IMO the cabinet below decides the sink aize . I love one bowl and if you have a 33-36 cabinet the 33 is right. I do however really disliike workstation sinks for many reasones but a nice sized one bowl deep is great . New things often just look odd for a bit change is for some people quite hard.

This is a personal choice. Some people really love the large workstation sinks (over 36") and others don't. Get what works for your own needs, wants and budget.

I have a 48" opening with a 30" sink and 18" integrated drainboard. Works for my family. I like that these are 18" front to back and the height is 10". My DW is installed under the drainboard.

^ agreed - everyone can tell you what they and dislike but it's definitely personal - people have big energy around it :)

since you have a nice big sink downstairs sounds like the standard size would work for the kitchen. The upside to a large sink on the island is you can hide a lot of stuff in there - the downside would be that it could mean less prep space unless you have an integrated cutting board you can use with it - just personal tradeoffs

(I've had a 45" in workstation sink for 12+ yrs and love it)

It also depends on how much counterspace you have beside it, and how much you’re willing to give up.

Just a thought, but some stainless sinks come in different finishes. Like for example, Franke stainless looks different than Kohler, etc. Elkay makes a finish called "Lustertone" and it's more of a pearly/matte stainless that I personally really love. (And it doesn't show water spots as bad.)

I think single bowl sinks are more attractive than divided sinks, but that's just me. 36" does seem sort of massive for an island but if you have the space, why not? Maybe a statement-piece faucet would help?

When we were sink shopping, my husband thought the larger single basin sinks with the drainage indentations (i.e. "cross breaks") looked like urinals and he would not allow me to choose one of those. So i can understand what you're saying. We spend a lot of time at the sink. You want to like it.

I have a 33” single bowl copper sink and love the size. It’s great when you have lots of dishes, or large pots and pans. I think work stations are overrated.

chispa, that is such a great idea to install the dishwasher under the drainboard of the sink. Thank you all for the tips!

Our remodel just finished and I got a 36" sink and I *loooooove* it. It's so wonderful, I love the functionality even more than I thought I would.

"It also depends on how much counterspace you have beside it, and how much you’re willing to give up."

A workstation sink adds counterspace.

The 33" sink that I just installed in another room (Costco special) came with a removable metal grate on the bottom, cutting board, and thing to let dishes dry on (so, workstation with some of the amenities--$230 bucks--only 18 gauge). I get the idea of the metal grate on the bottom, but I'm not sure that I like it. I think I will really like the cutting board, but even though the dish drying thing looks cool, they all take up sink space. I figured this sink is a good prep to figuring out what exactly I want for the kitchen. I will definitely check out the Lustertone--that sounds perfect to me.

"A workstation sink adds counterspace."

Right! If you just have counter space that is all you have. If you have a workstation sink you have a large sink AND an area that can be used as a counter, cutting board, colander, serving area, etc, etc.

I think the first pictured sink looks like it belongs in a restaurant kitchen. Super duper big! Too big!
Just my opinion.

debra

"Is there a size that you feel is really just too big?"

One way to answer that question is to do a sort of poll of sink buyers to see what sizes are most popular. At build.com:

• Top four, best selling, stainless steel, undermount sinks: 32" - 30" - 32.5" - 32"
• Top four, best selling, stainless steel, top-mount sinks: 33" - 33" - 33" - 33"
• Top four, best selling, stainless steel, workstation sinks: 33" - 32" - 30" - 30"

These are lengths of the sinks, not of the bowls which are about 2" smaller. So it appears the most people prefer a sink whose bowl is 30"-31" in length.

Since OP is putting the sink in a kitchen island, I would say, how big is the island?

I don't think looking at sizes of sink sold really tells you what people like--it just tells you what they thought they'd like when they were remodeling. 😁

The island is 90". So 60 cm for dishwasher, 100 cm for sink, and 60 cm for drawers.

I have a 36" galley-style sink (not stainless). I have a drainboard that sits on the ledges, as well as a cutting board as in the photo below. I bought the rack for the bottom and it does a great job protecting the bottom of the sink. After using it for six years, I definitely do not think it is too big. I would have gone bigger if they had one in this model (I wanted white). You can definitely go bigger with the stainless workstation sinks and I agree that they do convert to usable counterspace. The cutting board is especially nice to use right on the sink.

It is a balancing act, though. You don't want to take up too much space that can be used for storage, etc. A sink does cut into cabinet storage even if you are able to use it for counter space. And if you think it's ugly, then look into other options.

@Fori: "it just tells you what they thought they'd like when they were remodeling."

Or those pants that looked great in the store's dressing room.

They did look good, didn't they? I swear they use trick mirrors.

Also where did all the 3-way mirrors go? Most stores used to have at least one in the entry to the dressing rooms and some had them in every stall. Only way to see how it really looks from behind. Asking a store employee is worthless, as you will always get told it looks fabulous on you!

My husband leaves a trail of bread crumbs, cheese, fruit shavings, on our cutting board several times a day every single day. I am going to love having a cutting board positioned over a sink so I can just brush those crumbs off and wash off easily. I will be loving that in a second.

Since we're thead drifting, guys, if you get asked the deadly "Do these pants make my A$$$ look fat?" question, DO NOT ANSWER. Place your left hand on your chest, breathe shortly, and fake a heart attack to switch the subject. Don't over-do it and get 911 called, but you get the idea.

If in fact the pants do make her A$$ look fat, you are certifiable for saying so and a real heart attack would be a better fate. If they don't, but she believes you're being insincere, it's almost as bad. You cannot win this, trust me.

The mirrors were removed from stores for misleading customers after it was discovered that they were those old funhouse mirrors that made everybody look tall and thin.

So, on topic, don't expect family to use the sink the way you plan. I planned to hang a dishrack on the side of mine. Couldn't retrain family. Good luck! :)

How wide are the 90” island and 36” sink?

To help visualize, do you have a table or counter space where you can mark off a 90” island and within that a 36” sink just to be sure that you are happy with the proportions of the sink to the island? 27” of workspace on either side of the sink doesn’t seem like a lot.

It's functional to install a 24" undermount sink as a cleanup sink. 21 inch interior width and it goes with strap mounting in a 24 inch sink base. If you mock up a box with the same interior dimensions, everything you use in a kitchen can be washed. A larger sink with work station accessories would also work in the few cases people choose that.

So why do we see all the 36 and 33 large sinks on kitchen designer's configurations? Old layout software and economics. Every layout from a designer starts with and shows a double sink. Which puts a 36" sink base in the layout. No one chooses those anymore. The cabinet sizes and symmetry is draw based on that size. The customer then says I want a single bowl. Instead of redoing the layout with possibly requiring different upper and lowers for symmetry, the simple solution is to change the necessarily wide double for an unnecessarily wide single. The kitchen loses valuable counter work space and also loses wider drawers on that run. A 36" sink base is the least useful cabinet of that size.

I have kitchen things that won't fit in a 21" interior sink. Things that I like to keep clean. Large baking sheets. Parts of my range. A cast iron skillet. Refrigerator shelves....

There can be a couple rarely washed things that you may want to wash in the laundry room really large utility sink. That's why you have a large sink there. Some things can benefit from an overnight soaking. That way they don't tie up the kitchen cleanup sink for the many things used every day or often. A 12x18 half sheet baking pan fits easily in the 21x18 interior of a 24" undermount sink.

The way to avoid the double sink design scam is to request a 24" sinkbase from the start. No double sink can fit in that. Everything will flow along from there. Skip the $1500 pullout pantries also. Plain 11" deep pantry shelves with doors if you wish are less money and very functional.

I once had one as pictured below. It was not too big-- it actually was the only sink I've ever had that was "big enough". About 8 ft long. With a foot-operated overhead sprayer it was near perfect. Wouldn't fit a trombone though.