The 18" Miele is well designed and reviewed and should be fine for two people. Even if it is run more often, they say nowadays that dishwashers use a lot less water than hand washing, so that wouldn't be so bad. Thinking toward the future, however, one of the few appliances that really comes in a pretty standard size is the dishwasher. There are variations of less than an inch, but they're all pretty much 24". If you get the 18" unit, you're betting that in the future, because even Mieles wear out, there will be a nice replacement. Also, that if you should ever want to sell your home, the buyers won't be put off by it. Happy medium: Before you get too far along, why not talk to a carpenter or cabinet installer and see if the cabinetry can be customized so that the sink can be supported properly in a smaller cabinet, with the drainboard extending over the DW, and that the DW can be installed under it. There are many dishwashers that anchor at the sides rather than the top, so if the drainboard is pretty flat, and won't be affected by the heat of the machine, it might be possible. I know what it's like to be in love with a sink, but between one and the other, I'd chose a standard sized sink and dishwasher, rather than an oversized sink and undersized dishwasher.

i went through this question when i was planning my kitchen (demo starts in a week -aaak!). my kitchen is a bit bigger 11x13 but still tight. some things i considered - could i go with a 24" fridge (like the liebber -sp?) and then get a 24" DW in? i ended up going with a local custom cabinet maker who, because he was not limited by the 3" increments of semi custom, was able to fit a 30" fridge, 24" DW and 30" sink along the short wall. so my message is for such a small kitchen you may want to explore custom cabs. the price increase was not significant and the increased functionality was well work the extra $2K.

I am not sure I should start another thread, but for now I won't. I have been thinking a lot about Rantatoo's comment of rebuilding a wall and how it might not may be cost effective. If I don't put back a wall in the current dining area and once again embrace some sort of open concept, is there a layout idea that might work? Is there an option I just can't see here? I feel like I have only two choices, move it to the back as my original thread from over 15 months ago or go with the peninsula again. If I keep the kitchen with a peninsula, I have decided to remove the double ovens and put in a range instead. I found this inspiration picture here on Houzz, but if there is a THIRD (or fourth?) option that has not occurred to me and you have one, I would love to hear about it!

There is no easy solution. A portable dishwasher would be a drag to use and take out and store - and then the sink is being used to drain the water. An 18" dishwasher is quite small so you undoubtedly have to do multiple loads all the time. I live alone but when I cook a "real" meal I often can't fit everything for prep and cleanup etc. in my full size dishwasher. If there is any money in the budget, I would contact a cabinet maker to see if you can change out the cabinets so that one is 24" for the DW and the sink cabinet is smaller. As others have posted, a smaller single bowl sink with a dishwasher would provide way more functionality than your current double bowl sink. ETA - Honestly if your choice is 18" or portable 24" then I would just opt for hand washing while you save whatever is necessary to modify cabinets for the 24" built in dishwasher. With the 18" you are going to wind up hand washing almost everything anyway. With the portable, the logistics are so terrible that hand washing would be more convenient and you would probably wind up hand washing rather than hauling it out and setting it up a lot of the time. I had my Cuisinart stored in an inconvenient place and I often decided NOT to make something using it because I didn't want to deal with hauling it out and putting it back in.