Kitchen Layout Dilemma - Island Sink vs Window Sink
Hi All! I'm needing some opinions on 2 new kitchen layouts for our house remodel. We are putting a family room addition on and re-doing the kitchen. I have only ever had a kitchen sink at a window with a LARGE island (5'x10') and always thought I would hate a kitchen island sink, however every floor plan I come up with seems to have a sink in the island. My 2 two options are attached. What's everyone's opinion? My two main concerns are the narrow kitchen island(2'6" wide) in Option 1 - Window Sink and then the main kitchen sink always having dishes drying on the island and being so close to the range for Option 2.
Comments (14)
megs1030
3 years agoRelated Discussions
kitchen sink not centered with window, issues with 24' sink base?
Comments (9)hi, i'm kind of wondering whether you've thought about how big a sink you need or want, first. you mentioned that it's a good size kitchen, so maybe you'd want at least a "standard" size of 33". there are a lot more choices, too. single bowl vs. double is a whole other debate! i'm getting a 24" sink, but i have a small kitchen. also two other thoughts: many people seem to center their sinks with regard to where the panes are in the window so they aren't looking right into one. sometimes they even place the sink faucet centered on the window, but off-center from the sink to make it look symmetrical. there are a lot of threads on this subject too. i'll look for the one i'm thinking of with good photos. or you can google "gardenweb kitchen window sink centered", or something like that. the other is the 33" lazy susan. i was considering one of these, but someone mentioned the door is pretty small. if i understand your layout correctly, your corner cabinet is open on the back to a walkway. garenweb member buehl turned a regular cabinet backward to be accessed from the walkway side so you have full access to the cabinet. that's pretty hard for me to explain, so i will link the thread. anyway, it's seems more useful than a corner susan if you can do it. then you will also have 9" extra to distribute to a sink base or the the far drawers. good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: How to gain a full-use cabinet instead of corner cabinet...See MoreKitchen layout - two prep sinks in one island
Comments (19)In many ways, your basic layout is similar to mine, but I think my back wall is longer than yours and I can therefore fit my clean up sink and DW there. Where does the opening below the frig lead to? Can you move the frig north and steal some pantry space? Looks like a really big opening that you might be able to reduce. What is that short wall to the left of the oven/mw? Is the dining room the only eating area? If so, you might want to really consider moving the frig north. It's going to be quite a hike to get items out of the frig and into the DR. If you can make it more of a direct walk past the island it might be better....See MoreKitchen sink against a windowless window or island?
Comments (27)For 15 years I had a sink up against a wall and it never bothered me at all. That was a U shaped kitchen with a peninsula. Sink was at the bottom of the U. That said I don't think I'd want a mirror if only for the inconvenience of having to wipe it down and de-fog it constantly, not to mention already cited "seeing self" issue. Though I suppose I could see the advantage of seeing others creeping up behind me! Or keeping eye on the kids. (Now imagining a sink set up with rear view mirrors on either side, "objects may appear closer").... Currently I have the sink in the island and it gives me a view. I do enjoy the view while prepping and washing dishes, as well as enjoying nearby company (on the stools, in the living room). I find myself wanting to cook more frequently these days too. Do you entertain a lot? When you entertain, are you okay with turning your back to your company while you place items in the sink/ prep/wash dishes? Or do you just let everything sit on the counter until company is gone and tackle it all later? I can see how you could do that with a multi-level counter top. If you are flattening out, it may not be as easy -- you may feel compelled to walk it over to the sink, thus turning your back on company....See MoreKitchen Layout Sink Island
Comments (17)FWIW: I have 9' from my island countertop to the 6' sliders. I had a custom 3' x 6' table built which runs parallel to the (longer) island. Currently have 6 chairs around it and no to very few issues with someone trying to go out the doors if someone else is seated at the table. It's only the 2 of us living here but many times (until lately) the table gets used for 6 when daughter, sil and kids visit. It will seat 8 if needed at holidays. I have two bongo stools under a 12" overhang/3' cutout area of the island and the grandsons like to sit there. Otherwise, the island isn't used for anything but prep and piles of mail, lol. I had my heart set on 48" round table which I know will seat 6-8. I've used that size more than a few times for tables that got left behind because they "matched" the countertops and cabinets,but I've always kept my kitchen chairs. For this current kitchen, we did the cardboard and blue tape and real chairs methods of measurement and practice trial and error placement - this was during a total gut of the kitchen - and that round table just wasn't going to work. I agree that the peninsula works well. In WSO's plan, I would move the refrigerator (fully integrated) to the 7' wall area across from the peninsula. Just my personal preference to have a refrigerator at the end of a run and/or close to a landing area and table. Another thought to consider is that the eating area is directly next to the great room and you have to decide if you want to see kitchen appliances or a pretty table from that room....See More
PROSharon Brindley Designs
3 years ago
Paul Mann
3 years ago
decoenthusiaste
3 years agoI think the big island looks too big and the skinny one too small. Something in the middle would be better. With a large dining area right there, I'm not sure I would bother with any stool seating at the island unless you're family already has a penchant for eating there. One way to try out the idea is to hang something over your sink window for a week and see if it really bothers you not to see outside. TV in the family room is positioned so you can see it while standing at the island sink, so the window might not be missed. The trick will be to get a large enough screen so you can see it at that distance yet it not be too large for the seating area to see it well.
Jessica Broaddus
3 years ago- PRO
Sharon Brindley Designs
3 years agoHi Jessica: I can’t quite read the dimensions of the width between the island and the wall opposite the sink - I think it is 4ft+ - our island is 38 In. wide and is ample, with 44” between our cooktop wall and the island, which both of us can occupy without getting in each other’s way. I’m 5ft tall and have to wipe the island from both sides (can’t reach across width of island from one side). Here’s a photo which will help you see the proportions - any chance your island could be wider than 30”?
Jessica Broaddus
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoThank you Sharon! Your kitchen is beautiful. Never thought of putting a sink next to the range. It looks great. Here are hopefully some better pictures of my plans. There's a space on the leftside of the kitchen that i'm trying to use as a panty but i'm not opposed to sacrificing it for a better kitchen layout.
I have one more crazy option that completely changes the location of the kitchen and would require a 30' long beam, but it's doable. Here's a rough sketch.
WestCoast Hopeful
3 years agoWestCoast Hopeful
3 years ago- PRO
Sharon Brindley Designs
3 years ago - PRO
Sharon Brindley Designs
3 years ago 
mama goose_gw zn6OH
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoI hope you're ordering a pair of roller skates to match your counter top, for the 'crazy' option. ;)
This is a comparison of the prep paths in the various plans. The plan on the top right is the last option, arranged on the first plan posted (if I understand correctly). Look at the distance between the sink and fridge, compared to the other plans. The green lines would be prep path with a prep sink on the island.
Using your first and last plans, I would suggest continuous countertop between the sink and range. Also, if you make the storage cabinets on the bottom wall only 18" deep, you can make the island deeper. If that makes 140.5" between the two cabinet runs, counter-to-counter, then a 50" deep island would leave 45.25" for each long aisle. I'm using the minimum overhangs of 1" on both perimeter runs and island cabinets. You could split the extra .5" between the perimeter overhangs, for 1.25" each.
You could just move the pantry down or use the whole space for pantry storage (red outline), since you would be losing some space in the kitchen storage run.Jessica Broaddus
3 years ago
felizlady