What do you mostly prep in the sink?

I'd use it to clean meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables, peel stuff, drain pasta, strain liquids, and fill pots of various sizes. At least, that's what I can think of at the moment.

My prep sink in the island is mostly used as an extra handwashing sink and for parties, serving as an ice bucket. Rarely used for food prep if we have a large group. All that to say, that our prep sink is 18x18 and plenty big for how we use it. Make sure to get a disposal for both sinks.

Based on what you said you’d use it for and the size of your island I’d say 24”

For a prep sink, I wouldn’t go any smaller than 24”.

I have 3 sinks in my kitchen (a 33” bowed front farm cleanup sink, a 24” under mount prep and a 13”x18” under mount prep). All have disposals.

The farm sink is an absolute pleasure to use. The fact that it’s a farm style and also bowed in front makes it feel like I’m IN the sink when washing dishes….zero back strain. I actually enjoy every minute standing and working at that sink!

The small 13”x18” sink is ridiculous and is an annoyance to use every single day because it’s the one I use the most and is just too small for prepping. The 24” sink is adequate but is not used as much as the smaller one because of its placement.

If I had to do it over, I would NEVER put in such a small sink for prep and would go no smaller than 24” and would also do a farm style for the prep as well. For me, the comfort of a farm sink is far superior to any other sink I’ve used.

I use the small prep sink for just about all my prep….so washing lots of veggies (which actually need more room to prep than one would think). And because the sink is very close to my range, spoons, measuring cups, utensils, plates, bowls etc. get put in that sink after use and I could kick myself for not having a dishwasher right next to it! If you think you will be putting any kind of prep bowls or utensils in your prep sink, seriously consider installing a dishwasher there.

So, to sum it up, if I had the opportunity for a do-over, my main prep sink would be a farm sink no smaller than 24” (might go even a little larger than that), and there would be a dishwasher right next to it.

My sink with bowed front…you can see how it could feel like you’re IN the sink when doing cleanup….

Ridiculously small prep sink….big mistake….

24” prep sink…..

My prep sink is 18" square and I use it to clean meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, peel stuff, fill water glasses and prepare the dog's food. I find it more than adequate for my needs. However YMMV.

I use my cleanup sink for things like filling large pots of water or drain pasta.

I also rarely think a kitchen eeds a prep sink if the main sink is close enough to the fridge and you do not have to go past the range to get there.

A prep sink is a wonderful thing to have especially if you are not the only one working in the kitchen. I will be using my prep sink and my DH will be at the cleanup sink, loading the dishwasher and cleaning up those few things that can't go in a dishwasher.

I hate disposals but I have a big garden and composter.

I LOVE my disposals. I have one at each sink and use them both.

I do not think farm sinks belong in most kitchens.

My farm sink has been a backsaver for us as it allows us (me especially) to get up close without having to lean over. But then again, I'm short. I think a farm sink can go in any style of house depending on what is chosen.

In our old house, we had a 18" round sink, and I loved it. The round shape lends a nice touch, at least to some kitchens. Would that work for you? It was perfect for prep work.

I agree with cpartist. In my newly renovated kitchen, I have a 36” farm sink for cleanup and an 18x18 undermount prep sink in the island. Both have disposals. i was considering skipping a disposal for the prep sink and really glad I reconsidered. i had to put the prep sink on the end of the island so couldnt go with 24. while the 18”:is certainly big enough, bigger would perhaps be a little better. it sounds like you havr the room to go bigger, so i would do that.

One thing to note….most listed sink measurements are NOT the actual interior dimensions but rather include the lip. So my 24” sink in reality has 21 1/2 “ of work space on the interior, but the manufacturer includes the lip for a total of 24” overall.

Nidnay, your kitchen is gorgeous! thank you for the pics. What kind of faucet is that on the farm sink? It is easy to see why that sink is more enjoyable to use. I'm short, and leaning over all the time is uncomfortable. I'm looking at stainless steel versions, b/c my new kitchen will be somewhat modern, but I think they make ss bow-fronts, and I'm going to test them out.

I definitely need a 2nd sink, for reasons many of you have stated. DH and i work from home, and we are constantly competing to use the sink for different tasks. Plus, the stove and fridge will be near the prep sink, farther away from the clean-up sink.

One thing, I don't know that I can have *any* garbage disposals, because we'll be on a septic system. It would be nice to have one, if we could, but I don't want to cause problems. Either way, I'm planning on composting.

@2rickies….. the faucet is made by Waterstone (their Gantry style). They also have contemporary versions. Their faucets are quite pricey though! Whichever brand you choose, I would highly recommend one with an articulating arm with a pretty far reach…especially since you are planning such a large sink. The beauty of an articulating faucet is that you can position the spout over virtually any spot in the sink, whereas with the normal unjointed arm, all it does is swivel in a fixed arc. Difficult to explain, so hope it makes sense. If you do a web search for articulating faucets, several will come up.

We are on septic as well and have never had a problem having disposals. I am an avid gardener and compost most items, but it’s nice to have the disposals for the odds and ends that happen to fall down the drain.

Since you’re a two person/cook kitchen, I would definitely consider a fairly decent size for that prep sink. And really give thought to a second dishwasher by the prep sink even if its simply a single dishwasher drawer. I am constantly moving dirty utensils and prep dish items over my kitchen isles (dripping all the way!) to get them to the dishwasher.

Closeup of the faucet shows the articulating arm much better…

1 - New Build in Process... · More Info

I didn't need a prep sink in the kitchen until I got frustrated with all the kitchen traffic at the time I was planning my new kitchen.

We use the prep sink a lot! It's between the fridge and the range which is very convenient. 17" wide, 18" front-to-back (that's the basin internal size). Most importantly, only 2" of counter in front of the sink. Almost as good as a farm sink! If you're short, go farm sink (or have the sink pulled really far forward which is not achievable in all countertop materials).

It's big enough for us, but we don't feel compelled to prep in the prep sink if the other sink is more suited--if someone wants to spatchcock a turkey, the "cleanup" sink gets used. Wash a trumpet? Prep sink. Wash a trombone? Cleanup sink. Drain pasta? Cleanup sink because I don't want steam on the cabinet above my prep sink. :P

I don't think 24" is too big. And if you're getting a farm sink, any smaller might look...weird. Not sure....

Large enough to temporarily store six adult Maine lobster in until the water in the pot on the stove starts to boil.

We are on septic at my country house and have had garbage disposals there for years. My cesspool people said to just get it pumped out a bit more frequently than I would otherwise without a disposal. That said, I am more careful about what goes down the sink in my house versus what i put down the sink in my city apartment—no eggshells or chicken bones and very minimal grease. i have never had a problem.

A 17x18" minimal radius sink is a big space. More than enough for kitchen duties of all kinds. You get more storage with a narrower base cabinet. You get more usable counter width. Want more? An island sink isn't restricted by the depth of a counter. You can rotate a 21" x 18" sink making the 21" dimension the front to back. The faucet can go to one side.

no eggshells or chicken bones and very minimal grease

Actually none of that should go down any garbage disposal!

In our new kitchen, our prep sink is 18" wide, 10" deep, in a 24" sink base. I can fit a whole turkey in it, so it's plenty big. I have never had occasion to spatchcock a turkey or wash a trombone, so it's sufficient for my needs. ;-) I'm a big fan of 2 sinks, for the same reasons mentioned above: Mr. Weedy can do the dishes while I cook, without bumping elbows.

We also have disposals on both our sinks, and we're on septic. We haven't had any problems. Though, like Nidnay, we compost food waste, so all that goes down the disposal is the stuff that would otherwise be in that annoying little trap basket. It's worth it to not have to empty that drippy thing.

Thank you for all the great information! I'm especially glad to hear a garbage disposal is not out of the question for us. Even though we'll be composting, it would certainly make things easier.

Nidnay, I looked at the articulated faucets you linked. I see they come in 12" and 18". How do you know what height to get? I assume I'd want the taller one for the larger sink, b/c it has more reach?

You'd likely find a single large deep double stainless steel kitchen sink much more useful than any single sink or even two single sinks (or a double with a disposal in the center if you don't have a mulch pile and would use a disposal) and you don't need several inches of countertop in front of the sink.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/American-Standard-Fairacres-Double-Bowl-Sink-Kit-SS/1002986916?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--kab--ggl--LIA_KAB_188_Kitchen-Sinks-Disposers--1002986916--local--0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkp_uuYjb9AIVk4CGCh3ywAlZEAQYCCABEgI6d_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A single bowl prep and/or cleanup sink makes no sense at all -- once you've used a deep double sink daily for a time, you likely wouldn't want a single bowl sink. Rinsing greens in a single sink isn't practical.

If you have a large kitchen will be entertaining with your island being used as a bar, a bar sink might make sense.

Definitely put the main prep and cleanup sink you'll use most at the window(s) with the dishwasher on one side of it and a trash can on the other. You don't want to be facing the wall while working at the sink and it is helpful to be able to scrape and/or rinse items before putting them in the dishwasher.

A single bowl prep and/or cleanup sink makes no sense at all -- once you've used a deep double sink daily for a time, you likely wouldn't want a single bowl sink. Rinsing greens in a single sink isn't practical.

Every single person I know personally got rid of their useless double sinks for a single bowl sink with or without a separate prep sink. That double bowl sink is not large enough to even wash a 1/2 cookie sheet without water splashing everywhere.

And please explain how a single bowl sink isn't practical for washing greens?