recall what color the walls are?

    I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my post. Your feedback and information is invaluable.
  • Nidnay
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    srlaufer.....I have not contacted Rohl. I will. How did they suggest one would check the drainage of the sink? And were they suggesting this because of possible defects? I don’t know that any fabricator is going to water test sinks they install and in new construction, there’s not a lot of running water at that stage of construction. The most they can do is make sure it’s set perfectly level (which mine is). I think the problem with the sink is that the bottom is just too flat/level and does not have enough pitch directed towards the drain.

    Yes, the faucet is Waterstone’s Gantry. I have another one of their faucets in the prep sink. The quality is amazing really.

    Kitchen walls are SW Useful Gray. I still haven’t decided on my backsplash yet as you can see from the pics :)

  • srlaufer
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Good point re checking drainage...no they did not specify how to check this and I think they should clarify this. You should reach out to them. I’d be most curious to hear the outcome.
    Glad to hear you like the quality of waterstone.
    Is the kitchen wall color same as the vaulted ceiling room or is that room a different color.
    Btw, I completely agree with you that there is nothing that compares to the beauty of marble
  • Nidnay
    5 years ago

    srlaufer.....yes...vaulted ceiling room (breakfast room) is the same color. I actually didn’t like it when it first went on and was thinking of changing it. In fact I do remember using the word “hate” when I walked in the door the first time. But it’s really grown on me...I actually like it! So, the advice many give here to wait a bit before changing certain things is good advice.

    Aah....marble....nothing like it!

  • Jerry Jorgenson
    5 years ago

    Our kitchen is on the small side, so we went with a 42" sink.


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