A sink definitely does not have to go on an island. Many people with islands prefer to keep their island free of a sink and/or cooktop. However, for most people, the sink under a window is desirable.

Well I dont have a window available directly in the kitchen but yes I would love to keep the sink off the island... I will post pictures of the current kitchen that we are semi remodelling.

What you are showing is a very poor design. Not sure what this is but the sink there doesnt work. First the cabnet above it would be in the way of anyone doing dishes and second there is absolutely no space to even place a rinsed glass let alone everything else that happens at a kitchen sink. At the very small glance you are providing I would move the fridge to the right of the left of the range and center the sink on on the wall where you have it with no upper cabinets above it. That said I would gut this entire design and start over.

Yes you are right maybe we should gut it and start over... would you put the sink where the stove is or on the island?

Post a scaled floorplan with lots of measurements of your space.

Think about where you spend your time and what you want to look at as you prep, cook, and clean up. In the first three homes I lived in as an adult, the kitchen faced a dreary wall. In my current home, the sink is in the island and faces the DR and LR, so I can interact with my husband and friends while prepping, cooking, etc. I love it— a total game changer for how I feel about being in the kitchen. I agree with previous posts: Your current design makes no sense. Get a better designer and start over.

Are you in the same home as last year, the home " You decided not to sell"?? Where the sink is already on the island?

You need a very accurate scaled drawing if the current kitchen, That drawing should have every inch of solid wall, every single window with casing, exactly where a window is IN a wall, It must show every opening and the dimension, every doorway.

Not where doors and openings LEAD.( what rooms, mudroom etc )

Then add jpeg pics, from every angle. Show what a designer would see if in your house: ) which is everything, right?

Nobody else' s's kitchen matters but yours, so pictures of another kitchen aren't helpful. What gets you help? The as is condition of what you have. Neat, tidy, straight lines. You don't need the computer, just graph paper, pencil, bold font dimensions we can read, and upload that drawing.

Your version of this.......

NO is the answer to both . BUt that sink you show is not good. The old deal was a wife spent a huge amount of time at the sink every day so a view was a nice thing. Now we load the DW and walk away so I do not always design a kitchen with a sink and window together .I agree waht you show is not a good design so agree with the comment to start over.

Jan Moyee… we did finally sell our town home shown in pictures .. the other photos are the new place which we are renovating .. just trying to decide where to put the sink

There is no "Just: in a kitchen, not just a sink or anything else. There's no "sorta: No "ish", there are exact inches. : ) and fractions of inches,

Please, for the best advice here? Do as asked above. It's the H word....the Homework that gets you the Help.

From pictures? I see an owner who wanted a "show" kitchen, and nothing on the island.

Can't see all? But far better with NO information? Can assume she didn't cook /had catered parties?

Maybe........

Fridge moves to left of a sink centered between two window, and range moves to where the fridge is, and simple venting....

Or? You put a sink IN the island.

The current design is certainly fail!

All is guesswork and hence.............the feet and inches for all.

In addition? How do you cook, alone or together, how do you host. how many?. Do you need more storage, is there a pantry we can't see? Do you bake.....? things like that,

It isn't "Just a sink"

Have you been working with a kitchen designer? Given there are no windows and as suggested without dimensions, feedback won’t be very helpful.

- Gather you are adding windows; are you open to one large one versus the two? Will feel less broken up and create better light.

- Are you open to a different cupboard design with more consistency…flush on the bottom. Yours feels very busy/disjointed.

- Can a stove vent be installed where sink is located?

- How large an island are you considering/your seating needs?

Depending on the info you provide…I could see the concept below being an option. Skip prep sink and fridge would be in the lower left corner (a less traffic area with more room to maneuver).

Overall: consider how best to create functionality next to sink and stove.

Although preferable but not a requirement, a sink does not need to sit underneath a window. A sink would be best on the main counter perimeter and not on an island.

A sink does not have to be on an island or under a window, BUT it definitely should not be squeezed into a corner like your first 2 photos.

If that is the space you are remodeling, you might need to remove/move some windows to accomplish a better layout.

Here are some examples of the sink and range on the same perimeter wall.

Del Ray Sears Bungalow · More Info

Turnball Rd. Los Angeles · More Info

Beach house kitchen · More Info

A detailed drawing including all the measurements as others have stated. Also a huge question to ask is if you are willing to modify window size or location. For starters A much better design could be accomplished if you were willing to modify the floor to ceiling windows on the left of this kitchen to above a counter height window size.

No, a sink does not need to be under a window or on the island. It often works well since you don't want full height upper cabinets over the sink and can't have them in front of a window or above an island, so you gain some cabinet space by keeping the sink in those positions.

I don't know your budget, but you did say you were semi-remodeling, which to me means you don't want to gut the kitchen and start over, but want to do something to make things work better. The current design has the sink squished into a space where it doesn't function well.

You may be able to keep most of the kitchen as is by moving the refrigerator to the other side of the room - next to the big window. (Leave enough room next to it to ensure that it opens completely). Then just redo the right side, move the sink a bit further from the corner and place a dishwasher next to the sink. (Some people insist it needs to be on the right or the left, but I have had the dishwasher on the right in one home and the left in another home and both worked just fine).

Does a kitchen sink HAVE TO go under a window or in an island? Things to consider:

- No, but one of those two positions is probably BEST.

- Your sink is the single most-used item in your kitchen. It needs to be positioned in the most central location.

- If you place your sink facing a wall, what will you put in front of the sink? Sinks facing the wall never feel "quite right".

- Don't work hard trying to re-invent the wheel: Classic kitchen lay-outs work for a good reason. Certain things NEED TO HAPPEN: Your dishwasher should be next to your sink. Your refrigerator needs to be on the edge (so people can get a drink without fully entering the kitchen /disturbing the cook). For convenience, glasses need to be stored near both the dishwasher AND the refrigerator. Other details exist, but study classic kitchens and ask yourself WHY. You'll almost certainly land on the answers, logic and practicality.

Sink on the island is never a best option. Under a window is not important. Getting the work zones set to make the best functional use of your counter is the primary priority.

"Never"? In what world? ^^

There is nothing wrong with this, if you are reasonably efficient at clean as you prep and cook., and the island is large enough. It is very often the best option.

If you insist on dish piling sink side, can't use the steel box beneath, take pass.

In every world where you were making a best functional kitchen from scratch with a clean sheet of paper. No one here would qualify an island sink as anything more than a compromise for a compromised space. Same with the cooktop on the island.

I’ve never understood why people say never to a sink in the island. I may be in a small camp but I want the sink in my island. The place where people are sitting so I can talk to them. The place that overlooks our family room with a TV so I can watch it. Or simply so I’m not staring at a wall or at my neighbors house.

Kitchen design has to work for you. And I am going to start a petition that islands also get to have sinks too. 😂

Btw, take the chance to build a beautiful kitchen on here with the designers

"In every world where you were making a best functional kitchen from scratch with a clean sheet of paper. No one here would qualify an island sink as anything more than a compromise for a compromised space. Same with the cooktop on the island."

Your clean sheet of paper has to work in a context of "whole living floor"

A whole living floor is not a one for all, all for one.

Rare is there not a so called "compromise", which is not that at all, if that is a preference

Not everyone has a gorgeous view out a window : ) and would far prefer to see their family having fun, their own children playing, some great movie on the tv.

Last? A cook top is NOT a sink, and worse....... needs venting.!!

I am done venting lol

Just because we have dishwashers doesn't mean we don't spend time at the sink. If you have one sink in your kitchen, you use it for prep and cleanup. I am at my kitchen sink a lot when I cook, and having a nice view of my yard is very calming and much nicer than looking at a wall. Come to think of it I've had a sink under a window in every home I've had, excepting apartments.

Lol Diana! I should be dead. Veggies get a quick rinse, I clean as I prep, as I cook, and by the time I have set it all out, eaten? The clean up is a quick rinse plate and flatware, and into the dishwasher. So help me God, no pot no pan, no cooking utensil, as it is already clean and stowed or in the d.w!. Last? Drain the vino glass and in IT goes. Clean sink to a sparkle and sayonara!

Call it the one person dining effect and I can not stand a crumb on the counter when I'm "just me". Obviously.....different for family and entertaining: ) but its a no view galley so the habit remains within reason.

I also clean as I prep--mis en place and clean as you go! But it also depends on what I'm cooking. Salmon and salad is a lot easier than flounder francaise, roasted vegetables and pasta! The latter uses way more utensils, bowls and pots/pans than the former. I cook for 2 most of the time and I use my DW a lot, but I also hand wash many items and dry them on a..............dish drain!!! I know most everyone here hates them, but they are very useful to me. Different strokes....

Oh No!!! The Dreaded Dish Drainer !! : ). Kitchen towel....into the wash ...or if barely damp? skip it lol.

All bets are off for chocolate mousse, and then the kitchen shall scream " rescue me!!" with the cook! Baking makes more mess, than just about anything. Fish doesn't happen here, unless salmon, or seared scallops as we are not close enough to readily super fresh and the water that pairs with.

My parents home had a great galley kitchen that was in the center of the living area of the home - 1960s rambler. The kitchen had no windows except for the 360 degree clerestory windows that flooded the room with natural daylight.

I never thought about the fact that the sink didn't have a window.

Found another MCM home with clerestory windows in a galley kitchen (Just one side)

Lifestyle. That is the word to consider when creating a kitchen that works for you. We have owned four homes. My favorite kitchen had an island sink. My children were young. There was nothing easier and more efficent than breakfasts and quick meals at that island with the kids lined up on counter stools and being able to quickly wipe crumbs and every dish and utensil from a meal into that sink. Casual entertaining was a breeze with that island sink as well as it was easy to fill it with ice and have canned and bottled drinks right out of it. It fit our lifestyle at the time. Skip forward 20 years and my current home has an island sink. Its great , it functions but I so wish I had a sink under a window and off the island.

The only indoor dining space I had in my last home was the Peninsula. I got tired of my husband dumping stuff on the dining table so I got rid of it. When we had more than 2 guests we dined outside on the covered paito (San Diego).

Design should be focused on what works for the people living in the home, not arbitrary rules.

@Jennifer Hogan, I definitely designed my current house with thoughts of where my DH might dump stuff! The preliminary kitchen layout had a small counter run at the end of one wall and I switched it with the fridge, because I knew my DH would leave stuff there. The fridge at the end of that wall, now blocks the view from the family room, of the things that he does leave on that short counter run!

Some here would say that that change made the fridge "too far away" from the sink, but for me, it is in the perfect spot and makes me happy when I can't see the stuff on the counter from the living area.

I would be suicidal if I had to cook in a kitchen with the sink in the position shown in the, photos. I cook most of our meals and that kitchen would be a deal breaker if I was home shopping.

Whoever designed that kitchen had never cooked a meal or didn’t want to

I would 100% put sink in the island compered to sink looking to the wall and with most designs it is better then window sink, if you entertain and cook…

Thanks for all the advice ...we have decided to put an apron sink on the island.