I have 2 sinks back to back on a large island I use the one on the fridge sink for prep, don’t see the point with the galley sinkat all

I don't see the point in a prep sink, personally, unless you are cooking for a huge amount of people and have others in there helping you. I have a double sink and that handles all of my needs.

I've never used these in any house except for maybe during an odd holiday were there were a lot of people trying to cook at the same time. IMO it isn't worth it unless you expect that situation a lot.

I have a prep sink next to my cook top that is used very frequently. It prevents me from even three steps to the main, large sink when I need to drain something- important. I don't like having a main sink that contains all the cooking stuff- dirty pots/pats etc- with nowhere else to go. It also allows me to do last-minute prep of things added to the dish at, well- the last minute. The space between the cook top and the prep sink also allows me to stack up plates, for serving. And of course- I can have another prepper on my team, without having to share a sink.

Yep- I love my prep sink, which btw also has a garbage disposal. Not quite as powerful as the main sink, but handles it all. I like to cook...

I would suggest before beginning you post your kitchen plan in the kitchen forum especially since you're not thrilled about having your sink on the island. They may be able to help you come up with a better plan that puts the sink along the perimeter. There are several people there who are better at design than most kitchen designers.

I'm planning on having a prep sink and a clean up sink since DH likes to help clean up and help prep as I cook. Another thought? Do you have young children?

It really depends on your layout and size of the kitchen. My kitchen is rather large with the cleanup sink on the far end. Having a prep sink closer to the fridge/other side of the kitchen is really convenient.

I currently have the Kohler Stages. Installed a couple of years ago. Love it. But I made the mistake of going with only 1 faucet. Definitely should have installed 2 faucets. This essentially would allow me to cut/prep on one end & another person at other end could do the same or clean or wash hands without splashing on my clean food. I like the Galley because I could actually go with a longer sink. (I believe Stages max length is 45") If you've ever used a 45" sink, you know there is certainly space & usefulness at having 2 faucets. It's not your typical kitchen sink. I also like the Galley because of the 2 levels where accessories can slide under one another. My Kohler only has 1 level. I'm not loving The Galley's price. Considering the creategoodsinks also. cpartist-No there are no young children

We have one large sink in an island (other must haves dictated that location) with 2 faucets that get used regularly. I did not want to give up the counter space for a prep sink and 2 faucets was my solution to the inevitable person wanting faucet time while food is being prepped or dishes washed. Ours is not a Stages sink but I would have wanted the 2 faucets even more if it was.

I have a Kohler Bakersfield sink and have never seen the point, nor would I use, a prep sink. It would end up being one more thing I have to clean. I prefer the kitchen island to have nothing on it other than used for prep and eating.

No.

We are currently building and in a rental house. In our old house we used our prep sink all the time. It's usually me and DH in the kitchen at the same time. In the rental we have no prep sink and really miss it. In our new house we will have a prep sink in the island and it will get used all the time.

I have a prep sink and it is used regularly. I would miss not having one. However, without seeing your kitchen layout, it is difficult to give an opinion on how prep sink would work w/your kitchen design.

If you have a water system (reverse osmosis or other), prep sink nice spot for faucet.

The whole point of a prep sink is to facilitate food prep, which requires access to water, and allow cleanup to occur as a simultaneous independent task, not beholden to waiting on someone to move out of your way for either task. Whether or not a prep sink is useful in a design depends on multiple factors, starting with size. Small kitchens obviously do not have much room to spare. Large kitchens often need more than one source of water because of the distance between the sink and the fridge. And the distance between the range and the sink.

Using a single sink well, also depends on how successfully you have designed the cleanup zone to be relegated to one side of the sink and the prep zone to the other. When mixing zones around a shared water source, it's really important to not have backtracking, or you will have created a big bottleneck and a source of frustration.

Even families that have a single cook, usually have others pitching in for cleanup. Also, family dynamics DO CHANGE when you have a good kitchen design that encourages that change. And as children age, spouses retire, or other changes to the home activity occur, your kitchen should be adaptable and accepting to those changes. It should work well for one or four, regardless. IF it is well designed.

I can't imagine not having a prep sink. I use it every day. My prep sink is used for fruit and vegetables only, avoiding cross contamination. My husband and I often cook together, and he uses the main sink for his prep. The cooktop is in between the two sinks, but much closer to the prep sink, about 20 inches away, enough for cutting board and some extra space. Really ideal for two cooks to use.

I don't have a prep sink and didn't put one in my last kitchen, thinking I wouldn't need it. Many times I wished I had one--although I am also glad I had the counterspace.

My next kitchen will definitely have a prep sink (and lots of counters)

We use our prep sink often, even though it's near the clean-up sink. As soon as we have multiple cooks in the kitchen it gets used. The only reason it doesn't get used quite as often is that we'd made the island 2" shorter (for cooking w/ tall pots & baking), and my 6' DH finds it too low for chopping vegetables.

We have one, and use it every day. But- you will have two faucets on one sink, plus the bar sink. That's already one more faucet than we have. I designed our kitchen around two sinks, with the prep sink being near the fridge and range, and the main, clean-up sink on the other side of the kitchen. Even if it had two faucets, the main sink is in the wrong spot for good lay-out. We are a two-cook family, and can keep the whole place busy.

In our vacation home, I have a prep sink on my island near the refrigerator, which I thought would enable a second cook to prep veggies, etc. It has a garbage disposal as well. We rarely use it. Its main function seems to be as a wine chiller during parties. We are building a new house and I am skipping the prep sink this time. I do think this is very much a matter of personal choice, and how your family cooks, however.

I love mine! Because of how it is placed in relation to the fridge and stove, I use it exclusively for prep and scraps. It also doubles as a mini-bar area and makes a great ice container. My only "why did I do that" moment is that my prep sink is a white overmount which makes it a little more difficult to wipe cutting scraps into it as compared to my main sink which is a large deep stainless undermount. I did not want "matchy-matchy" with both sink styles and installation types. Oh well though, there are bigger problems in the world.

The main point of a prep sink isn't so much to have an extra sink, its more to have a water source where you want to prep food. This isn't necessary for every kitchen and is layout dependent.

I have two sinks - kholer stages and a smaller prep sink. I have one hansgrohe large commercial-like faucet for the stages sink, which is plenty large enough. It reaches the entire sink and tray as well. I love the sink , but I am not really a fan of the tray anymore. I am constantly cleaning it and because our water is so hard, it constantly looks dirty. I am even considering replacing it with a sink where the tray is a removable option.

I dont cook, but I have never used the prep sink in my walnut island, a couple feet from the island cooktop. I will say this is probably partly because I am so scared of ruining the walnut top. I also think it is too far from the cooktop. However, my friend, who is an avid cook, stayed at my house once and told me she used it quite a bit.

Funny- The main point of our prep sink is to have a second sink! The problem we always had is that my wife always manages to tie up both halves of the main sink. I would come in from the grill with marinade dripping off me, only to find I had no place to wash up. Now, with the second sink, which is unofficially 'mine', this never happens.

Like Mushcreek, our main point is to have a second sink. This way I can be prepping at the prep sink and DH can be cleaning up at the clean up sink without my having to shoo him away when I need to do something else at the sink. Or he can be helping me chop veggies, while I'm chopping other stuff without us both vying for the same water. It will be heaven not to be in each other's way.

"it depends". If the kitchen is set up such that the second sink leaves the main sink outside the work zone and can be easily used for cleanup, then it gets used. If you are closing zones willy nilly with a second sink just plopped down somewhere, then it won't get used because it's not natural.

I cook. Hubs cleans up. And we keep a sink of soapy water. That's 3 sinks. It just so happens that ours will all be in a row so we can share the soapy water, but we won't be stepping over each other, and I can put "used" tools into his cleanup sink, keeping my prep sink available to wash vegetables, etc.

gwilmot, have you seen The Galley sink in person? I had looked at the website and thought it was an interesting concept, so I visited the local dealer. I was quite underwhelmed by the display and the overall materials. I crossed it off the list in less than a minute.

We use a prep sink and allow vegetables all over the bottom when washing. Chicken gets washed (or plates with chicken) in the main sink. Cross contamination.

Cleaning large amounts of greens is easier that way.

Otherwise like others have said - layout dependent.

We are losing a prep sink in the next build. A little nervous about it.

Thank you all for your input. Yes I agree it all depends on how we personally work in our kitchens. As I stated before, I'm primarily a solo cook, so the idea that someone else would be in my kitchen, prepping anything, would be extremely rare. I have a garden though. I bring in large amounts of dirty vegetables. I like my Kohler stages in that I can set up an assembly line (dirty carrots on one end, then wash, chop, process.) It would have been better with 2 faucets though. I could also use a few more inches for this task. And I like the idea of the multi-level slides for accessories on The Galley (colander, cutting board, bowl, etc.) But no, chispa, I have not seen The Galley in person. I will be going to see one next week. Thanks for all your insights. It's been very helpful.

We almost didn't put a prep sink in our island. It would have been a HUGE mistake, as I use it every day (even though I thought I wouldn't, since I've never had one). The main sink is often filled with dishes from cooking and unless I'm cooking something that doesn't require constant attention, I typically don't wash dishes until after dinner. It'd be such a pain to empty and clean out the main sink to drain pasta or something. Instead, my prep sink is used for all cooking related activity while the main sink is used for dishes and clean up.

I plan to have a separate prep sink on my island with a larger main cleanup sink on an exterior wall next to the dishwasher. It is normal in my house for the sink to get filled with dirty dishes throughout the day (since apparently I am the only person capable of loading a dishwasher). I want a space where I can have a clean sink for cleaning and prepping vegetables that is next to my work space and away from the sink filled with dirty dishes that may not be loaded into the dishwasher until after dinner.

However, I think it really depends on how your kitchen is organized. While traditional thinking talked about a "work triangle" (including stove, sink, refrigerator), the common discussion in the kitchen forum has been about "work zones". This concept is brilliant. I usually have an area where I'm prepping, mixing, chopping, etc. I do a lot of vegetable-based cooking so I need a space adjacent to clean veggies, rinse quinoa, etc and that is how I will use a prep sink. This area is separate from my cleanup zone where I have a big sink for hand-washing pots and pans and an adjacent dishwasher for loading daily dishes. You might consider posting your kitchen layout in the kitchen forum. The people there are brilliant when it comes to kitchen layouts.

No.... not mine, waste of space, but I NEVER leave dirty dishes in my sink, I'm too OCD for that. One of my many quirks, just as I HATE clutter, I consider dirty dishes in the sink as dirty clutter.

LOL. We certainly all have our quirks!!!

I have no worries about my fella EVER getting in my way in the kitchen. He just acts like he is incapable of cooking, so yeah that is NEVER gonna be an issue. :-/

To me that's a question to be answered based on the size of your kitchen. The bigger the kitchen, then yes I could see the need for a second "prep" sink. But if your kitchen is on the normal to small side, that's going to take up valuable counter top space, so I would say no.

Chess I hear you! I don't think other than some of the holidays I ever have more than one chef in the kitchen with me and certainly not my husband, lol.