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aloha2009

Sink Sizing

15 years ago

I've been doing a lot of GW research on sinks but haven't come up with a clear cut winner.

Even before reading info on GW my DH and I liked the silgranit at HD but were concerned if it would stand up to the test of time. After reading all the rave reviews on GW, we feel very confident on that decision.

We came from a deep triple sink home (which we loved) to the standard builder grade double bowl sink. Both of us have grown up with double bowls our whole lives so the "comfort" of the familiar is there but that's about all I can say for the equal sized double bowls.

We're considering the 70/30 split, one single bowl (don't know what size would be best), or the smart divide sink.

It's only my DH and I on a daily basis. We will not have a prep sink. Daily dishes are usually put in DW right away. The large pots, pans and cookie sheets we tend to wash by hand. We'll be adding a laundry sink (which is adjacent to the kitchen) so that will elimate/minimize the garden potting and paint clean up projects that we've used the kitchen sink for.

My DH is OK with the odd sized double sinks and hasn't given his opinion on the smart divide sink. He's definately shying away from the single sink though. He admits, he thinks it may be mostly out of familiarity then practicality. I too feel scared to take the leap of faith that a single bowl might be best, though there are so many that love their single bowls. The 70/30 split seems like our triple bowl sink w/o the second bowl - which I can't imagine being good.

We tested some sink depths and prefer the shallower ones. I know I could stage half my kitchen into some of those deep sinks, but my daily confort in using the sink is more of a concern.

I know I will want the silgranit and the drain to be in the back to open up the undersink area for storage but what size.

What size sink do you HAVE that you like, and why?

Comments (18)

  • 15 years ago

    I am currently using a double bowl sink, maybe 60-40, remarried, sold my house, moved into DH's home and I HATE it. Had a large, single bowl sink, offset drain, maybe 8-9 inches deep and LOVED it. Thinking about getting the Franke Orca sink for the new house but want to see it in person and bring my largest roasting pan (which is in storage since I can't fit it into this sink to wash it) and make sure it fits into the sink. It's hard to wash large cutting boards as well. Maybe last week or the week before, this topic came up and there were many responses. Good luck!

  • 15 years ago

    I'm sure I read it, as I went through many threads.

    I guess another question I had when reading the threads was with the sink that any of you love, do you have a prep sink in addition to it? I want to get works best w/o having a prep sink in addition.

  • 15 years ago

    I've only ever had a single bowl sink (never a prep sink, and there won't be room for one in the new kitchen either) and I always have a dish drainer next to the sink, which I use all the time. Works for me. My current sink is about 21-22" wide - not wide enough for my largest cutting board, so I'm getting the biggest sink I can find that will fit in a 36" cab - looking into a white silgranit.

  • 15 years ago

    My DH is really uncomfortable with the single sink but I read how others LOVE them, even the smaller ones.

    Does anyone have any ideas on how I can help him look at the unfamiliar with a more open mind for functionality?

  • 15 years ago

    I have the Silgranit Cafe 1-1/2 bowl drop in sink and just love it. I don't have a prep sink and have only ever had 50/50 double bowl sinks before. I think I would have been happy with a single bowl also, but I find the little side very useful. I drain cutting boards and baking pans over there, since they stand more upright. I use the little bowl to quickly soak greens or cool my homemade stock in an ice water bath, etc. I could probably do all those things in a plastic basin if I had a single bowl, but the large bowl is plenty big for just about everything else, so I've never regretted it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: 1-1/2 bowl sink I bought

  • 15 years ago

    Look at lots together and show him lots of pictures. Things I didn't like at first grew on me the more I saw them (like soapstone :o))

  • 15 years ago

    You'll only have one basket drain strainer to get gunky and disgusting with a single bowl. And if you have a disposal, you'll have no disgusting basket!

  • 15 years ago

    I had a Kohler double sink in our previous home. Not crazy about the cast-iron sink finish but never minded the double sink. Ideal, no? But it was a good sink.

    Relocated and the rental has a Kohler farmhouse, HUGE single bowl sink. I am not sure if, as some say, the familiarity of the double bowl has me longing for the 2 bowls again or if it is the farmhouse style that is the problem. I dreamed and drooled (and still do) over the farmhouse look, but I spill so much water and am soaked doing the stuff I wash by hand.
    I also have issues with washing things up. Maybe I am just clueless in how I do things. When all my stuff is in the sink, I always feel like the item I am washing (big things that have to rest on the bottom) are touching the dirty stuff and it never gets clean enough.
    DH wants a single bowl, so who knows what we will actually end up with.

  • 15 years ago

    Currently I do not have a prep sink, didn't have one in my previous home and in the new house, I will not have one. I guess since I was never used to having one, I didn't feel the need to clutter the island with one (in my opinion, everyone has different thoughts on this). The island will be 7 feet long and I guess with the overhang about 5 feet or so wide so there would be plenty of room for one but I just want to have a huge area for entertaining, etc. I think the Orca sink I'm considering needs a 36 inch base cabinet which is planned for the kitchen so I'm all set.

  • 15 years ago

    I have a 60/40 blanco silgranit sink. No prep sink. I wish I would have gotten the single bowl. I hardly ever use the small side and the big side still does not have enough room to fit my big fry pans to soak. The ONLY downside I see to a single bowl sink is you will use more water to fill it up for soaking things. I LOVE the silgranit though!

  • 15 years ago

    I always had huge single-bowl sinks, then we bought this house and it came with a Kohler 60/40 cast-iron sink. The good thing is the depth--10" in the large bowl, 9" in the smaller. Garbage disposal in the smaller bowl. I've lived with it for 9 years.

    For the remodel, I went back and forth, back and forth...the double bowl is good for soaking a pot overnight, and you can still use the disposal side for rinsing plates or disposing. I finally decided that I NEEDED a huge, deep single sink that would hold my roasting pans, baking sheets, giant stockpots and frying pans FLAT. I'm tired of my big saute pans not fitting in the double bowl. I bought an undermount Kraus 32 x 18 0.75 radius single-bowl stainless steel sink, 10" deep.

    DH and I both liked farmhouse sinks, but were advised that they were too trendy for a "forever kitchen." I'm sad, but the Kraus will work well, and it is HUGE. It's still in a box in the living room :-)

    We discussed a prep sink in the island, but decided that we didn't really need one. DH wants the island to be one vast, unbroken space. I've never had a prep sink, so I won't miss it.

    I think that since you, like me, immediately put dishes in the DW, it's really more a question of which kind of sink is most practical for you. If you don't use giant pans, or only infrequently, then stick with your double-sink comfort zone :-) If you do use giant pans or baking sheets frequently, I think a single bowl would make life easier.

  • 15 years ago

    I grew up with a double bowl sink, we had no dishwasher and handwashed the dishes. Made sense.

    When I built my house we put in a large single bowl. We do have a small prep sink on an island that seldom gets used. We cook together, but the kitchen is laid out well for us so we're not competing for floor or counter space.

    The large single bowl? Love it. I hand wash large items, many can sit flat and soak if need be. I hand wash a lot of small items as they are used, my wife pretty much puts everything (except large stuff) right in the dishwasher.

    We have no disposal.

    I'm getting ready to tile our kitchen backsplash so last week we had a discussion about the utility of our existing kitchen layout. Did my wife want anything different? Countertop height, sink size, etc.

    Nope. It's not a "takeout and microwave kitchen". She's an avid cook and baker, she'd kill me if I gave her a double bowl. She likes the large footprint of the single bowl.

    Our sink is a good-sized undermount stainless Franke (roughly 27" by 15") set in a teak countertop.

  • 15 years ago

    I finally came to the end of "The Great Sink Debate" a few weeks ago (and got a lot of help right here on GW). DH and I have had two different Kohler cast irons over the last few years, one a 30/70 and the last was a 50/50. We knew we wanted nothing like either of those again, but couldn't decide on a 60/40 or a single bowl for quite some time. We do not have a prep sink.

    Here's what we did know:

    ~We put everyday dishes in the DW immediately after use
    ~We like to hand wash wine glasses and coffee pots and air dry them in the sink, not on the counter
    ~If we have to soak a pan, we only soak what's in the pan. If it's an all-over-the-pan-must-soak-overnight kind of mess, everything else gets washed, dried and put away and then the pan needing soaking gets to soak. All alone. :)

    Long(er) story short, we agreed on a Franke Orca and couldn't be happier with it. I like that it drains in the back of the bowl as it gives us a lot more room under the sink. It also gives us tons of room to wash and dry dishes. It's huge to (me): 29.5" W x 18.5" D at it's deepest. I don't think that I'll ever have a double bowl sink again. Ever.

    BTW, mskitchen, our sink base is 33", so it does fit in a smaller base if that helps.

    I know you're not interested in stainless sinks, but this just shows you how flexible a single sink can be. Clean on right, dirty on left:

    {{!gwi}}

  • 15 years ago

    We debated the double or single Silgranit sink too. I love the look and space in a single and were leaning towards one for months but in the in end we decided on a Silgranit double sink (Precis 1 3/4). Our reason was we usually put dirty dishes into one side before loading the dishwasher and like to have the other side clean and empty all the time especially while prepping. If our kitchen were large enough for a prep sink, we would of got a large single.

  • 15 years ago

    hsw cs, great looking sink. DH and I spent almost 3 hours on Sat. deciding on sinks, faucets, whirlpool, etc...... looked at a Silgranit, he didn't like it. This store didn't sell Franke, looked at a Blanco, and I ended up selecting a single bowl Kohler with a Grohe faucet. Most of the sinks on display were double bowl. Waiting for the pricing to come in, I think this week I'll take a ride and see the Orca in person. Just have to locate a dealer and I think there's one in Maryland.

  • 15 years ago

    I have always had single bowl, but when we were deciding on sinks this time I gave the split some thought. Ultimately we got the kohler Bakersfield single bowl and I couldn't be happier. Once in a blue moon I think two bowls might be useful, but generally I can do everything and then some in the one I have. I keep a dishpan in the cabinet for times that I need to separate things within the sink.

  • 15 years ago

    Hi jalsy6, how do you like the Bakersfield? I selected one yesterday, could be yours or the Cape Dory, by the time we got to the kitchen selections, I was rapidly losing momentum. DH took a strong dislike to the Silgranit and he really has been good about a lot of things so I just walked away from it. How is it holding up, the one I looked at had the rack on the bottom and I think I would get that option. Only thing I didn't like about it was not having an offset drain but the rack would eliminate the buildup of of water. The one on display was lovely, sort of a silvery bronze color if that makes any sense. I think I would get the biscuit shade.

  • 15 years ago

    With the OVERWELMING number of those that have a single and love it, compared to the double sink owners that are content or endure their sink, with MUCH apprehension we're going to look into getting a super single. I haven't gotten Breezygirl's depiction of the infamous slimy strainer out of my mind - YUCK!!!

    We've combed through these responses and others from other threads several times, and it's pretty clear the best path to go. It's incredible the emotional conflict this sink sizing stirs up. I want so bad for the double to have enough pluses for it to win out, but clearly it's just about the familiarity and not the functionality of the sink. We've gone through our daily routines and the single would work much better for us too.

    It's amazing to me that as much as those that have a super single, I've NEVER seen one in any home I've ever gone into. I'm sure we will get interesting inquiries.

    I started looking online for Silgranit super singles with a drain in the back corner but haven't been able to locate one yet (I'll keep looking). I've seen the ones in the back middle and ones to the side. I tried to google most/all of the models that were given but I think I couldn't quite find the exact ones. Is it the silgranit that is limiting the selection or is it my search skills (or lack there of)?