I'm a very visual person, so I can't really understand your kitchen from words alone, but -

IMO, a prep sink is used to turn a nice stretch of countertop into the place you want to do your prep work. Is this counter that type of place?

If you just want water, a potfiller over the stove would be a more space- and cost-efficient way to get that.

The sink would be a pot filler, pot drainer and a good place for my young children to wash their hands without feeling the need to "scrub" the dirty dishes in the main sink every time they get a chance. Essentially, a task devoted one that will not be in the dirty dish equation. The main sink is right next to the peninsula (my prep area) so I donÂt see the need to add another one there.

My original thought was that I didn't have to change the cabinet plan and could squeeze it into the 18" one right next to the fridge but now IÂm thinking thatÂs too tight so, IÂm probably going to cut the 30" cabinet down to 24" and use the extra 6" to have a 24" cabinet for the sink. To give you a visual, imagine standing right next to your 30" deep fridge and washing your hands or filling a coffee pot. I know IÂm claustrophobic but, how does it make you feel?

Could you switch the sink & range? You are doing something similar to what we did...with the same issue.

However, our cooktop is on the peninsula side and we then put a 15-3/4" square (with one corner cut off) prep sink in the corner where our peninsula meets the cooktop wall.

Our main sink is across the way (7' aisle) with the refrigerator, ovens, and pantry so we also had the issue of crossing back & forth...the corner prep sink was our answer.

We have a 15" overhang and with the prep sink top corner cut off, there should be plenty of room for homework, eating, etc. and there shouldn't be too much splashing.

Here's a picture to give you an idea of what we did and that you might be able to do as well. The peninsula w/seating is on the left, across from the refrigerator...

This one is an elevation of the range wall...the prep sink is going to be on the right in the corner cabinet

I've linked the sink we're using. Note that we will be putting the cutoff corner on the other side so the cutoff is on the peninsula side (i.e., rotate the sink 90o clockwise)

HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler Undertone five-sided undercounter kitchen sink

Ours is a very similar layout (wish I knew how to add an attachment), minus the corner to the right of the cook top, a small window where your cabinets are left of the cook top and our fridge where your wall ovens are. IÂve been trying to keep the sink under the window (only because it didnÂt make sense to be less than 3 feet off) but the prep sink there would be a much better fit with the range to the right of it.

Problem is, we are in the midst of several projects, including a 2 story garage/laundry/office addition, that affects everything and, other than the garage structure, this will all be DIY with as little interruption as possible. I may now have to rethink swapping the sink/DW side with the range/fridge side to see how much chaos it will create. hmm.

Alright, I tried many different ways of swapping things (including the peninsula) but there is no way to keep the sensible storage next to the DW and an open main sink any other way. Those things, and at least 24" on each side of the range are important to me so IÂd rather have a supplementary sink in a bad spot than compromise the other things I wanted out of a remodel.

If you've already got a good prep area with water, I personally do not see the return from adding a second sink by the range. I wouldn't want small children near the range while I'm cooking for safety and traffic reasons.

Not that I'm against prep sinks -- I LOVE mine -- it allows me to prep where I want to prep. But there are lots of people who don't use their prep sinks at all and wish they hadn't put them in. The difference between the two groups? Location, Location, Location!

I'll weigh in on the side of water source and drain being essential near the cooktop. I'd have to call a cab to travel 13' across the kitchen. My 15" round Blancorondo fits exactly in an 18" cabinet and is a good size but if it were right next to the fridge that would be too cramped. I can't picture your layout but functionally for one cook, you're unlikely to need significant counter space on either side of the ct. One side just needs to be big enough to fit you biggest pot lid - 12" should do it.

I played around with it a bit more and came up with a way to swap the sink and the stove. I may lose some width on a couple drawer cabinets and my dish storage would be on both sides of the DW instead of in one place but I think I can live with that. These are just rough sketches because we are bumping the wall 24" into the family room and will do final measurements when thatÂs done.

Original idea. The sink would be to the right of the range in the cabinet next to the fridge.

{{!gwi}}

Reversed. I plan on getting a Blancorondo too and thatÂs what the big red dot indicates. :)

{{!gwi}}

I like the reversed plan much better. It does a good job of dividing the cleanup and cooking areas. Also, it will give you way more room to prep. In the old plan, the space by the range was very small.

If you're looking at the blancorondo, be sure to check out galaxy tool supply's S905 which is just as nice a sink (if not nicer) and much cheaper. I have one and love it.

Here is a link that might be useful: galaxy's S905

I really like the revised layout as well...but I may be biased since it's very similar to mine! I see all the advantages that make my kitchen ideal for me...

Lots of work area around all the appliances and in the various zones, dish storage near the sink/DW and also a straight shot into the DR (whichever side it's on). Ditto for bringing dirty dishes into the kitchen.

It keeps the cooking zone separate from the cleanup area.

The cooking & prep zones are protected somewhat from traffic by the peninsula...very important when dealing with hot items and knives! You can also visit and be a part of whatever is going on on the peninsula side while prepping and cooking.

All in all, I think you will much prefer this layout!

Good luck!

Oh, I second Alku's recommendation to use Galaxy Tool Supply's Ticor sink. The Ticor is a higher gauge SS plus you get a SS sink grid and a strainer with it...all for much less than the Blancorondo w/o these items.

You might consider them for your main/cleanup sink as well if they have the configuration you want. We got the S405D. Unfortunately, they didn't have what we needed for our prep sink so I had to spend a lot more on it than I did on my main, much larger, sink!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ticor Undermount Sinks (Galaxy Tool Supply)

I have mixed feelings about the switch but I think I can get over it if I change my habits a little. Currently, I do all prepping on the peninsula and pass dirty dishes to my right and then eventually in the sink. IÂd have to start walking them over now. Our table is on the other side of the peninsula so we clear it by either walking around or in a two step process of setting them on the counter, walking around and then putting them in the sink. I'm sure having the sink over there will keep things from congregating in the corner but right now it seems foreign.

The biggest pro is that weÂll be doing the kitchen ourselves (in two phases), starting with the fridge wall. If we tackle the sink and DW first, IÂll never be without them and have the old sink as my prep sink for a while to see how much use weÂd get out of it.

The con for me is not having a window above the sink and being flanked by a wall and the fridge. I have "confinement" issues so IÂm not sure how that would make me feel. LOL The other negative is that dishes and glasses would not fit on one side of the DW so IÂd have to split them but thatÂs been a HUGE issue in my current kitchen so I may be over thinking it a bit.

IÂm pretty set on Silgranit but if I change my mind and go for stainless sinks, IÂll definitely get Ticor. You canÂt beat that price for the quality.

OK, this would be a major change...but....could you invert your kitchen?

Put the sink & refrigerator on the bottom wall w/the window and the range, prep sink, and peninsula on the top wall? That way, you'd at least have the window for the sink.

You may have to put your refrigerator on the left b/c of the window location (unless you can move the window) which would make it a little inconvenient for the DR. But, if that's the FR on the left, it will be more convenient for snackers in the FR!

Glasses/dishes...if you put the DW in a position so that the cabinets are all on one side of the DW (probably not the sink side), then you can stand in one place & just have to swivel to get to the various cabinets. Just a thought.

As to dirty dishes...that's what DHs & kids are for :-)

For perspective, this is what we are dealing with now and the main things I want to change.

There is an addition going on next to the eating area that will take out a huge window so IÂd certainly be agreeable to adding a larger one in a new location in the kitchen, as long as it doesnÂt take away all the upper cabinets or creep the peninsula further into the eating area.

To prepare for the kitchen renovation, we are adding 6Â of cabinets in the eating area, which includes a 24" pantry, space for the counter appliances and storage for the crock pots, Foreman grill, blender, food processor, etc,. PLUS, all the junk drawers, so I donÂt have to consider most of those in the new kitchen.

The fridge has worked out very well for our family where it is so IÂd like to keep it at that end of the kitchen but the only other place is where the peninsula corner is now. Moving the window would keep the sink from being right beside it if we changed it to that wall.

We are seasoned DIY-ers and can make most any change ourselves but the work involved vs. the benefit does come into play. I appreciate all comments/criticisms because my husband has no vision and IÂm never sure if mine only fixes the current problems without looking at the big picture. LOL

If you can move the window to the left, then the refrigerator can be on that same end and you can have the sink under the window. Right now, the window is too close to where the refrigerator would be both to have the sink under the window and aesthetically.

I understand what you're saying...I felt the same way when I first found GW last summer. I learned so much and had so much help from everyone here that I think my kitchen will be 1000% better than it would have been! Everyone here helped w/the big picture and helped me to see that obsessing over one item in the kitchen (in my case an island) needed to be overshadowed by looking at the whole kitchen and how we work/play in and around it. This allowed me to eventually let go and come up w/a far superior kitchen--it took a while...but everyone was very patient w/me!

HTH!

It doesnÂt seem like there is much gain to switching, except the window but weÂd have to vent the stove from the other side of the room. That was in the original plan, but moving the window too wasnÂt, so I think I just need to get over not having one above the sink. For some reason, the fridge blocking my view to the table is more bothersome to me on this side of the room too.

Here it is, along with a general idea of the entire room.

{{!gwi}}

I dreamt of an island too, but gave up that idea very quickly when I realized it was just for show because it only added to my storage and traffic problems. I utilized GW 5 years for a tiny remodel but we got so much more out of that kitchen than I could have hoped for, thanks to the ideas here. :)

Perhaps, but it will also hide any dirty dishes from the dinner table!

backinthesaddle,
I was wondering what you finally came up with. We're working on a very similar plan to the one you described as your original idea, except we will have peninsulas on both sides of the sink/DW counter. Our sink and cooktop are about 8 feet across from each other. I can't seem to figure out a good way to get them closer to each other, so I too was wondering about putting a prep sink next to the CT (which will be induction), but there's not much space there. The big pot of boiling pasta concerns me too. I'm curious what you decided.

I ended up going in a different direction and we are 99.9% set on doing this.

The tiny window was very limiting so we are going to relocate and enlarge it between the range and peninsula. That gave me the light I wanted without having to plan any appliances around it. I also like how it got rid of the corner and allowed me to pull the peninsula back to make the eating area larger, even with the overhang.

The prep sink is still against a wall but it will be in a 24" cabinet so IÂm hoping it wonÂt be too crowded.

Your space looks quite similar to ours. Our family room is also on the left, but we have a peninsula there with uppers over it. We have the door leading to the DR on one wall. Our only window is on the right by the table where your door to the laundry is. I'm not sure what the scale is on your plan- our whole space is about 23' long by 12'4" wide. It's the 12' width and the fact that there are only 2 walls and they are parallel that's driving me crazy-lol. It's a tough space.

On your latest plan, I like the way you have the range and prep area in its own "protected" space. Also, having the sink and DW in this location seems more convenient for clean-up because you don't have to walk around the peninsula. But do you have enough space for people to walk between the FR and the table when the DW is open? If you have a moment, I would really appreciate if you could post your dimensions.