When I designed my kitchen one of the "must haves" was two sinks. I was so tired of DH & I in conflict over the sink when I was trying to cook. His sink is the cleanup sink against the back wall & my sink is a "prep sink on steroids" in a peninsula. It is a two bowl, 30" Ticor. I have a high faucet with sprayer for filling pots, my own garbage disposal and plenty of room to rinse out utensils, bowls, etc. while I cook. We're not in the house, yet, but I think I am going to love it.

I have cooked at my SIL's & I wouldn't give the typical tiny prep sink on an island with no disposal house room. JMHO.

Jo Ann

I use mine all of the time. I think it really depends on your specific layout as to how much efficiency it will lend to your kitchen. I went with a large single bowl sink that I use as a prep sink. It is in the island across from the rangetop. I absolutely love my setup now that I have been using it. I was not exactly sure about it during the planning stages, but I am so glad to have it. The double ovens are to the right of the refrigerator, so my actual working triangle is very small.

DH does most of the cleanup, so he is in the aisle across from me at the clean up sink. He can grab the dirty prep dishes off of the island and transfer them to the double bowl clean up sink, which is extra large too. When we are all done, the dried prep equipment is placed back on the island and then I stow it all away.

Here's a photo showing the prep sink and the range behind it. In the lower right of this photo you can see the edge of my clean up sink counter.

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And this shows the clean up area. The upper cabs have all the dishes. The silverware is in the drawer. There is an integrated DW to the left and the recycling bins in a pull out on the right. The narrow lower cabs on either side of the sink house pullout bars to hang towels on.

The corner of the island is in the right lower hand corner.
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We have two huge sinks. One is a 1.75 bowl (large bowl and 3/4 size bowl for draining) in the main kitchen. We use it for washing dishes, rinsing produce, filling pots, etc. We have a 4' long "garden sink" on the way into the kitchen from the mudroom. My husband uses it constantly for washing his hands after working in the yard. He also uses it daily for rinsing the hen house eggs. When needed, we use it to wash extra large items (cookie sheets and roasting pans fit in the other sink so we usually only use this extra large sink for extra large items)and for washing paint trays, filling buckets and hand washing laundry. When I'm canning or need to wash a lot of produce I clean the sink up real good and use it for those purposes also. But in general, we use the garden sink as our dirty sink.

I know a lot of kitchens don't have this kind of room. But I thought I'd describe the set up in case it helps. I can't imagine that those small bar sinks work well for anything more than getting a glass of water? I like BIG sinks, lol.

I forgot to add that I have a disposal, hand soap dispenser and pullout spray faucet at both sinks. That makes it all very funtional.

Having a prep sink is one of the key things that makes my kitchen ultra-functional. I wanted my island to be the main area for prep for several reasons. First, it gave me a lot of room to spread everything out. Second, it allowed me to chat with company while working. Finally, the island is the most convenient place to drop things as I get them out of the fridge or pantry, so using them where they're dropped makes more sense than lugging things all over or moving them multiple times. Without a sink in the island, I know I wouldn't do nearly as much prep on it. It just wouldn't make as much sense logistically, and it would get messy. We put a disposal at both sinks.

I love always having a clean space to wash veggies and not having to worry about getting all dishes washed before beginning prep work. I also like the idea that my prep sink is only used for non-meat food prep and dumping pasta water. I know that between cleanings, it's still pretty sanitary, and I definitely can't say that about my clean-up sink.

All that said, I do think how useful a prep sink is depends on the layout and overall size of the kitchen, as well as who uses the kitchen and how. In some kitchens, a prep sink does seem unnecessary, but in others (like mine), it makes all the difference in the world.

It's amazing. I would never have a kitchen without 2 sinks, even if I always worked in the kitchen along, which is rare in our house. Because it's rare, it makes it possible for multiple workers and projects going in the kitchen at the same time. But even when alone, I very much appreciate having the prep sink handy to the prep area and stove, and my baking project work space, and separate from the collecting dirty dishes.

Location is the huge key. When people don't use their 2nd sink it's usually because it's not in the best place for using it, and maybe that it is too small.

We love our prep sink and use it all the time. It makes the kitchen so much more functional. We have garbage disposal and soap at both sinks. If you have the room I think it's a no brainer.

thank you so much for all of your input!! you have very quickly answered my question!! i think the key is to get a sink that is usable (sp??) and not too small.

judydel, I think that your kitchen and mine have many similarities--both working kitchens. The "prep" sink on our peninsula is a full-sized single basin I've written about on GW many times. (Like yours, I meant to have it closer to front door and gar. door to short-stop dirty hands and dirty produce, but in planning, it migrated to the kitchen peninsula along a corridor that has outdoors access.) I use it gratefully when there's produce to deal with--esp. prep for dehydrator preservation and freezing--but it's primarily for day to day cooking with fresh foods. We don't use a lot of preprepared foods so the sink receives ingredients and utensils and knives. The order of arrangement is refrig-prep sink-pull-out cutting board-range. It's one continuous place. We decided to put money into the infrastructure, not the decorations and style, so we have plain white Kohler cast iron for both sinks and don't regret it. Yes, indeedy, two cooks use both sinks in food prep, often interchangeably, plus the peninsula sink serves many other functions. On cleaning day, the peninsula sink's where the washbucket sits awaiting a new task. When there's a dinner party or a happening on the deck at back of house, this sink is accessed to serve the table while the cleanup sink is accessed to process dirty dishes. I admit: the peninsula sink is big enough that I use it for stupid things, like temp storage of produce or newspapers or mail when I need to clean off the peninsula counter for another purpose.

Mick2, I think you've missed another point from these posts--location. The location needs to make sense for the flow of kitchen work and for proximity to the cooking zone.

I have one sink now. Like Holligator, I can't stand prepping over and around dirty dishes in the sink. Sometimes I don't have time to load the DW right away. I am planning a prep sink in the new kitchen so I know it will always be clean and waiting for me. I can't wait! Plus, DH won't have the excuse of not being able to do the dishes because I'm using the sink to cook! LOL!

My kitchen is a split design. The sink and dishwasher is on one side, the cook top and refrig are on the other side. so a prep sink near the cooktop was a must and I do use it all the time. Maybe even more than my main sink.

we have a huge utility sink in our current kitchen. it's near the range and we use it constantly to clean vegetables, wash big items, or for straining pasta. frequently there is a huge roast defosting in it, often it's performimg several of these functions at once!
the other sink is for dishes, and lately i find myself wishing for another sink for handwashing.
we care for a couple of disabled adults, and just like kids they need to have hand washing supervised, so we will have a third sink for that in our new kitchen.

I really use my prep sink - daily. It contributes greatly to the functionality of my kitchen. But I wasn't always in favour of them - I didn't include a prep sink in my original design of my kitchen. I thought they were an unnecessary expense, almost silly in fact. The good people on this forum gently steered me towards the right decision!

That said, I agree that it does depend on the kitchen. My last kitchen (picture below) just didn't need a prep sink (IMHO of course). It was too small, limited counter space, etc. My current kitchen, second picture, is larger and was intended to be a kitchen with at least three different zones (cooking, cleaning, plus extra space along the peninsula). I really need that prep sink at in the cooking zone, and I love that my dh can be cleaning up at the main sink while I cook and prep to my heart's content.

My last kitchen (no prep sink)

Layout of my current kitchen, with round prep sink to the left of the hob. The island is now rectangular, not triangular:

Both of our sinks are pretty interchangeable. Both get used during prep and clean up.

Between meals our deep prep sink becomes a place where recyclable metal and plastic accumulates to be rinsed before being brought out to the mudroom where we have a chute to the basement for the recyclables. It's easier to accumulate and do everything at once.

The one feature that really drove our renovation was the desire for a second sink. The task I usually need the most help with is veggie prep and it's easier for me and my helper to be at separate sinks. It didn't save any time if I had to wait for my helper to finish up at the sink before I could use it for my share of the veggies.

Our 2 sinks are at opposite ends of the kitchen and I love always having a source of water, a place to dump liquids, and a place to quickly rinse my hands nearby.

I have a smaller prep sink (~15") with a small drain board and cutting board that fits over the drain board right beside the range. I love it for dealing with raw meats, filling/draining pots, washing hands, and stuff like ice baths for blanching. I can wash the occasional pot or wash the occasional potato in it too, but it's too small for dealing with large amounts of produce.

Like others above, it completely eliminates contention for the water and I'm not running across the kitchen with pots full of hot stuff - the sink is just one step sideways.