Did you already purchase the sink? If not there are options.

Total width with flanges is 29.5 inches = exterior dimension

Then, the cabinet making company will tell you what the space available is, inside their cabinet. Only they know for sure.

To be absolutely sure you can remove the sink in the future without touching the cabinet, your sink's total size (exterior dimension) has to be smaller than the space available inside the cabinet. That is so obvious that you might think I'm overstating the obvious. But, it appears to me that this question is exactly the question you are asking. Hope you accept the answer as given.

BUT know this: no one ever has to remove a sink. There is no point thinking about it.

Of course, it might happen. But who cares? It's still quite easy to replace a sink whose top lip sits on a cabinet side. It's fairly easy to rebuild the cabinet's top lip when installing a new sink. This kind of rebuilding work happens to every once in a million or so. It's not a challenge to anyone with tools.

Also good to know: a 30" cabinet has an exterior dimension of 30 inches. It has two sides, both of which are thicker than 1/4" thick. This is true in all cases. Therefore, using arithmetic, one can calculate that it is physically impossible to place a 29.5" object inside the 30" cabinet. This is so obvious that you might think I'm overstating the obvious. But, it appears to me that this question is exactly the question you are asking. Hope you accept the answer as given.

The sink you like will have to sit on the cabinet sides. No big deal. Not a deal breaker. Nothing to get hung up about.

I haven't bought anything yet.

My basic questions are:
Can I fit a sink like that one in a 30" cabinet?
Are there any other important problems with this plan?
Are the VIGO sinks a good choice?

This combination seems like a perfect solution to my layout problems, but my KD was so opposed to 30" sink cabinets that I'm afraid I'm missing something. I want to get my facts straight before I meet with her again.

Thank you to everyone for your help.

Dave

I think you already have your answer that it won't fit, and why.

Hm... I know for sure that there are 30" sinks that fit in 30" cabinets. Several people have posted on that and I have some links filed away with options if you are in need of specific sink recommendations.

I'm probably going with exactly this, so I'm following it rather closely as I lurk and research.

I like Davidro1's answer, which I'm paraphrasing as: "yes it will fit, cabinet flanges will have to rest on sides, but it's not a deal breaker. Yes, if you were ever forced to replace your stainless steel sink in the future, that would be difficult, but that's unlikely."

If I'm missing bigger problems with this plan, help me understand what I'm missing.

Let me clarify my current situation:
-We will be gutting current kitchen and will start fresh with all new cabinets, sink and counter.
-I haven't bought or ordered anything yet.

-I'm assuming that the interior width of a standard 30" sink cabinet should be around 29". I understand I will have to confirm that assumption with KD.
-Exterior Width of the sink bowls for the stainless sink I found = 27.5"
-29" interior cabinet width minus 27.5" sink bowl width = 1.5 of clearance between outside of sink bowls and the cabinet sides.
-Yes, the sink width with flanges is 29.5, but each stainless flange should be approx 1" deep and those flanges can rest on top of the cabinet sides.

If the other info I've read is correct, undermount stainless sinks are typically installed to granite counters by gluing them to the granite counter. If the sink is glued to the counter first, then it will drop right into the cabinet.

Yes, if I ever needed to replace the sink in the future after we rebuild the kitchen, it would be difficult to do that after the counter was installed, but the odds that I would be forced to replace a stainless sink are fairly low.

Again, if I'm missing something, please help me get it.

You didn't mention it explicitly, but perhaps you have already thought of this. You will have to notch the tops of your cabinets to make room for the thickness of the sink flange.

I talked to another kitchen designer tonight. He says it is probably possible, but ultimately it's the granite installer that has to decide b/c they are the ones that have to determine if they will have enough room to apply the clips and the silicone. I'll check with them.

Any opinions on VIGO sinks?

web search "sink setter" and then later search for it in this GW forum. Then read about braces, made of pieces of wood.

the goal is to install any undermount sink without drilling any holes into the countertop (stone).

the "granite installer" may use silicone as a pad + glue when laying the granite onto the cabinets. If this is the case, he may tell you that your 1/16th inch thick sink lip is not a worry, and not to notch the tops of your cabinets as there is no need "to make room" for a 1/16th" thingie. The siiicone may be a lot thicker than that. Also, he could add any 1/16" thickness spacer material to the cabinets too. So, not to worry. In any case, it's also not big deal to slice 1/16" off of cabinets across the area where the sink rim will rest.

I did a quick search through my 'sinks' file and found some threads that might be helpful to you. Here's one that stands out, complete with pictures that reflect what you seem to be going for and some links to recommended sinks.

Here is a link that might be useful: max. sink size in 30