Make It A Double?
As our arms continue to recover from our recent kitchen priming and painting marathon (shared here this morning) we thought we’d take it down a notch or two with a post about sinks. That’s right, it’s like a slow jam following a spirited chicken dance or an energetic Macarena.
One thing’s that been fascinating about owning our second home is comparing its features to our first home and noting pros and cons (especially as we think about what improvements we want to make). There are many things that we prefer over our previous digs – like the larger rooms, opens hallways, en suite master bath, etc. And of course some things that make us miss our old set-up, such as our former more open laundry area, enclosed garage, etc. But when it comes to some things, we’re still unsure if they’re upgrades or downgrades… like our kitchen sink.
It’s a deep single sink (call me Captain Obvious). I like it. No, wait, I love it. I think. Okay, no, it’s probably just a like. Honestly I can’t decide whether or not I prefer it over the double sink that we had in our last kitchen (seen below).
Why do I love the single sink? It fits everything. Okay, not literally – but at least I finally can get my pots and pans (including handles!) fully in the sink to clean them. Seems silly, but the double sink we chose for the last kitchen did get on my nerves sometimes. Pan handles would protrude over the countertop. Water would splash everywhere during half-submerged rinse sessions. Frustrated husbands would curse the act of doing dishes. So this new situation is a welcome relief (the pan shown is 22″ including handles).
Some of the few of you who were reading way-back-then even questioned our double-sink decision. But despite my affection for the our single sink, I don’t completely regret choosing a double. Here’s why:
Now that I’m without a “Washing Side” and a “Drying Side” my pans end up on the counter post-wash. Yes, I realize it looks lame and messy (and that our pans are definitely past-their-prime). I know we could get a drying rack, but (no offense drying rack makers of the world) it’s hard to find something that looks good enough to earn a permanent spot on the already-limited counter space (my crazy pot drying method above only means that the side of the sink is occupied for an hour or two after dinner as opposed to hosting a drying rack 24/7). This is where my parents would probably tell me just to buck up, dry them by hand, and put them away immediately. But yeah, that’s not going to happen.
The other thing that makes us indecisive about this set up is the faucet placement. Usually we’re fans of a centered faucet, but such a square shaped sink must have required it be nudged to one side (it doesn’t look like it would have fit in the center). But in a surprise turn of sink-related events I’ve been enjoying the ability to fill up a pot while it rests on the counter (rather than having to hold it as it grows heavier with water in the sink). Life’s small pleasures, ya know?
In the end, we’re not planning to replace this sink and I’m still not sure which I prefer – though I think I now lean towards the single sink camp. What about you guys. Are you on the fence too? Or do you feel passionately about one set up over the other?
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We have a soapstone double sink and it annoys me to no end. Nothing seems to fit in there, I get myself and everything else soaked. The sink is too small to fit any sort of drying rack in it, so we still need to have a towel or drying mat on the counter (takes up less room than an actual rack). Plus the soapstone gets scuffed anytime a pan, pot or metal bowl is washed in there. AWFUL. It’s a renter, so I hope to have a big, single-bowl stainless steel sink someday, or two-part sink with the smaller section w/ garbage disposal and bigger section for washing. Can’t wait to not rent anymore! We can’t even put nails in the wall!!!
Sorry if I’m repeating – but my snake is great for moving water inconvenient areas. For example, I pull up the bin to the side of the sink leaving it on the floor, pull the snake out of the tap and very carefully aim and slightly turn on the water. This way the bin can easily soak. The Fiance is a bit butterfingers so leaves it for me to do. He’s concerned he’ll create a flood – and of course you do have to be careful.
Congrats for all your inspiring projects!
I was surprised by all the drying rack/mat comments… here, in Spain, almost every house has a drying rack inside the upper cabinet (the one above the sink). Except houses with a window in front of the sink, like yours, which is beeeautiful.
It is just a rack and the air flow comes inside from the base of the rack to dry the dishes, so some drops of water fall into the sink. Others, may be inside other cabinets so the lowest rack has some kind of tray below it, where the drops fall into (worse air flow, though… but still, no problems in drying).
This is the most common in Spain. Why it is not common there? Maybe you don’t like it for some reason I don’t know? Or you all have a window to enjoy the views while washing… Please, let me know… I’m curious.
I’ve checked IKEA USA… and surprisingly none of its ‘inspirational kitchens’ has this ‘rack above the sink’… You can check it in english at IKEA UK (see kitchen 7 of 21).
The best solution for me is the one at kitchen 8 of 21: narrow window between the cabinet and sink! You can enjoy the best of both things!
Sorry for my bad explanations in english… hope y’all understand what I mean :)
So interesting! I have no idea why we don’t have those here – they sound so handy!
xo,
s
What about this cute drying rack??
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/avignon-dish-rack/kitchen/kitchen-accents/13211
Very cute. First we’re going to check out a drying mat since so many people have recommended them (they’re so cheap and easy to store when they’re not in use – so we get to keep as much counter space as we can). We’ll let you guys know how it goes!
xo,
s
Sinks are for WASHING, not DRYING! I’ve done 3 kitchens over in 11 years, and you’re not going to change my mind. I never understood why anyone liked the tiny bowls of the double sink. Water, water, everywhere!
haha, i never knew the “second” sink for double sinks was for drying! i always thought one side was for “soaping” and the other side for “rinsing.” i also have a single sink and refuse to get a dish drying rack because of limited counter space. i use and really recommend one of those dish drying pads (or whatever they are called) from bed bath and beyond. they are really useful for holding the dishes while drying and can be easily put away when not being used.
do you guys have a dishwasher?
Yup, thank goodness. Our first house didn’t have one but we worked it in when we overhauled the kitchen and couldn’t believe how much of an upgrade it was from hand washing!
xo,
s
I have the solution – the double sink with two sizes of sinks – we had one in our last place where the faucet was offset to the right with a smaller sink and then the lefthand sink went all the way back and could hold just about any pot. The one we bought for our new place doesn’t have the faucet offset, so we’ll see if I love it as much (I did like the “fill the pot on the counter” feature, although the kiddo was turning that into more of a minus).
I’m voting for the double wide sink with divider. Such a convenience. I would get used to the single if I had to, but I have the double wide now and it is nice and deep. I simply stick some clean dishes in there to drain, and also I agree with the awesomeness of being able to still use a sink for draining, washing, cutting etc while the other side is full.
We replaced our condo’s double sink with a huge, deep, single bowl and I LOVE. IT. Now we are getting ready to move to a house with a double sink again and I am sad to have to wait a year or two before we can do the kitchen reno. I want my giant single sink, dangit!
As for the drying rack, we keep it stashed vertically in the cabinet under the sink except for those couple hours when pots and pans need drying. Works great for us!
Im from the UK and I thought there’s something funny about the picture posted, then I realised from the posts below its because theres no draining space next to it!
My sister lives in Canada and she has the 2 sink thing. They leave their dishes to dry off in the 2nd one. It just looks odd to me :) I dont get why it needs to be so deep if youre just drying stuff? We put a rack on our draining space though, because I actually dont like the way it looks otherwise, and you can see marks on it pretty easily, so if you put a rack on it you dont have to clean it every 5 minutes. Having said that, Im way too anal to leave much on it, I like to put stuff away asap!
So I try to put everything in the dishwasher and only hand wash something if its essential.
I’m on team single. I had a double sink for many years because I just always thought double was better. Then got divorced, moved into a rental with a deep, wide single and I’m now a convert… for life. I make quite a bit of soup, pasta sauce, chili and Japanese curry. I’m also in love with my slow cooker.
You know I never thought about filling up my pot on top of the counter! Thanks for the little spot of brillance.
By the way, Simple Human makes some awesome dish racks, not only attractive but well designed also. I’m also a convert to a smaller dish rack. How I manage is I wash and dry dishes during the cooking process. By the end of dinner, all that’s left is the plates we’ve eaten on. I also lay out larger items on a dish towel or I use a roll up silicone drying mat (made for delicate items like wine glasses but I use for whatever). Certain items, like knives, should be dried and layed out, not put in the dishrack to prevent rusting. I keep my old dish rack in the panty to bring out if we have a big party or other need, but I haven’t used it in months.
I also love how your faucet can be turned to the side to fill up a pot with water. As for the pot drying predicament, I have had runnels on my “must” list for my dream kitchen. They are parallel grooves in the counter next to the sink that act as a built-in drain. I hate dishracks but I love washing by hand, so this seemed like a great no-brainer. See my inspiration image here: http://makingmacy.blogspot.com/2010/09/note-to-future-me-kitchen-counter-drain.html
I LOVE my single sink, but it looks like it’s a bit bigger than yours. I love having my drying rack at the side.
http://www.galaxytoolsupply.com/undermount-kitchen-sink-p/s3510.htm
We used this faucet. It’s a happy thing!
http://www.galaxytoolsupply.com/Kitchen-Faucet-p/gf8-b.htm
I was telling my husband how you guys aren’t fans of a drying rack (yes, our conversations are super exciting around here!) and my 3 year old daughter was so curious why you didn’t like them. I told her you didn’t like how they looked and she said, “I know a great idea! We should buy them a princess drying rack and send it to them!” Thought you’d get a kick outta that. Princesses make everything better when you’re a 3 year old girl :)
Haha- sold! Sounds dreamy.
xo,
s
This one is pretty, http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17768158&RN=976&, but I can think of many other ways to use that $80.
So you could always go with the http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17287109&RN=976&. And it’s only $5! I mean, it’s kind of “bleh” looking but you wouldn’t really see it with all the dishes on it. Haha. Then just throw it under the sink when the dishes are done drying. :)
Ha, so funny to see this post at this time. We’re remodeling a very small kitchen and I had to return the double sink for a small single bowl because the cabinets would have had to been rebuilt to accommodate it. I like the look of it and I think it will be fine – just the two of us. I pulled out the oven too and switched to a convection to open up the kitchen – we’ll see how that goes. I’m with you about the sink drainer – hates it! – but with your parents about just pulling out a clean dishtowel for a minute (I’m their age – must be generational :). Come to think of it, my kids grew up with a dishwasher – I did not – that must be it!
Sorry, but I just can’t read all nine pages of comments, so I don’t know if this has been suggested yet. You mentioned in a previous post that you have extra cabinet space. Have you thought about getting a drying cabinet (like seen here: http://www.skimbacolifestyle.com/2009/01/scandinavian-kitchen-products.html)?
That way you can have the single sink without the only con. :) Only problem would be that the drying cabinets are usually situated above the sink and ya’ll seem to have window there. But still, food for thought. Love your blog!
That’s so cool! Love it!
xo,
s
Delay of game on this. BUT we have a super deep sink and a “vegetable” sink next to it. Best of both worlds. And use a drying mat for the dishes. I prefer the deep sink + veggie sink over anything else I’ve ever used!
My parents have a stainless steel drying rack.
And I never knew that people left dishes in the sink to dry!